Ideas for Decorating With Anchor Charts

Today I'm excited to share ways to use anchor charts to decorate your classroom. So many of us have limited budgets, time and wall space. Creating your classroom environment with your students will lessen stress! More importantly, it will provide engaging and meaningful content to your classroom setting. The students will have ownership and refer back to the charts. I have seen my students look back to the wall where a chart once hung, as they worked on a classroom skill. As you head back to school, use these tips to reduce the stress of classroom decorating.

1. Only Decorate the Background and Border of your Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards are precious real estate. Use them to your advantage to immerse your students in learning. I love the clean look of this board, prepped and ready for students. (NOTE: All images are clickable and will direct you to the original post/site.)

Credit: Life in First Grade 

Ideas for Bulletin Board Materials:

Ideas for backgrounds:

• school furnished bulletin board paper on large rolls.
• gift wrap
• interior or exterior house paint
• newspaper comics
• fabric (so many bright colors in solids and prints. Fabrics are a bit more expensive but they last.  They are also a great way to bring cohesion to your classroom if you use the same fabric or shades of color for curtains, etc.)
• felt (I purchased felt fabric because it was on sale in the solid color I wanted.  It is wonderful.  Holds up well and you can use velcro, tacks, or staples to attach to it.)

Ideas for borders: 

• ribbon
• netting
• burlap
• premade borders

Premade borders are available online and in stores.  Here are some ideas with clickable links to the stores.

Superhero themed classroom

Lemon and gray double sided border

Marquee

Jigsaw: Perfect for cooperation, unity, and diversity

If you are interested in overlapping/layering your borders, check out this video by Kinder Craze for tips.

Add a Banner:

How cute is this banner by Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten!  You can grab her polka dot banners for "welcome, read, write, and word wall" free in her Teacher's Pay Teachers Store! (Click HERE)

2. Tips for Keeping Anchor Charts Evergreen and Decorative

I love this pin from the Pinspired Teacher.  She has some terrific anchor chart tips on her blog.

Add longevity:

• Laminate a bare bones copy of your anchor chart (minus the interactive element you do with the students.) Next year erase and reuse the same chart.
• Use post-it notes to add details and interactive pieces.
• Take photos, reduce the size, and use in interactive notebooks.
• Take photos and place them in a binder for easy reference for you and your current students.

Credit:The Pinspired Teacher

Credit: Upper Elementary Snapshots

For an easy to follow tutorial on converting anchor charts to worksheets visit Upper Grades Are Awesome.

Add Decoration:

• Cut out clipart or photos to preassemble the framework of your anchor chart.
• Use fun fonts or word art to create headers or bullets for your anchor charts.
• Let students illustrate anchor charts.
• Purchase premade anchor chart accessories on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Use the search term "anchor charts." You will find premade anchor charts and accessories such as this literacy set by The Applicious Teacher.

Great tutorial for using word art:

3. Tips for Hanging and Storing Anchor Charts

You might have purchased or made a chart stand out of PVC pipe.  If you don't have one, just grab this tip from Fun With Firsties!  All you need is a set of command hooks, binder rings, and a tension rod.

Label and store your charts for easy access with this idea from Teaching With a Mountain View.

Well, I hope this helps take off some of the stress as you ready your classroom during back to school planning.  Letting the students build the decor through meaningful learning, will not only save you time at the beginning of the year, but will pay off in dividends for your students!

Best wishes for your new school year!

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Reading and Responding to Text Through Talk

Are you looking for ways to actively engage your students and build their reading comprehension? Facilitating and encouraging discussions about text is a sure fire solution.

Research proves that kids are more engaged and learn from each other when they are encouraged to discuss text they are reading. I know it is often hard to let go of the reins, but students of all ages are capable of discussing ideas and concepts contained in text. 

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Keeping Students Engaged in the Text

At about this time of year, my students got bored.  Bored of the same old, same old.  Tired of the questions. This was always about the right time to toss some novelty in the classroom!

