My goal this year was to create and use the Responsive Classroom structure Academic Choice to increase student responsibility and independence during work time. It didn't fit some of my old teaching practices; it forced me to think outside the box and break some of my patterns.

Practice, practice, practice
I did a lot of interactive modeling to support introducing the choices, especially during the first days and weeks of school. This approach to modeling actively involves students in setting the standards for the routine. We modeled how to carry a variety of art supplies, visiting the classroom library, and handling individual whiteboards. Each time I modeled something, I asked students what they noticed, and gathered their ideas. After modeling and practicing routines, we wrote some of the keys to success on charts and posted these on the wall for later reference.

We modeled and practiced both how to access and how to use something. For example, after practicing how to carry the whiteboards, we explored how to use them. After-and only after-doing the modeling and some exploration of a learning tool, we used it in a lesson that offered student choice.

Academic Choice A key Responsive Classroom practice, Academic Choice is a way to structure lessons and activities in which the teacher decides on the goal of the lesson or activity, then gives students a list of options for what to learn and/or how to go about their learning. Used well, the strategy adds excitement and purpose to learning. When students have choices, they become engaged and productive. They're likely to think more deeply and creatively, work with more persistence, and use a range of academic skills and strategies. Research has shown that children have fewer behavior problems when they have regular opportunities to make choices in their learning.

Simple choices build competence
I planned a simple Academic Choice lesson for the first week of the year that gave students a chance to share information about themselves. A critical element of Academic Choice is involving students in the decisionmaking about their learning. In this case, they chose from a menu of topics for their sharing. This provided engagement and community-building during one of our first lessons of the year. It was a success! I noticed the students working hard on their projects and saw right away the positive effect choice had.

Processes for choosing
In any Academic Choice lesson, it's important to formalize the process of making a choice and teaching students to stick with their choice. I sometimes used a pocket chart that had a few choices posted on it and had students indicate their choices by placing their name cards in the pocket next to their choice. Or I used handraising: I called out each option and quickly jotted down who wanted to do what. Once their choices were made, I almost always made students stick to them, even if they wanted to change. The idea: You have the privilege in this class of making important decisions, and the responsibility of following through with the decisions you make, so choose carefully.

Choice works in any content area
I gave students choices in a variety of lessons and situations. For example, one social studies lesson included new vocabulary. I made a chart with three vocabulary words and enough space for each of student to sign up for one of the three. Students then had a few moments to become "experts" on their word of choice and went on to share their word's information with two others who had chosen different words.

As a part of a science lesson in which students were doing research about bees, students filled out a choice contract stating what they would be researching, how they would be representing their research, and if they would be working alone or with a partner. I used these contracts to check in and assist as needed. This assignment was more complicated; it involved lots of choices. I wouldn't recommend starting with this degree of complexity!

Reflection on work
After each lesson, students gather in a circle and share their work with each other. I started with low-risk ways of sharing so students experienced success. Often, everyone held up his or her work and looked quickly at everyone else's, then a few students spoke briefly about their work. Other times, I had students partner up or form groups of three and share what they had accomplished. The vocabulary lesson above is an example of this sharing format.

Throughout this process, it has been crucial for me to use reinforcing, reminding, and redirecting language to encourage students to do their best work during work time (and throughout the day ). I was glad to have practiced using these types of language last year; if I had had to start from scratch in this area too, I might not have been able to handle it all!

Data quantify success
I collected data to measure the success of the implementation of Academic Choice. In September, I tallied how many students were working independently and responsibly during a lesson and repeated this in November. Engagement increased by 25%.

I interviewed five students and got a wide range of comments:

"We still sometimes talk when we are supposed to be working by ourselves, but we are much better than before."

"A lot of people got their projects done during work time."

"I like to work more when we have a choice."

One parent made the following comment:

"My child has never shown this much pride in his schoolwork before this year."

All of this confirmed my general daily observations: The more I used Academic Choice in lessons, the more engaged students appeared during their learning. I think part of this was due to my own increasing levels of comfort and skill. My old ptterns of teaching were being replaced by new ones!

More Academic Choice!
I have grown more confident in my ability to design and use Academic Choice learning activities, and in my students' ability to make positive use of them. Early in the year a lack of confidence kept me from using more than one Academic Choice lesson per week. I worried that I had designed the lesson incorrectly or that the students wouldn't be able to handle the freedom required. However, the more often I offered a choice, the more I saw the benefits of it, and the more I realized I could and should build even more choice-centered lessons.

Jackie Levendoski teaches third graders at St. Joseph School in Prescott, Wisconsin.

This article first appeared in Origins: A Newsletter for Elementary Educators, Fall 2011