Differentiated Instruction - Choice Boards

Last summer I attended a GT training and was introduced to choice boards! I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I think that students are more engaged and even challenge themselves more when they are given choices.  The great thing is....they aren't just for GT students. Choice boards work similar to tic-tac-toe; the student completes 3 activities in a row {up, down, diagonal} They can be adapted for ALL students and actually lend themselves well to differentiated instruction. On Tuesday, I will be attending another GT training specifically on choice boards and differentiated instruction {I'm super pumped about it!} I can't wait to learn more about these learning tools! {I promise to share what I learn!}

Choice boards can be set up in many different ways. You can base them off of abilities, learning styles, intelligences, and even levels of questioning. I have found it easier, if I focus on just one of these types. When creating the board, you want to plan out what type of activity each square will focus on. {You don't want to have 2 of the same type of activities in a row} The goal of the CBs are to have equally acceptable activities that you want the students to complete that are similar end products, but have varying ways to accomplish the final product. {For example, you are studying the Alamo. Students could choose activities from writing a diary from the viewpoint of being in the battle, recreating a model of the Alamo, creating a movie, etc.}The wonderful thing about CBs though...students can choose an activity they are willing to complete {taking into consideration their own likes/learning style/intelligence}, but they will have 2 other activities they will need to complete that will focus on other skills that they possibly may need to strengthen {but at the very least they're practicing other skills}! It's a win-win situation!

I recently put the choice boards I created for my homework reader's responses in my shop. My students are required to read 20 min nightly, however I found that many of them weren't really reading every night! These choice boards give student's different options to respond to their books, while focusing on varying skills. I've also included 4 blank {editable} choice boards so that you can create your own boards! .....And I used the adorable sneakers clipart to jazz them up from KPM Doodles {love her stuff!}

Here is an example template of how to begin creating a choice board based on Multiple Intelligences:

                                                       Source: Dare to Differentiate 

Here are some great resources:

• Dare to Differentiate (AWESOME site for resources!)
• PVUSD
• Choices based on intelligence

Monday Made It - Cooperative Learning Tools

I'm still on a cooperative learning kick!! This week I made some helpful tools for my cooperative learning structures. In a previous post, I mentioned that I love Kagan, but their tools are a little pricey. This week I borrowed their idea of learning chips. {I love these...the possibilities are endless!} I basically used their template and typed different question stems. After punching out the circles and laminating, I used spray adhesive and attached them to cheap poker chips. So far I have made the chips for non-fiction texts, paraphrasing, science, and pre-reading. I will make 1 set for each table group {roughly 6 sets of each} I plan to add several more! {Here is a great article on using learning chips in the classroom!} This was a pretty inexpensive projects {actually free} since I already had the spray adhesive, laminator, and chips. I just had to print them on cardstock. :) Love it when I already have all of the materials for a project! *******UPDATE I WILL BE MAKING THE CHIPS AND OFFERING THEM IN MY STORE SOON!!! Until then, enter to win 3 sets- Non-fiction, Pre-reading, and the science sets!! {enter at the bottom of the page} - I'll pick 5 lucky winners {Thanks Tara for the idea!} Good luck!

I also jumped on the bandwagon and made the dry erase boards using duct tape and report covers. However, I changed mine up a bit! I searched high and low for cheap report covers. The best deal I found was 3 for a dollar something, and they had a frosted cover. So I got home to see what I could use instead. I have several boxes of transparencies...and I don't even have an overhead in my room anymore! I tried the dry erase marker and it works perfectly! I basically just took 2 transparencies and taped around 3 sides so I could slip a piece of paper in. The transparencies are slightly smaller than the report covers, so any papers I slip in will have to be trimmed just slightly. I love how they turned out! This project was also pretty inexpensive since I already had the transparencies on hand. I just bought 2 rolls of the duct tape (around 3.50 each). I also tried the packing tape, but it didn't work as well for me! I plan to have one for each student at the table and wouldn't you know this is also a Kagan tool! I love the dry erase markers from Ikea. They are super cheap and are perfect for these boards!! {Please excuse the black lines - I haven't had a chance to erase them yet ;) }

On another note, I had to select another winner because the last one didn't respond! So congratulations Cindy Toalson! Please contact me so I can give you all of your AWESOME prizes!!!

Now go link up with Tara and share what you made this week!

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Daily 5 (or rather Daily 7) goodies to share....

I seriously can't believe it has been almost 2 months since my last post! This school year is C~R~A~Z~Y!!!! Or maybe it's just me that is crazy! Along with teaching...I'm taking 9 hours of grad school (which is kicking my butt!!), I will be teaching 2 technology classes a week to students after school, and I will begin tutoring 1 day a week after school....not to mention my poor family who is suffering without me most nights! So this is why I haven't posted in awhile (and I'm up at 3:30 in the morning) But I wanted to share good news about my daily 5 centers!

My daily 5 centers are working! Yea!!! Last year I could not get them to run smoothly for the life of me and ended up taking away the choice for students. This year it is running so smoothly...that it's kind of scary! I have to admit though - I don't have Daily 5, I have Daily 7. I love the original Daily 5, but my students needed a little bit more than those skills. (Yes I know the upper grades are only supposed to do 3 - but some of my kids come in so low that we really need all 5!) So let me explain how it all works! Along with the originals, I also have skill builders (cause/effect, sequence, main idea, summary, etc) and technology! My skill builders center is differentiated and has activities for students who are on level, below level and above level. Most of the activities that I have are from the Florida Reading Center (love it!!). I store all of the activities in that nifty cart I found over the summer! There is one weekly activity that everyone must complete, then they can choose a drawer that is labeled with their level (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars). It is working out quite nicely and it really is giving students that extra practice they need. For technology, I have several things going on here. I use our textbook adoptions (Treasures) website to assign the skills that we are using that week in centers. Once the students complete this skill they have many different options including spellingcity, learning.com, tumblebooks, and more. I eventually want to get to where the students use programs such as inspiration to create graphic organizers for the skills we are learning - we're getting there it just takes baby steps. All of my centers have a must do/can do poster. At the beginning of the week, I just write down what activity must be done, along with directions, and the activities they can do if they finish that task.

The reason I think centers is so successful this year is because I only allow 3 people at each center, except buddy reading (only 2) and technology (4). Since the students are so separated, I don't have as many off task and they are able to be very productive!! I have 3 small pocket charts (ones from Targets 1$ spot). Each pocket is a new rotation. Inside each pocket is a card with the centers name. The students each have 3 name cards. In the morning I post which groups I will be meeting with during each rotation. Throughout the morning/day, I call on students who are being productive to go choose their centers for the day. They just put their name next to the center they want , if they will be working with me they don't choose a center for that rotation. I couldn't let go of not holding the students accountable for the work that needed to be accomplished during centers. So I created a checklist. I based the checklist off the group I see the most. So the checklist would be attainable for even them, meaning the other groups should definitely be able to complete the requirements. I also assigned points to each activity so the students would have to make good choices when picking centers so that they could get everything they needed done. At the bottom i have the total points earned for that week, but I added a field for subtracting points and bonus points. I didn't want my students to finish the checklist in 2-3 days and be off task for the rest of the time!

So far it is working out nicely! I will try and post pics soon....but don't wait around for them ;) I hope your year is off to a great start! On another note...thank you to everyone who has given my blog an award!! You are too kind! I will go and post the awards soon!! Thank you again!