Almost one week ago my world was flipped (and classroom-haha!) when COVID19 caused our schools to close. As of now, we are closing for just over two weeks but it may be longer and we have been preparing for online instruction. At first, the panic set in: how am I going to teach, evaluate, interact, engage through a computer screen?! Then, after a few deep breaths I remembered an easy solution: Choice Boards. Choice Boards are something that I have been using for years for various projects and assignments and have been very successful because students love to feel like they had an option and a voice in their assignment.
What is a Choice Board?
The short answer: A list of assignments that you ask students to complete while giving them the power of choice over which assignments they want to complete. I am a visual learner so it helps to think of a table of 4 or 6 or 9 assignments that you present to students. You then give them a number they must complete (choose 2 from the list of 4 or choose 3 from the list of 9) and a deadline. They work independently to complete the task and hand it in to you. Easy breezy!
Why Would I Use Choice Boards?
At first glance, they may seem like MORE work however, they are (in my humble opinion) more MEANINGFUL work. By presenting students with multiple options they are more likely to choose something that they relate to on some level and may even be applicable to their future. I love that Choice Boards give my students a chance to use their language skills in a way that they want and may even need in the future.
Also, this gives you a chance to do all of the things you’ve never had time to do in class. You can compile a list of readings, listening, videos, etc. for your students to consume as their leisure. Sometimes students may even do MORE work because they are genuinely interested in what you have presented them with. Instead of feeling “forced” to do an assignment, they will feel motivated to complete something that they want to do. We are able to engage our students even though we may have to do so through a computer screen.
I feel that Choice Boards work great for assignments in a traditional classroom but work even better for distance learning as students can complete assignments at their own pace and may even browse multiple options (and be exposed to even MORE language).
Four Easy Steps to Making a Great Choice Board
1. Don’t Stress over the Number of Options.
Many Choice Boards have 9 or more options. Do not feel like you need to have nine options on every choice board you make. If you can come up with 4 assignments, stick with 4 and ask students to complete 2. If you can come up with 5, ask students to complete 3. The beauty of choice boards is that they are extremely flexible to any situation.
2. Give Clear Directions for your Students.
You want to make sure that your directions are clear to your students. Are they allowed to choose ANY of the assignments or should they choose one from each column? Depending on the assignments I come up with I change the directions to suit my needs. I try to come up with 3 columns with 2-3 assignments per column (for a total of 6 and 9 assignments). I try to think of each column as a type of task. For example, Column A may be my Interpersonal task where I want students to speak with someone else. Column B may be my Interpretive task where I ask students to complete a reading or watch a video. Column C may be my Presentational task where I ask students to complete a writing assignment or record themselves speaking. As I mentioned before, there is no set of rules. Change your Choice Board to match your class; just make sure to explicitly tell your students what you want them to do.
3. Keep Collecting of Work Simple.
Since each student is submitting multiple assignments the collection of work can seem overwhelming. Keep it simple! I ask my students to complete their work in the same Google Doc as the Choice Board. I also ask them to highlight the assignments that they have chosen so that there is no guessing on my end. This way each student is completing ONE Google Doc and I am not switching between many documents for each student. The only exception is if they have to submit a video or audio, this may need to be a separate attached file.
4. Keep Grading Simple.
I used to shy away from Choice Boards for the fear of grading multiple assignments. A misconception is that you have to have 9 rubrics for 9 assignments. This is absolutely NOT the case. What I do, personally, is I concentrate on one assignment or column. For example, I may decide that this week the focus will be Interpretive Tasks. This is where I will spend my most time grading and going over their work with a fine-toothed comb. I will still look at the other tasks assigned and make any corrections/suggestions that I need to but I try to pass over the other assignments a little bit quicker to save myself some time.
Another great way to grade your assignments quickly is by using a Google Form as the submission. Students can enter their answers in a Google Form and you can make the form a Quiz (Click on the Gear for Settings) and “grade” correct responses. This would work best for multiple choice questions or one-word answers such as a vocabulary practice. Just be careful because if you set the answer in all lower case letters and your student uses an upper case letter it will mark it wrong and you may have to go back and check all the answers anyway.
If you are just beginning your Distance Learning Journey I know it can be scary but we are resilient and we will get through this, together.
Here is a Template for a Choice Board that I made for my Level 2 Spanish Class. Feel free to tweak this to your needs and use with your classes!
Good luck amig@s. Stay strong and stay healthy. If you have any questions please let me know, I’d love to help when I can!
Looking for more ideas? Check out this Facebook Group: Growing with CI There are a lot of great ideas and even some FREE Choice Boards for you to download!
