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!

8th Grade Social Emotional Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Social Emotional Choice Board for 8th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 8th Grade Classroom during Social Emotional you will need to create the Social Emotionalchoices (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 8th Grade Social Emotional choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your8th Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 8th Grade Social Emotional Choices

Gratitude Journaling Challenge
Write 3 things you’re thankful for each day for a week. They can be big or small. Notice how it makes you feel and share if you’d like.
Empathy Role-Play Scenarios
Empathy Role-Play: Act out scenes where someone’s upset or facing a problem. Imagine their feelings, respond kindly, and discuss with classmates.
Mindfulness Meditation Moments
Sit quietly, breathe deeply, focus on your breath. If thoughts come, notice without judgment and return to your breath. Just be present.
Kindness Quest: Acts of Service
Join the Kindness Quest! Help others with simple acts like holding doors, sharing compliments, or volunteering. Make someone smile and spread positivity!
Reflective Listening Exercises
Reflective listening is like being a mirror with ears. You listen to a friend, then repeat back what they said to show you understand. Try it out!
Creative Expression Collage
Create a collage using pictures, words, and items that represent your feelings, dreams, and interests. Cut out images from magazines or print them, and arrange creatively!
Emotion Charades Game
Emotion Charades: Act out a feeling without words. Others guess the emotion. No talking, just body language and facial expressions. Have fun guessing!
Positive Affirmation Posters
Positive Affirmation Posters are bright signs with encouraging words you tell yourself to boost confidence and happiness. Like a cheerleader in your mind!
Stress-Busting Stretch Routine
Take 5 min to stretch & relax. Breathe deep, reach up high, touch your toes, twist gently at your waist, and roll your shoulders. Feel stress melt away!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Social Emotional in a 8th 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 8th Grade Classroom During Social Emotional (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?