One of the most popular free resources that has been used by teachers in the last year has been Flipgrid. Kathi Kersznowski (@kerszi) recently tweeted an incredible choice board she had created for ways teachers can use Flipgrid, “Flipgrid Madness.”
I like the look and interactivity of Kathi’s board, which was created with Genially. Another example of a Genially choice board, this one more directed toward students, is this interactive Tic-Tac-Toe style board for To Kill a Mockingbird. Erin Klein wrote this post on designing choice boards using Genially.
Of course, Genially is not the only digital tool you can use to make choice boards and menus. There have been plenty of articles published on using Google Slides, Docs, and MS Word. I’ve tried to collect as many how-to’s as I could find into this Wakelet on How to Design Choice Boards and Menus.
If you don’t want to start from scratch, SlidesMania has nice-looking templates here and here. I’ve also tried to collect some more subject-specific ones in a K-8 Wakelet and a Secondary Wakelet.
Choice boards and menus are a common strategy for differentiating by student interest and/or ability. The best ones are carefully planned with specific goals, but I’ve seen many that are improperly used to give students busy work. As always, clearly defined expectations, well-communicated relevancy, and regular feedback will be important if you are using this strategy.
