Educationally and pedagogically written and reviewed by Academic Writer Nesian Rose Guevara, BA and Academic Writer Maryna Polishchuk, MA.
What is an Anchor Charts
An anchor chart is an organized visual or textual representation of the information acquired in class made by the teacher and/or students. It documents the most important information, techniques, procedures, prompts, and rules students learn in class and is constantly rewritten over time as new information is added. It is typically written in large print and is a useful tool to help students process and remember information through pictures, symbols, or other visual cues. Displayed in a visible classroom area, an anchor chart serves as a scaffolding tool to aid students in their tasks.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Anchor Charts
Using anchor charts in teaching has many benefits. Since it is co-created by students, it allows them to be creative while engaging in the task. It also motivates them to engage in the content, enhancing their reasoning and problem-solving skills. As a scaffolding tool, it aids students in their tasks by serving as a guideline during their independent practice. In addition, it serves as a platform where students can seek assistance when they have questions, want to add to a discussion, are processing ideas, or are writing, thereby allowing students to take ownership of their learning. It also facilitates cooperative learning and collaboration as it will enable them to process their ideas and those of others before or throughout the activity, which may be difficult for them to do independently. Moreover, since new information can be added as the learning progresses, anchor charts help students relate old concepts or processes to what is currently learned.
Nonetheless, there are still some drawbacks to using anchor charts in classroom teaching. One is that they cannot be reused in another class or year, making them costly and time-consuming for educators. Furthermore, since anchor charts are mostly in text format, they can also become overwhelming for language learners. Having too many words posted on a classroom wall can lead to more confusion than help for students.
Examples of Anchor Charts
There is no right or wrong way to create anchor charts. Most importantly, it is produced by students and for students. There is also no one way to do it. However, there are some essential things educators must first consider when constructing a basic anchor chart:
Paper
It must be solid and light-colored to prevent students from being distracted from the chart’s content. The paper and font sizes also matter as they can affect the anchor chart’s readability. Educators must also consider leaving enough space for additional information over time.
Various Coloring Tools
Using coloring tools such as markers, crayons, and highlighters allows students to be creative with their designs. However, educators can also provide color-coding guidelines for specific content or goals during writing.
Sticky Notes
Sticky notes allow students to express their ownership of ideas, which helps them better remember the information.
Sentence Strips.
Using sentence strips is a good way to assist students in their conversations during the activity. It enables them to practice their vocabulary before writing them on the anchor chart.
Graphics and Images
Using graphics and images (e.g., digital art, preformatted charts, computer-generated lettering, etc.) in anchor charts supports student learning by illustrating the textual information.
Correction Tape or Fluid
Using these fix-up techniques when mistakes are made during construction allows educators to teach their students that mistakes are part of learning. Likewise, it allows students to improve their problem-solving skills by observing how significant authorities, like their teachers, make use of available resources to solve their problems.
Implementing Anchor Charts Into The Classroom
Having finished the basic format for an anchor chart, it can now be used in any subject area. However, for simplicity, anchor charts can be categorized based on their content:
Classroom Management and Procedures
This anchor chart aims to set up classroom rules and regulations at the start of the year. The class must reexamine these classroom rules and regulations, from time to time, with each lesson. All students can use and benefit from these charts, but this chart can be especially beneficial to students who require predictability and organization, such as those with autism, from unruly homes, foreign-born students, and students with persistent behavioral issues
Content and Examples
This anchor chart integrates, compares, and contrasts the most important information and examples of what is learned in a single lecture or throughout several lessons. It is usually used at the end of the lesson to facilitate students’ recall, understanding, and reasoning.
Steps and Strategies
This anchor chart presents procedures, such as playing instruments or using an object, step-by-step addition or subtraction, writing an effective letter, etc. It is constructed only after an understanding of the information has been established. Thus, it follows the content-and-examples anchor chart. This anchor chart is a useful scaffolding tool for students struggling to perform tasks independently.
Anchor Chart: Unique Perspective
Integrating and recalling all that has been learned can be a difficult task. Hence, educators must find ways to assist learners in remembering and understanding learned information. One way is through the use of anchor charts. These are visual tools that organize and summarize information about an important idea or process through the collaborative effort of the teacher and students. They are an engaging way to enhance creativity, communication, and cognition. Anchor charts also enable students to improve their reasoning and problem-solving skills, and allow for independent practice and cooperative learning. However, they can be costly and time-consuming for educators as they can only be used in a particular class. Furthermore, it can confuse some learners because of the overwhelming amount of text it can contain. Nevertheless, proper and effective construction of anchor charts can abate these shortcomings by choosing the right materials and identifying the purpose they are designed to accomplish.
References
Fontanez, K. I. (2017). Examining the impact of art-based anchor charts on academic achievement in language arts [Doctoral Dissertation, Walden University]. Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4625
Moses, E., & Lee, H. (2014). Imitate and innovate anchor charts. IRA E-ssentials. DOI: 10.1598/e-ssentials.8065
Why Anchor Charts Are Important and Used Frequently in the Curriculum. (n.d.). El Education. https://eleducation.org/curriculum/curriculum-design/why-are-anchor-charts-so-important-and-used-so-frequently-in-the-curriculum/