Student choice

Allowing students to choose their own reading material or how they want to present information can bring to mind images of a chaotic classroom. However, in Chapter 18, written by Richard L. Allington from the book, Adolescent Literacy Turning Promise Into Practice, edited by Kylene Beers, Robert E. Probst and Linda Rief; allowing students to choose from a set list provides greater student interest in the material.
Having a list of material from a student to choose from, or a list of ways in which to present information narrows the field of options for the student and creates some uniformity in the classroom. Students get the benefit of choosing material they are interested in and the teacher enjoys more engaged students and less chaos than if everyone just chose something they liked form an endless array of choices. Also, by having a list of choices, the teacher ensures that students have an opportunity to control what they are reading and the teacher knows that no matter what they pick, they will be learning the same content as the other students.
Allowing students to pick from a variety of materials to read or use in class is an excellent way to jigsaw information. There might be interesting and important aspects in every piece of literature on the list, but it would be difficult to read them all in a class. This allows students to become experts on their material and learn from other students what other texts had to offer. Choice is important in the classroom so that students feel that they are collaborating with the teacher as a team of learners. This is also a method of culturally responsive teaching, each student can choose something that is relevant to their lives and that they are interested in. The selections may also allow them to demonstrate their prior knowledge or a skill that they might have.