Managing Student Choices in 4th Grade

[cmilt8]

I am loving my start of the Daily 5, my kids are doing better than I expected and they love it as well! I am just trying to manage it all. I have Tier 3 pullout in am, kids with me will start a round during this block and I can get some conferrring done. In the afternoon I have two reading teachers doing reading groups and I will be also, our kids will get lots of support! My LA block is from 1:05 to 3:25!

It is hard to plan when kids will work with a teacher and when they should have free choice? My other question is how do you manage their choices, my class is starting to have a choice this week. Check in after lesson or let them pick in the morning with a chart of some type?? I love it just trying to plan what it will look like as it is all rolling out.

[srea]

I've heard some teachers say that using a chart like you suggest saves them time during rounds. The charts I've seen have the four choices across the top and kids down the side--kids get to make two choices. When they go to a choice, they remove that one from the chart, so the next round, they know where to go. So, they do get a bit on choice built in but not "right at the moment".

The only thing that bothers me a bit is they might not "name their strategy" before they go out, which might mean they don't have that in mind.

They are many other ways, I'm sure--I'd like to hear some, too.