Gamify Your Choice Board: Bingo

A choice board is a visual tool that teachers can use in their classrooms to allow students to… make choices! Choice boards consist of two or more options of activities for students to complete. The teacher specifies what choices are available, and the student selects what activity (or activities) they’ll do. Some choice boards are simple — choose one of two options listed. Some choice boards are more complex; for example, nine options are displayed in a grid and students will select and complete three of them. Choice boards are great because they give students the opportunity to choose how they engage with the material they’ve been studying and demonstrate what they’ve learned in their own way. Students can choose an activity that allows them to play to their own strengths or an option that’s new and challenging. They might wish to study a favourite topic in depth or explore a new topic. Choice boards are also great for accommodating different learning styles. For example, students may have more success submitting journal entries or reflections if they can choose whether to complete a written entry, a video entry, or an audio recorded entry. For a homework assignment, you might provide links to a written article, a video, and a podcast (all on a similar topic), have students read/watch/listen to one of them, and create a response to or answer questions about the content. Choice boards give students freedom within their learning, which also requires them to take responsibility for their choices. Letting students choose their own activities allows them to pick options that are interesting to them, or that they can connect to on a deeper level, which leads to more meaningful learning. Choice boards can be as simple as two options listed on a whiteboard or as fancy as grids, bingo cards, photos, pictures, or objects. They can be useful for remote or asynchronous learning, as they allow students to work at their own pace (within the allotted time frame). You can post choice boards in whatever digital classroom your school uses, and students can select and submit their assignments virtually, by the indicated deadline. Here are two sample choice board activities. (For other examples and activities, see the downloads at the bottom of this article!) For a performance-based choice board: • Students will select and rehearse a 30-second monologue of their choice. Students may either perform their monologue live in class on Friday or record a video of their performance and submit it by Thursday at 7 pm. Please submit the title of the monologue and your choice of performance style to Ms. Smith by the end of Tuesday’s class. For a playwriting choice board (choose one of the following): • Write a half-page monologue where the main character expresses a strong emotion. • Write a one-page scene where the main character interacts with one other family member. • Write a one-page scene where the main character does something for the first time with a group of people. • Write a one-page scene where two other characters talk about the main character. The following exercises also feature activities that you could use for choice boards: • Superhero Series: Final Performance • Playwriting Exercise: Advertisement Prompt • Costume Challenge: Modernizing a Classic Character’s Ensemble

Here’s a choice board exercise that’s all about emotions. You can use this list for students to complete single tasks (just have students select one assignment out of the many advertised below), or have students complete several tasks as a larger cumulative assignment. All the choices are focused on having students portray the selected emotion in different mediums. This can help students to think creatively, explore different ways of portraying emotions, and solve problems through quick thinking. If you wish for students to use these choices as a cumulative exercise, they must select one task from each category (List, Playwriting, Tech, and Performance) to complete and submit. Tasks from the Tech category and a few from the Performance category have the option of working with a partner, but most tasks are for one student to complete. For the Performance category, students must complete one solo task AND one pair/trio task. 1. Start by selecting an emotion for the entire class to study. Use our collection of Emotion Prompts if you’d like options beyond happy, sad, or angry. 2. Use the following categories and lists for students to select their tasks. List Tasks (choose one) • List 10 songs (preferably from musical theatre) that evoke the chosen emotion. • List 10 plays and/or musicals that feature or focus on the selected emotion. Note a specific moment (act and scene) from each play where the emotion is present. • List 10 quotes from plays or musicals in which the character demonstrates the selected emotion. Playwriting Tasks (choose one) • Write a monologue that evokes the chosen emotion. (Length: ½ page minimum) • Write a two-person scene in which one character expresses the selected emotion. (Length: 1 page minimum) • Write a two-person scene in which both characters express the selected emotion, and something happens at the end of the scene to change the mood. (Length: 1 page minimum) • Write a three-person scene in which one character expresses the chosen emotion, and the other characters try to change their mood. (Length: 1 ½ page minimum) Tech Tasks (choose one — can be done with a partner if students wish) • Create a lighting design that evokes the selected emotion. • Create a set model (for example, in a shoebox) that helps maintain the mood of the chosen emotion. • Select a character from a play that expresses the selected emotion, and create a costume design (full-colour sketch or live creation) that develops that emotion further. • Build a prop that would cause a character onstage to feel the selected emotion. Performing Tasks (choose one solo and one pair/trio task) • Solo: Choose and perform a monologue from an existing play that evokes that emotion. (Please submit a copy of the monologue.) • Solo: Write and perform an original monologue that evokes that emotion. (Students must submit their original script as well.) • Pair/Trio: Create a series of three tableau scenes that evokes the selected emotion. • Pair/Trio: Create a mimed scene in which one of the characters expresses the chosen emotion. • Pair/Trio: Choose and perform a scene from an existing play that portrays the emotion. Each student must have lines. 3. After the students have performed, they will submit all written and practical work, as well as an individual reflection response (found below). 4. Bonus: Students may select and complete one additional task from the Tech, Playwriting, or Performance categories for up to five additional bonus points.