Reusable Anchor Charts for K-2 Readers

I have a few teacher-friends who hate their own handwriting and swear they can't even draw a stick-figure. 

(I'm not sure I totally believe the stick-figure part, but I get the point.)

So you can imagine their anxiety over the thought of creating anchor charts. And seriously ... don't we all have that one teammate whose charts are museum-worthy perfection? The kind of charts with superior artistry we envy and despise?

We just want them to make our charts too. Is that too much to ask? 

Here's the thing though ... maybe they're not completely perfect. Right? I've been in primary classrooms before where the anchor charts had so many words on them, they looked like mini-novels. Are those effective for emergent readers? 

I attended a workshop one time where the presenter said: "An effective anchor chart is a lot like a billboard on the highway. It has to communicate a lot of meaning with a small amount of text. Relatable graphics are key. The sign maker has about 5 seconds to grab your attention and memory."

I know Interstate traffic and a first grade classroom aren't completely the same, but (again) I get the point and I walked away that day with a commitment to reevaluate my own charts and start the conversation: 

• Are we constructing charts that will help our students function independently?

• Or are we making super wordy, fancy charts to impress our administrators and colleagues?

If you (1) like to draw, (2) have zero qualms about your own handwriting, and (3) have a gift for getting to the point, great! This blog post may not be for you.

However, if you're just starting out or you need a little help bringing some clarity to your chart-making, you might like these reusable, kid-friendly (and teacher-friendly) charts.  

There are 40 reading anchor charts in all and each comes with an instructional planning sheet, a suggested sample of the completed chart, and all the pieces needed to construct the charts. You'll most likely still be creating other anchor charts on your own, but this set provides K-2 teachers with a wide variety of standards-based lesson topics, including:

• the structure of reading workshop

• choosing just-right books

• decoding unknown words

• recognizing repetitive text patterns

• understanding the differences between fiction and nonfiction

• making predictions

• asking questions

• visualizing

• making inferences

• synthesizing information

• thinking about emotions

• retelling

• uncovering the main idea

• determining importance

• sharing and supporting opinions

• making meaningful connections

• providing text evidence to support ideas

• close reading

• nonfiction text features

• plot vs. theme

• cause and effect

• participating in higher-level literary discussions

• knowing how to stay engaged

• ... and more!

You can see more by clicking on the image below:  

I love hearing ideas from people, so if you have suggestions for other charts that could be included in a future updated set, please feel free to write to me.

Happy teaching! 

(And don't be mean to your Perfect-Poster-Peers. They can't help it.)