Thursday, July 10, 2014

So Many Anchor Charts, So Little Space


Especially when the fire marshall tells you such a small percentage of your walls can be covered in paper. I have gone back and forth with what to do with the anchor charts I produce with my class. After a while, I swear they start to mate and multiply. How do you end up with so many? And how can students continue to take advantage of those resources you worked so hard to make?

I have seen and heard some pretty brilliant ideas on Pinterest and from other teachers. Ideas such as hanging them from chart stands or clothes racks so students can flip through, taking photos of them them and putting them in binders, or hanging them on rings from the wall. I need a way to have them accessible without having them on the wall (to make Mr. Fire Marshall happy). Plus, taking up as little space as possible is always a plus.

So, this is the idea I am going to try this year: THINK SMALL! I know, it's not what is usually said. But, I have decided to think outside the box of anchor charts. Who says they have to be made on giant chart paper? Are the anchor chart gods going to smite me if I go small?

Instead of creating them on chart paper and trying to figure out what to do with it, I am going to go small and utilize technology. I will create those charts on plain 8 1/2 x 11 paper, projecting it as I create it using my Elmo. Now, I can even use different colors or patterns of paper. Oh my! The creative possibilities are endless! Of course, this only works if you have access to a document camera, which I do. If you don't have one, you might want to look into grants or other possibilities to get one. Mine has become an invaluable teaching tool in my classroom.




Now, I will have created an anchor chart just the right size to slip into a sheet protector in a binder. I can organize them into different binders, or use dividers in one binder. I can even make black and white  copies of each anchor chart to put in the same sheet protector in case multiple student need to reference the same anchor chart at once.

This year, I will be teaching three sections of fourth grade writing, plus one science/social studies, so most of my anchor charts will be writing. I plan to break them down into binders based on lesson topic, such as Writing Ideas, Grammar/Spelling, Revising Strategies, Prewriting Strategies, Editing Techniques, and Beginnings/Endings. I plan to keep the binders on a shelf alongside the mentor texts we use for each genre as well as dictionaries, thesauruses, and rhyming dictionaries. Then all the writing reference material will be in one spot.

A spin-off idea might be copying, shrinking, and laminating the charts. Then using binder rings to make a set for each table group. That would take a lot more work though. I think I will start with the create-through-projection-to-organized-binder idea, and direct students to the binders when they need resources.

6 comments:

  1. I love this idea! I was really hating anchor charts for the reasons you mentioned - plus, I went through about 100 Mr. Sketch markers making them! I like the idea of shrinking down the anchor chart and putting black and white versions in the kids' notebooks :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! That is a great idea to put them in the students' notebooks...maybe not every one, but the key ones for sure.

      Delete
  2. Love this idea!! Any way to get copies of your anchor chart mini's?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pamela, I don't usually make my anchor charts available since I believe in creating them with the kiddos. I make sure my key points are on them, and then get their contributions for parts as well. Because of this, they never look the same or say the same thing twice.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a great idea! I also appreciate what you commented above. Anchor charts are the most meaningful when you make them with your students. They have "buy in" when they are the creators. Thanks for sharing this tip!
    Literacy Loves Company

    ReplyDelete