If you have attended one of INFOhio's webinars or conference sessions, read a Teach With INFOhio blog, or even scanned our website, you may have heard INFOhio use the term choice board. A choice board is a visual tool that gives students options for how to learn or demonstrate what they learned. Choice boards can be simple, with just a few options, or more complex, with multiple choices displayed. Choice boards give students autonomy in their learning. They are also helpful for engaging students and providing differentiation. INFOhio has created choice boards that display different eBooks and videos on selected topics for educators to use with students of all ages.
For example, below is a choice board for 3-5 year olds that focuses on the topics seasons and weather.
In this choice board, students click a tile to read an eBook or watch a video. Adults can provide direction and support for young learners, helping them click to find an eBook or video and helping them balance the time spent on a screen. The tile highlighted above is an eBook from one of our most popular resources, BookFlix called And Then It's Spring. The adult and child can watch the interactive story version by Weston Woods to learn about spring. Each title also is paired with a nonfiction book on the same topic. Its nonfiction pair is How Do You Know It’s Spring?
Click Watch the Story for the fiction title. The read-aloud option is already on. This feature provides the words on the screen as they are read aloud. This helps children practice literacy skills like fluency. Some other great features in BookFlix appear to the left of the eBook. These include activities such as Word Match for vocabulary development and What Comes First? to practice sequencing.
Another example on the Seasons & Weather Choice Board is a video. This example highlighted in orange below, Trees Changing Colors, is a short video about how leaves change in autumn.
Examples of Early Learning Choice Boards
INFOhio creates and shares choice boards monthly on interesting topics for all age groups. Here are some examples of the choice boards appropriate for ages 3-5.
To find choice boards for early learners ages 3-5, educators can go to INFOhio’s homepage, Open the main menu in the right corner, and select Educator Tools.
Educator Tools is a repository of instructional materials purchased, licensed, or developed by INFOhio to support Ohio's Learning Standards and high-quality instructional practices. Designed for educators, this tool has more than 10,000 instructional materials to support student learning and supplement curricula. Search using a keyword or by using the filters on the left.
Search by the keyword choice boards as shown in the picture below. Click the Grade Level filter and check the appropriate grade. Eight items appear in the results for PreK.
Children ages 3-5 learn best when an adult uses technology with them. INFOhio recommends joint media engagement with young learners. This means an adult sitting with the child, using technology together. In the book Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens authors Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine share the Three C's - Content, Context, and Child to help guide the children’s use of technology. Content refers to the quality and appropriateness of material for children. Context emphasizes the environment in which children engage with digital media. Interactions highlight the importance of active engagement between the child and the adult during reading and media experiences, knowing that each child is unique and may react differently to screen time based on their needs and interests. Using Technology with Early Learners is a class that INFOhio offers educators to help learn more about joint media engagement and using it with children.
Each choice board is centered around a specific topic. Adults can use choice boards one-on-one or project them on a screen. To engage early learners, allow them to choose a title, but support them by asking questions, pointing out pictures, talking about a word from the story, or showing them how to stop or start the eBook or video.
Using the eBooks and video collections, INFOhio creates new choice boards monthly so keep an eye out for these easy-to-use resources. If you have any questions, we are happy to help! Please contact INFOhio Support at support.infohio.org.
Jill Finnan joined the INFOhio team in 2022. She focuses on early learning initiatives and supporting educator professional learning. She has more than 16 years of experience which includes crucial work in professional development for educators, Quality Rating & Improvement Systems (QRIS) leader and coach in both Ohio and Arizona, and as a teacher and administrator in childcare centers, preschools, and elementary schools. Jill received her B.S. and M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education. Her passion lies in helping early learners thrive and succeed.
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