Giving kids choices

One of my favorite ways to keep my students engaged is to give them choice. Sometimes I over think this concept. I try to find small ways to incorporate student choice in our daily activities.

Today in science we started a new unit on soil. I wanted the kids to brainstorm what they already knew about soil. My plan was for students to make a graphic organizer - we use thinking maps at my school. I told them they could make a bubble map or a circle map (2 organizers that include a topic in the middle with facts surrounding it). The kids had a choice of using paper/pencil or any app they had on their ipads. I'm always amazed by how creative the kids can be - I'm also amazed at how different they are!

Here are some samples of what they came up with. You'll notice they're all very different, but they also achieve the same purpose.

I love that each student got to let their personality and unique learning styles show. How do you incorporate student choice into your classroom?