Anchor ChartsWhat’s Their Purpose? How To Use Them? And, Different Formats
Anchor Chart to Introduce the Opinion Writing Genre
I don’t remember seeing or using anchor charts when I was a student in elementary school or even middle school. I do remember hearing lots about anchor charts when I began teaching – not student teaching, but in my 3rd or 4th year of teaching when I was teaching 5th grade. Anchor charts were popular for teaching reading and writing because they “anchored” the students to the learning.
An anchor chart is an instructional tool that is created by the teacher and used to support instruction on a particular concept or skill. They are used in literacy lessons because they make the invisible thinking visible to the students. The anchor chart should explain – in a clear and straightforward way – the skill that the teacher wants the students to learn and apply to their reading or writing.
On Monday night during the literacy clinic, many of the students came to class with anchor charts. The anchor charts were clear and visually appealing, and most importantly focused on one strategy that they wanted to teach the students and then have them apply into their own reading or writing work. As I was observing the students using the anchor charts, I was noticing how well they used the anchor chart to explain the strategy.
One of the graduate literacy students has been reading a book with the middle school students she is working with and wanted to teach a comprehension strategy that they needed to learn and apply when reading the next chapter. She used what they had previously read to give examples of the strategy as she was teaching and connected the examples in the book to her anchor chart. She was pointing out how to apply the strategy as she re-read parts of the book. She used the anchor chart well. First, she explained the strategy, then she modeled how to apply the strategy when reading. She modeled this twice to the students. Then, she had them try the strategy out with her (twice!) so that they had her support with the reading strategy. As they did the work, she would point out what they were doing on the anchor chart – anchoring their reading to the strategy. Finally, she let them try out the strategy on their own – releasing the responsibility to them, but with her overseeing, in case they needed her support. This was a great way to use the anchor chart – because she referred to the anchor chart as she modeled the strategy and then as she guided the students through the strategy. The chart was not just hanging on the wall, rather it was actively being used.
Some helpful tips when creating your own anchor charts:
Make them yourself! Do not purchase anchor charts, but write them the way you plan to teach the strategy or concept
Keep text minimal so that students can focus on the necessary and essential information
Add some color! It doesn’t need to be Pinterest worthy, but make it visually appealing
If possible (this one is hard for me!), add an illustration to put a visual with the strategy
One more suggestion is to make smaller copies of the anchor charts so that the students can refer to them when they are doing the reading and writing work on their own (after your lesson is finished). I like the idea of giving the kids their own copies and organizing them in a notebook so that they can refer to them when necessary.
*Photo of an anchor chart that an awesome graduate student made to introduce opinion writing to her second graders. It’s clear and easy to understand. And, I love how she uses the different colors to emphasize different points.