October 27, 2017

Anchor Charts: Making Thinking Visible

Here's what Expeditionary Learning's framework tell us about anchor charts:

Purpose
 • Anchor charts build a culture of literacy in the classroom, as teachers and students make thinking visible by recording content, strategies, processes, cues, and guidelines during the learning process.
 • Posting anchor charts keeps relevant and current learning accessible to students to remind them of prior learning and to enable them to make connections as new learning happens.
 • Students refer to the charts and use them as tools as they answer questions, expand ideas, or contribute to discussions and problem-solving in class.


Building Anchor Charts
• Teachers model building anchor charts as they work with students to debrief strategies modeled in a mini-lesson.
 • Students add ideas to an anchor chart as they apply new learning, discover • interesting ideas, or develop useful strategies for problem-solving or skill application.
• Teachers and students add to anchor charts as they debrief student work time, recording important facts, useful strategies, steps in a process, or quality criteria.
• Students create anchor charts during small group and independent work to share with the rest of the class.


A Note on Quality
 • Anchor charts contain only the most relevant or important information so as not to confuse students.
 • Post only those charts that reflect current learning and avoid distracting clutter—hang charts on clothes lines or set-up in distinct places of the room; rotate charts that are displayed to reflect most useful content.
 • Charts should be neat and organized, with simple icons and graphics to enhance their usefulness (avoid distracting, irrelevant details and stray marks).
 • Organization should support ease of understanding and be accordingly varied based on purpose.
 • Charts are best in simple darker earth tones that are easily visible (dark blue, dark green, purple, black and brown—use lighter colors for accents only)

 And here's an excellent article from a teacher...

6 Things You Must Know about Anchor Charts

And here's what I have noticed:

For years when I have visited classrooms I primarily saw anchor charts for reading - charting out strategies for what to do when readers would get stuck on a word. And those were and are good!

I continue to see great reading anchor charts...

And look what else I'm seeing on walls that didn't use to be there...

And more...

I wonder if these anchor charts are also a visible sign of our evolution in our own understandings? They show that we understand the building blocks behind the content we teach. They are evidence to visitors that we value and teach 'thinking'.  Not everything lives on an anchor chart. We've also learned that we can flood our classrooms with anchor charts and end up with visual chaos, so some of those 'anchor charts' live within notebooks and student resources. 


 Strategy: a plan of action. Many of these anchor charts provide visual representations that students can use to be strategic thinkers. Some of them chart out what we have discovered so we can build on what we are learning.  They aren't purchased and then posted. Rather, we are all creating them with our students and then they have relevance to the learners. Gone are classrooms with teacher created 'pretty stuff' - and have been replaced by classrooms that are workshops where the 'workers' that live within those environments are active problem solvers surrounded by the tools they have created to assist them to do their work.

How cool is that?!

And... Billie was charting out with her students all the things they felt they had learned in Learning Expeditions prior to fifth grade. Take a look. Wow! If we were wondering if we were covering content....well....I'd say 'yes' and then some! You'll see responses all the way back to kindergarten! Woo hoo! This is extraordinary evidence that the inquiry process within a Learning Expedition 'sticks'. We do great things!

Calendar:

Oct. 30th - Nov. 3rd:
Monday:
* SAC meeting 4:00 p.m. (moved up)

Tuesday:
* No MTSS meeting
* Halloween Parade begin around 8:50ish (or before?!!)

Wednesday:
* The Beat 9:00
* Professional Development: EL Conference Attendees share with staff

Thursday:
* Kindie - Ms. Jen - hike 9 a.m - 1 pm (TBD)
* Deborah out in the am (admin mtg.)
* Parent Orientation for perspective parents 6:00 p.m.

Friday:
* Deborah out of the building
* Kindie hike - Ms. Kathy - hike 9 a.m -1 p.m. (TBD)

* 4:30 Staff Gathering at Maddie's

Nov. 6 -10th:
Student Led Conference week for some grade levels
Monday:
* Vision and hearing screening

Tuesday:
* No students in the building
* Day for conferences

Wednesday:
* Professional Development - Conferences
* Parent Orientation for perspective students 3:00 p.m.

Thanksgiving Lunch

We will be having our traditional Thanksgiving lunch here at school November 21st - the Tuesday before we leave for Thanksgiving break. We won't be changing the lunch times or changing the schedule. More about that as we get closer. In the meantime - wondering if we have any classes who might want to make some things to set out on the tables or the walls/windows? Nothing too big or fancy - just spruce it up a bit? If not, that's okay too!

Inspired Innovation - Goal Setting

Just a reminder to teachers that if you haven't already gone into Inspired Innovation and created your professional goal. Please do that just as soon as you can! Thanks!

Have a great weekend!

Deborah