July 21, 2015

Gettin' Charty With It

Are you down for some anchor chart L-O-V-E?!
I wanted to share with you how I use anchor charts all.the.time in my classroom.

There are 2 different types of anchor charts I use in my teaching:
1) Interactive anchor charts--those made together
2) Introductory anchor charts--those that are pre-made
I LOVE using anchor charts both ways.

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Interactive anchor charts are those that my students help me construct.
Sometimes we complete them whole group. Other times I make several of the same template and put students in groups. Normally I have a title on them or a few pre-written words, but the rest of the chart is up to them to help me fill out and create based on the lesson. 

We use these in pretty much every subject.
Here are some scenarios from the picture above where we interacted to make class anchor charts:
Insects--our schema and new learning
Bats--what we learned from nonfiction text
Verbs--squares from a verb search
Phonics--digraph word hunts with books
3 Sound of ED--partner word hunts
Things We Can Do--record individual verbs

Incorporating these into any lesson engages students and lets them take ownership of their learning!

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Introductory anchor charts are used to just that, introduce a skill, strategy, or concept.
I present these completely pre-made anchor charts in my very first introductory lesson. I keep it and display it so that I can refer to it during any follow up lessons, small group lessons, or for student referencing.

I use these in every subject also.
Here are some scenarios from the picture above where I used anchor charts to introduce material:
Vowel Pairs--list all the pairs
Rhyming Words--define and show examples
Scientist--who they are/what they do
Fiction & Nonfiction--define and add pictures
Reading Strategies--define and add an anchoring mental picture
Grammar--define and add pictures or examples

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Here are 2 products for introductory anchor charts that you can just print and use from my TpT store.


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Here is a glimpse of what my anchor chart filled room looked like at the end of last year.





















As you can see, we have both interactive and introductory anchor charts all around our classroom!
I like to think of it as pure evidence of hard core learning!

3 comments:

  1. I love the idea of interactive anchor charts! My mind is spinning with ideas for this coming school year. Thanks! ~Tatum

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  2. I love, love, LOVE your Look What We Learned board! I've been trying to figure out a way to do this in my room, but I just don't have the board space (my promethean board is smack dab in the middle of what used to be a full chalkboard...not my idea!) You have inspired me to make my Anchor Charts prettier!!

    Carlee Van Ness
    The Kindergarten Press

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    Replies
    1. I use to have mine on just a blank wall if you happen to have that kind of room!

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