Anchor Charts: 8 Tips to Maximize Effectiveness

So what’s the deal with anchor charts?  How is a simple poster on the wall supposed to help my students retain valuable information?  How is it not considered cheating?  It sure seems like a big waste of time creating all of those charts and I have more important things to do!  These were all thoughts that were running through my head as I participated in a training on anchor charts nearly 8 years ago.  To be completely honest with you I was a bit skeptical at first.  In this article I’d like to tell you how my attitude has changed as well as give you 8 simple tips to effectively use anchor charts in your own classroom.

Ok, fast forward with me to this moment in time.  Eight years have passed since that training and my mindset has completely changed thanks largely in part to my wife.  She uses anchor charts in her Science classroom on a daily basis (Anchor Chart and Motivational Posters File).  She is pretty much a “professional anchor chart-ist.”  Seriously though, she has an anchor chart for every single major concept she teaches or reviews during 8th grade (Texas TEKS standards).  Year after year her students continue to “raise the bar” and outperform their own personal goals they set.  The data doesn’t lie.  So how does she utilize anchor charts with her classes?  The following is a list of 8 tips or uses to help maximize the effectiveness of anchor charts:

1.  Allow your students to create their own anchor charts for a specific concept.  Allowing your students to create anchor charts makes it personal and they can take ownership in learning.  Instead of a “sit and get” mentality, the students are an active participant in the learning process.  An interactive notebook or journal is a perfect place for students to sketch their charts.  I would definitely suggest having several students share their charts with the class and explain what is being represented.  This helps students that may struggle develop ideas that they could use.

2.  Use as a preview for upcoming units and concepts.  Go ahead and post the next unit’s anchor charts on the wall along with your current charts.  This will provoke tons of curiosity from your students.  My students love trying to figure out what the new charts represent or what we will be learning next.  It’s great when you see that “light bulb” or “a-ha” moment.  I usually post my current charts at the front of the room and future charts to one of the sides.  Give it a try!

3.  Post your anchor charts in chronological order and keep them up!  My wife uses the perimeter of the room for all of her charts.  She has a special area in the room that is dedicated to anchor charts that relate to current classroom material.  As students learn new information, she adds an anchor chart to the wall next to an older concept.  She continues this process until she has made it all the way around the four walls of her room.  Currently, as of March, she is almost finished with the third wall.  The students love seeing all of the concepts they have learned since the beginning of the year.  It amazes them!  It’s also a great way to refresh their memory of certain key topics and prove that they HAVE learned them.  It completely shuts down this comment, “We never learned that this year.”  All you have to do is go to the wall and point!  Such great discussions occur when you keep all of your anchor charts posted throughout the year.

4.  Allow your visual learners to “stare off into space” occasionally.  Within reason of course!  Sometimes students (especially those middle schoolers) need a moment or two to reflect on what they have learned.  I personally love it when I walk around the room to assist and I have a student say, “Sorry Mr. P., I was just looking at the anchor charts on the wall.”  They feel like they are off task and need to apologize, but that’s not it at all!  They are reviewing and reflecting on important information.  I just simply reply, “That’s great!  Which chart are you looking at?” or “Awesome!  What does that chart represent or mean to you?”  It’s so beneficial to have these conversations with your students and to encourage them to take a minute to reflect.

5.  Compartmentalize concepts within a notebook or journal.  At the start or conclusion of each unit take time for your students to draw new anchor charts in their notebooks.  Then, FORCE or firmly encourage 🙂 students to refer back to the charts as the year progresses.  Writing the anchor charts into a notebook loses its effectiveness if the students, or teacher, rarely look at or discuss the information again.  These anchor charts need to be out in plain sight daily.  When my students ask a question about a key concept we have covered they know the first words out of my mouth are going to be, “Where’s your anchor chart?”  This goes back to the students taking ownership.  I want to stress the importance of their notebook.  Then, I am willing to assist in any way I can.

6.  Daily recap activity.  This is my personal favorite.  Do this whenever you have 3-5 minutes of extra time at the end of class.  Choose a volunteer to be the leader of this activity.  Start with the oldest anchor chart and work around the room to the most recent one (or the opposite way – it’s totally your preference).  The student leader will point to the first anchor chart and the class will respond together with the concept represented.  For example, let’s imagine the first concept is Plate Boundaries.  The students would say in unison, “Plate Boundaries!  Convergent, divergent, transform!”  This takes practice and modeling by the teacher before it becomes natural to the students.  It’s so absolutely amazing when a student can lead the activity and the class goes all the way around every anchor chart in the room.  It’s the best comprehensive review and it literally takes 3-5 minutes.  You’ll love it!

7.  Use as a restroom/water/locker pass.  Of course I would never deny a student permission to use the restroom.  This technique can be taught at the beginning of the year and students will follow this procedure on their own (in non-emergency situations).  Here’s how it works.  When a student needs to use the restroom, get a drink of water, or go to their locker I require them to pick out an anchor chart and tell me what it means.  This takes 15-20 seconds.  The students know, in non-emergency situations, they are going to have to give me a little bit of science knowledge before they can leave the room.  You can allow the student to choose their own anchor chart from the wall or you can choose one.  That’s totally up to you.  I have students that love this idea and others that say, “I don’t really need water that badly.  I’ll just go back to my seat.”  Haha.  I don’t allow that though.  No giving up!  I generally pick out a current anchor chart and walk them through it.  I want to encourage them and not break them down.  They appreciate the help…and then they go get their sip of water.  🙂

8.  Exit Ticket Activity.  This activity is extremely versatile.  Here’s two ways I use exit tickets with anchor charts.  First, at the conclusion of a concept I have my students take a scrap of paper and create an anchor chart that relates to the concept learned in class that day.  They draw a simple picture and write a short description.  You’d be surprised with what your students will come up with.  There have been many student anchor charts that I have made into classroom charts that are displayed throughout the year.  Second, pick out an anchor chart (or allow students to choose one).  The students write everything they know about the concept displayed on the anchor chart chosen.  I then sort the exit tickets into 3 color groups – green, yellow, and red.  Green means the student totally understands the concept, yellow is for students that are almost there, and red is for students that missed the concept completely.  The next day I take a few minutes to review the anchor chart that was chosen and lead a short class discussion to clear up any misconceptions or confusion.

As you can see, there are numerous ways to utilize anchor charts with your students.  By no means do you have to use all of these strategies to maximize the effectiveness of anchor charts.  Pick and choose what works best for you and your students.  Don’t overwhelm yourself.

If you are on the fence like I used to be, I hope that this helped to give you that little extra push.  The best part is that anchor charts are not just limited to science.  They can be used with all ages and subject areas.  I wouldn’t write about or use something I haven’t personally tried in my own classroom.  Take it from my wife and I, your classroom can become even more engaging and powerful than it already is!

Take care,

Scott and Natalie

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Hello everyone! We are Scott and Natalie of The Science Duo. We have 21 years of combined experience in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Science. Natalie has a BS in Geology from Stephen F. Austin University and Scott has a BS in Biology from Southern Nazarene University. You could say that we are pretty big science nerds. We now focus full time on creating interactive and engaging resources for middle school classrooms.

We strive to display our passion of science through highly engaging and differentiated lessons. We feel it is important to get students up and moving and actively participating every day. Most important of all, school should be a safe environment in which all students are respected and appreciated.

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