Tried it Tuesday-Tic-Tac-Toe boards

I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tried it Tuesday linky. If you haven't visited her blog before be sure to check it out for some new great ideas to use in your classroom.


As I have shared before, my school is working on a goal of differentiated instruction. One of the areas I differentiate more in this year was to give my students more personal choice. They have a lot of personal choice in reading and writing, but not so much in other areas. I wanted to grow in this area. I also wanted to find constructive activities that my students could work on when they finished their daily work in math class. After searching around on TPT I discovered some wonderful math tic-tac-toe boards. After using some that were premade I decided to try my hand at making them. Here is an example of a board that I made for my decimal unit. Most of the activities are free from TPT or from other freebies I found on various blogs. You can download it here.

 My students really enjoy doing them. They look forward to the different activities and options they have to choose from. I normally introduce the board when we are half way through the unit. I put the papers/manipulatives for each activity in labeled folders or bins on a side table so that the students can work without interrupting me as I work with students who may need extra support. Using tic-tac-toe boards has been a lifesaver. Giving the students free choice helps them stay on task which allows me to meet with students in small groups. It is an easy and wonderful way to differentiate.

Have you ever used tic-tac-toe boards in your classroom? What are some ways you differentiate? Don't forget to link up with Fourth Grade Flipper and share something new you have tried!