This choice board uses six tasks around one original short text. Choose one Observe task and one Explain task, then complete the shared exit. The worked route shows what that rule produces without filling in a learner's own work.
Give every route the same source
The goal is to distinguish what a text states, what a reader can infer and what remains unknown. Use this original fictional passage:
S1. Maya placed a folded map beside the closed gate.
S2. She walked to the visitor desk and asked when the gate would open.
S3. When the bell rang, she picked up the map and waited by the gate.
The passage supplies a closed gate, a question and waiting. It never says that the gate opened or Maya entered. The bell is not permission to add that ending.
UMass Amherst's account of digital choice boards describes online collections in which learners and teachers choose how to use the materials. This board applies that idea with independently written tasks. It does not copy the university's boards or claim that choice alone improves learning.
Choose one task from each group
| Observe: choose one | What to produce |
|---|---|
| O1 · Annotate the passage | Mark two stated details and identify their sentence IDs. |
| O2 · Draw and caption | Sketch two details the text supplies. Add a caption naming their sentence IDs; label any imagined additions separately. |
| O3 · Sort four claims | Classify the supplied claims as stated, inference or unknown, with a reason. |
| Explain: choose one | What to produce |
|---|---|
| E1 · Compare two readings | Compare “Maya may want to enter” with “Maya has entered.” Explain what supports or limits each claim. |
| E2 · Revise a summary | Correct “Maya entered the open gate when the bell rang,” using only S1–S3. Keep the original sentence beside the revision. |
| E3 · Write and question | Write one defensible inference with a source reference, then ask a question the passage cannot answer. |
The choices change the work: annotating, drawing, classifying, comparing, revising or composing. They are not six copies of the same question with different titles.
Everyone finishes with the same exit: one supported claim with its sentence ID, and one thing the passage leaves unknown. Review that evidence alongside the chosen tasks. A task selection is not proof that the work is complete.
Follow a worked route
The sample route chooses O3 and E2. O3 uses these four claims:
| Claim | Worked classification | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| The gate was closed when Maya put down the map. | Stated | S1 says closed gate. |
| Maya asked when the gate would open. | Stated | S2 gives her question. |
| Maya may want to enter. | Inference | Asking about opening and waiting by the gate in S2–S3 can support this reading; it is not directly stated. |
| Maya entered the gate. | Unknown | S3 ends with waiting. No sentence supplies entry. |
For E2, a supported revision is: “Maya asked when the gate would open. When the bell rang, she picked up her map and waited by the gate.” The revision preserves the bell but removes the invented opening and entry.
A model exit can say: “Maya asked about the opening time, according to S2. The passage does not establish whether she eventually entered.” These are worked examples for discussion, not responses collected from students.
Copy a prompt for this complete board
Create one complete HTML choice board for distinguishing
stated details, defensible inferences and unknown information.
Use the original fictional passage exactly:
S1. Maya placed a folded map beside the closed gate.
S2. She walked to the visitor desk and asked when the gate would open.
S3. When the bell rang, she picked up the map and waited by the gate.
Choice rule: choose ONE Observe task and ONE Explain task.
Observe tasks:
O1 annotate two stated details with their sentence IDs;
O2 draw two supplied details and caption them with sentence IDs,
labeling imagined additions separately;
O3 sort these four claims: gate closed when map placed (stated,
S1); Maya asked when gate would open (stated, S2); Maya may
want to enter (inference supported by S2–S3); Maya entered
(unknown, since no sentence supplies entry).
Explain tasks:
E1 compare “Maya may want to enter” and “Maya has entered,”
explaining support and limits;
E2 preserve and revise the unsupported summary “Maya entered
the open gate when the bell rang,” using only the passage;
E3 write one defensible inference with evidence and a question
the passage cannot answer.
Shared exit for every route: one supported claim with its
sentence ID, plus one thing still unknown.
Show an O3+E2 worked route separately from blank learner work.
The E2 model is: “Maya asked when the gate would open. When
the bell rang, she picked up her map and waited by the gate.”
Model exit: asked about opening time, S2; eventual entry unknown.
Keep the source passage and choice rule easy to find. Make
all six task instructions readable on a phone. Do not mark
task choices as completed work or automatically grade writing,
drawings or interpretations. No invented event or student result.
Keep styles in the file, with no outside assets or data submission.
Return the full HTML and the separate worked examples.
Read each task against the shared goal before using the board. Confirm that a learner can explain what to hand in and can find the same passage whichever route they choose.
Clarify one task without rebuilding the board
If learners choose both tasks from Observe, change “Choose two” to “Choose one Observe task and one Explain task” beside the task list. When the board is HTML, NOS lets you revise that static instruction in visual editing mode. The board itself is the resource you are preparing; learners still submit their work through the classroom process you specify.
Check the revised rule with two different allowed routes. Both should end with a supported claim and an honest unknown, even though the work leading there differs.