Megan Reynolds

Megan Reynolds

I am a teacher & designer. Connecting with students & seeing them enjoy learning is my favorite feeling on earth! I hope you enjoy this article!

6th Grade Exercise Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Exercise Choice Board for 6th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 6th Grade Classroom during Exercise you will need to create the Exercisechoices (there are lots of examples), organize the classroom, and have a goal;

Time-saving, differentiation, and dynamic classroom management are my favorite reasons to use a choice board!

Integrating choices every day you will need to hone in on the best way to apply 6th Grade Exercise choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your6th Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 6th Grade Exercise Choices

Create a Comic Strip Workout
Draw a comic strip with 5 panels. Each panel shows a different exercise (jumping jacks, squats, push-ups, lunges, sit-ups). Do each for 30 secs. Have fun & get creative!
Fitness Bingo Challenge
Fitness Bingo: Fill a card with exercises like jumping jacks or squats. Do a task, mark it off. Get 5 in a row to win! Fun way to stay active!
Superhero Fitness Quest
Superhero Fitness Quest: Do 10 jumping jacks to fly, 5 push-ups to smash walls, 10 squats to leap buildings, and run in place for 30 secs to chase villains! Save the day with exercise!
Dance Party Routine
Groove to the beat with simple moves: Step-touch side to side, clap overhead, spin around, and then freestyle! Repeat to your favorite songs. Have fun!
Nature Scavenger Hunt Fitness
Explore nature & stay active! Find items on a list (like a leaf, rock, stick) & do fun exercises (like jumping jacks or squats) when you find each one. Have fun & be safe!
Yoga Pose Alphabet Game
Spell your name with body shapes! For each letter, do a yoga pose that looks like it. Example: ‘A’ is a triangle pose. Be creative, balance, and have fun bending!
Space Explorer Stretch Mission
Space Explorer Stretch Mission: Pretend you’re an astronaut! Reach for stars with arm stretches, do moonwalk lunges, and rocket jumps. Have fun staying active!
Jump Rope Math Mania
Jump Rope Math Mania: Skip rope & solve math! Each jump = 1 problem. Do 10, then answer. Mix addition, subtraction, & multiplication. Fun workout + brain boost!
Shadow P.E. Challenge: Copycat Moves
Stand opposite a partner who does random movements. Copy their moves as if you’re their shadow. Jump, twist, stretch—mimic them exactly! No talking, just follow and have fun!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Exercise in a 6th Grade Classroom

Keep It Simple

Everyone “teacher & student” should know exactly what they are doing. If you don’t make it even easier! 

Differential Instruction vs Saving time?

There is nothing more irritating than “Saving Time” with a Choice Board & ending up with “More work!”.  Are you using this to hit standards or save time or both? 

"Self Guided" or "instruction-based"?

If you giving out work, should they do it on their own or are these more instructions for each choice?

General rule, if the grade is > 3 there is more work per choice.

FREE Blank Fillable & Custom Choice Board

All ages, all grades where you need 9 grid choice board. Start loving learning again! 

How To Manage Your 6th Grade Classroom During Exercise (With a Choice Board)

I find its easiest to use a big board at the front of the classroom where all students can see the choices  then decide what they want to do

This often will be coming in from a break or transition between subjects. 

If you can get all students to know whats expected during a choice activity it becomes one-hundred times easier to manage the class & have everyone know what choices they have!  

There are three core steps you have to hit when using a Choice Board; 

1) The Set Up
2) 
The Instruction 
3) The Q+A 

1) The Set Up

Select your choices, decide on how you are going to use this time in your classroom. Build the choice board

1) The Instruction

Tell the students what they are going to be doing (this becomes easier over time) Simply start with 3 options & move from there. 

1) The Q & A

Does anyone have questions? This will help you or the next time. Remember the goal is to make this easier each time! 

Why Use A Choice Board?

So, let’s chat about choiceboards and why they’re like the coolest thing ever in your classroom. 

Picture this: kiddos bouncing into the room, eyes lighting up because they get to pick their own adventure in learning new words.

 It’s like a mini vocab party, and everyone’s invited!

We all have our own jam, right? Some of us are little artists, others are born performers, and some love to get lost in stories. Choice boards are like a buffet of fun learning snacks, so every munchkin finds something tasty that helps the vocab stick!

And here’s the kicker – when the little ones get to steer the ship, they turn into these mini captains of learning. They’re making the calls, and with every choice, they puff up a bit more with confidence. It’s a win-win – they’re learning and feeling like the boss at the same time.

Plus, for us teachers, it’s like having a secret helper in the room. We get to sprinkle in all sorts of activities that match our students’ levels and what makes their hearts tick. It’s like custom-making a learning playlist that gets every kid grooving to the vocab beat. How cool is that?