Anchors Away 6.16.14 Things to Think About

Once again I'm joining my sweet, bloggy friend Deb from Crafting Connections for her weekly anchor chart linky, Anchors Away.

Being away from school for summer break allows me time to reflect on my teaching. What can I improve? What did I do well?

I think one thing that I do very well is use a variety of tools and techniques to try and meet the needs of each of my students while still engaging the entire class. Creating and using anchor charts is one terrific way for accomplishing this!

But this brings me to something that I need to improve... keeping STUFF organized, especially anchor charts. We spend the time creating them in class and use them while we are studying a particular topic/concept, but then it's time to move on. I do not have the wall space that offers me the luxury of hanging the anchor charts on the wall for students to continually reference (isn't that the point of an anchor chart though?), so I roll it or fold it up and put it to the side for when we need to look at it again. Only I have so many that they all get jumbled together and I never can find what I want... SIGH!

I've spent quite some time this past week searching for a solution.

Pinterest to the rescue!

First up is this cute and clever idea from Frogs in First. These look adorable, but would take some time to do up. I would need to miniaturize each chart (by hand or snap a photo?), place them in protective covers, and  hang them with metal rings. Ideally I would like one on each table so that students would have the anchor charts at their fingertips. Of course, I could just have one and keep it in a centralized location in the room. Students would be able to go to the area, flip through to find the chart they need to reference, then return to their seat. Or they could simply bring the chart to the table and return it later. Things to think about!



Next are these wonderful dual-sided picture frames from IKEA. I already own several that I picked up on eBay last summer. I placed inspirational quotes or project directions in them and sprinkled them around the room on the student tables. Forever in First came up with the clever connection to anchor charts. The frames could hold two miniature anchor charts created by snapping a pic of the original chart, downloading into my computer, then printing it to fit the size of the frame. Students would have access to all of the charts that we would create. However, there might be some confusion as to on which table a mini-chart might be located. Things to think about!



These last three ideas derive from three different blogs. They are similar in concept but differ in style. All three require miniaturization and purchase of plastic, protector sleeves. Again the issue of number and placement in the room arises. Things to think about!





All of these ideas are SOOOOO clever and SOOOOO good! I'm not sure which I like the best. If you were making a decision regarding the BEST method for utilizing/storing your anchor charts which would you choose? Do you have an even BETTER way? Please leave your ideas below. I'd love to hear your advice and expertise.

Something else to think about is...

This week my throwback post will reintroduce Mystery Pictures and include a giveaway. Get your PURR-fect Previous Posts ready to share and join me here for Throwback Thursday.