Interactive Choice Board

Why Differentiate? 

This past week I was blown away with my students creativity and engagement!  I am fortunate enough to have such an amazing group of young individuals and this week they took their achievements to another level.  We recently studied the novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” (TKAMB) which was a massive success.  We aligned this with Black History Month and examined several themes within the book.  The point of this post however is the power of differentiation.  Students were asked to create both an essay along with a creative element to illustrate their understanding.  For the sake of this post I will focus on the creative aspect.

To set the stage, students were allotted 6 choices along with a “mystery box” option which is a topic of their choice which has to be approved by the teacher.  I actually encourage students to select this option because it allows them to focus on some of their passions and skills and align it to deepen their understanding of curriculum.  Why have them work on something I suggest when they will have more fun and acquire new skills by selecting their own topic?  I’ve noticed that through giving my students more power and autonomy they are more empowered, happy, and self confident.  This is the culture I want radiating within my room. I encourage my students to take chances with their learning but how are they suppose to do that if the opportunity isn’t given?  That’s where interactive choice boards come into play.

It should be noted I am not the creator of these boards I have simply made modifications to them.

What are Interactive Choice Boards?  

In all honesty they were whatever you need them to be.  I have setup my boards to reflect the skills and interests of my students.  You can create the same thing that works for you.  Really, these are often google docs with tables inserted that allow students the freedom to make choices within their learning. It gives them both power and voice along with the ability to take control in their learning. I’ve seen them become more personally invested by utilizing this approach and hope you will as well.  It is important to note these can be used as a form of assessment or something much smaller like an exit ticket.  I use them in junction with “Hyperdocs” which is another subject altogether.  If you are interested in learning more about Hyperdocs please check out this amazing resource.

Hyperdoc Handbook

Here are the steps for creating your own.

• Select “Doc” or “Slide”
• Insert a Table
• Select size based on number of choices you wish to offer    (ex 3 x 3)
• Change Line Weight
• Add “Fill Colour”
• Insert Images of applications into each box
• Insert Links for tutorial Videos
• Add submission option (Classroom or Form)

One of my favourite modifications to these boards is adding in a “Mystery Box”.  This places the student in direct control of their learning.  Here is a recent one of mine the students enjoyed.

Interactive Choice Board with Mystery Box

Here is the link to mine which allows you to make a copy and create your own: Click Here

Again these applications work well for my class and they no longer require attached tutorial videos.

How do they Submit?  

I collect using Google Forms because it is easy and all of the information is in one place.  I do this using the “File Upload” function. This way students can submit their work in multiple formats: doc, spreadsheet, PDF, video, image, audio, drawing, & presentation.  

In case you aren’t sure how to carry out this process here is a video tutorial: Click Here

Your choice does not have to always been an application or including technology.  Here are some of the examples I received recently from our TKAMB study.

Board game with Black Light for Solutions

Hand made knot hole boxes with carved figurines

More Samples

Other Tech Examples not featured here:

• Scratch Coded Alternate Endings
• Minecraft Worlds
• Claymation Scene Reenactment
• Cooked Meals Based on Novel

I hope this has been helpful and as always should you have any question or concerns please reach out to me.

Thank you!

Derek Tangredi

@dtangred