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 Reading Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Reading Choice Board for 6th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5

To use a choice board in your 6th Grade Classroom during Reading you will need to create the Readingchoices (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 Reading 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 Reading Choices

Create a Comic Strip Summary

Create a short comic strip that shows the main events of a story you read. Draw pictures with speech bubbles for the characters and brief captions to explain the action.

Character Diary Entries

Write diary entries as if you’re a book character. Share their feelings, adventures, and secrets like it’s your own diary. Pretend to be them and have fun!

Plot Twist Rewrite

Plot Twist Rewrite: Change a story’s ending or a big event to surprise readers. Imagine if the hero turns into a villain or the lost treasure was fake!

Vocabulary Skit Challenge

Create a short play using 5 new words. Act it out, show their meanings, and have fun! Props are cool, but not needed. Share with the class.

Create Your Own Adventure Story

Write a story where YOU choose what happens next! Start with a character and a problem. Then, write 3 different paths to solve it. Pick one and finish the tale! 📖✨

Silent Scene Acting

Silent Scene Acting: Act out a scene without words, using only body language and facial expressions to tell the story. Imagine you’re in a silent movie!

Book Trailer Project

Create a short video that’s like a movie trailer for your favorite book. Include the main plot, characters, and what makes the book exciting. Use pictures and music to entice viewers to read it!

Poetry Collage Creation

Make a poetry collage! Cut out words & images from magazines that inspire you. Arrange them on paper to create a poem you love. Add colors & drawings to make it pop!

Flash Fiction Fun

Flash Fiction Fun: Write a super short story with a beginning, middle, and end in just one paragraph. Use your imagination to create a tiny tale that packs a big punch!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Reading 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 Reading (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?