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!

Kindergarden Science Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Science Choice Board for Kindergarden in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your Kindergarden Classroom during Science you will need to create the Sciencechoices (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 Kindergarden Science choice boards to your classroom style!

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

Ideas & Examples of Great Kindergarden Science Choices

Plant a Bean Seed
Put a bean in a cup with wet cotton. Keep it warm and watered. Watch it grow roots, then a tiny stem and leaves. It’s your bean plant!
Bug Safari Hunt
Let’s go on a Bug Safari Hunt! We’ll be explorers and look for tiny bugs outside. Remember, we watch them, we don’t touch. Count how many you see and tell me their colors! 🐞🐜🔍
Cloud Shapes in the Sky
Look at the sky and find fluffy clouds. Use your imagination to see if they look like animals, faces, or objects. What shapes can you find? It’s like a sky picture book!
Shadow Play with Toys
Make animal shapes with your hands or toys in front of a light to see shadows dance on the wall. It’s like a fun puppet show with just light and dark!
Colorful Flower Sorting
Let’s play a game! Find flowers in our garden and put the same colors together. Red with red, blue with blue. Make pretty color families!
Animal Sound Match-Up
Listen to animal noises and match them to the right animal pictures! It’s like a fun puzzle with sounds. Make the cow, pig, and duck happy by finding their voices!
Magnet Treasure Hunt
Find hidden treasures with a magnet wand! Look around, when it sticks, you’ve found metal. Happy hunting!
Weather Story Time
Weather Story Time: Look outside, what’s the sky doing? Is it sunny, rainy, or windy? Draw a picture of the weather and tell a story about it!
Ice Melting Investigation
Put an ice cube on a plate in the sun and one in the shade. Watch which one melts faster. We’ll learn about warm, cold, and how ice turns to water!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Science in a Kindergarden 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 Kindergarden Classroom During Science (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?