Are you looking for some novel ideas to keep kids engaged while reading?

In first through third grades, students are asked to ask and answer questions in a text.  Of course, the difficulty of the task depends on the grade level, but the core idea is the same. This is something we worked on all year long.  We started by creating an anchor chart with possible words that could start a question.  In years past, I have also created more explicit question stems, it just depended on the class. This anchor chart was up all year and was a great reference and foundation for students.

To keep kids engaged in the text, we tracked questions we created.  Then we checked off if the question was answered in the text.  I also wrote the student's name next to the question to help give ownership of the question.  The kids loved seeing their names on anchor charts!

Another way to keep students engaged in the text is to talk about predictions.  Most students are familiar with predictions.  However, they make them before they read the text and that is that.

You can actually do a lot with predictions to help support metacognition.

I always looked at predictions like questions. We made them before reading, and reflected on them during and after reading.  We would adjust our predictions in the middle of the text and check to see if our original predictions from the beginning of the text were correct.   At the end of the text, we reflected on our previous predictions and then wondered, "What next?"

It really helped keep kids engaged throughout the entire text.

Another novel idea for informational text is a Fact, Question, Response chart.  I used this as a loose organizer for student thinking while reading.  

We were able to write down interesting and IMPORTANT facts while reading the text.  These are great, because later you can reflect on the facts and determine if any of the facts are key details. 

The question column is similar to most questioning activities.  We checked off any of the questions we found answers to.  

The response area is very powerful.  It is a great place to make inferences and  defend thinking with evidence from the text.

You may notice that some of the sentences are highlighted.  After we completed the chart, we highlighted any of the important ideas we wanted to include in a summary of the text (Thank You, Sarah Hale).  Students were surprised that we had collected so many of the important ideas during our thinking!

Looking for more novel ideas while reading? Make sure to check out the Classroom Tested Resources pinterest board.

Follow Classroom Tested Resources's board CTR Reading on Pinterest.

How do you keep kids engaged in the text while reading?  Any other novel ideas?

 If you would like more ideas, be sure to follow Classroom Tested Resources on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the freebies and ideas and more!

PIN for LATER:

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Schema Maps... a great alternative to KWL charts!

Hey everyone! Beth from Adventures of a Schoolmarm here. I hope you are enjoying your first week back in school. Show of hands... Who needed a NAP after work on Monday?!

Activating SCHEMA, or prior knowledge, is such a crucial part of helping students understand what they are reading about any topic. I have used KWL Charts many times to help my students record their thinking and learning about a new topic. But I've always had one issue with them...

What do you do when the kids think they KNOW something, but you happen to know it's totally wrong?!

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Teacher Tips for Teaching Place Value

Hi there! I'm Tonja Irvine from Smart Puppy Learning and Ta-Doodles Illustrations.  Today I want to talk Place Value and tips to help you teach it.

Over the past few years I feel like I am FINALLY getting a grasp on teaching Place Value.  Sure, I've been teaching it, but I've just felt like my students and I couldn't get in a groove with it between learning procedures and all of the beginning of the year stuff and figuring out our Interactive Notebooks.  It just seemed by the time I really got into Place Value it was time to move on and my kids didn't seem to be ready for us to go forward.  I'm here to give you some tips if you are or were in that same situation.

Here are the things I've learned that have really helped me in teaching the concepts and getting students to understand what they are doing.

You cannot rush students through understanding the places.  You have to help them to learn the values of each place.  I use chants, songs, anchor charts...anything I can find or make to help this happen.  My students learn to chant the place value as they point to them and we practice reading numbers.

Here is the anchor chart I use with the students.  We make it together on the pre-created Anchor Chart Parts Poster and then students glue their copy in their Interactive Notebook so they have it for a reference later.

For every number we make we read it out loud before deciding the value of a digit in the beginning. This has helped them tremendously.

I provide students various chances to explore.  Of course we start with Base 10  blocks first and we practice making numbers.  I then move to the paper version of Base 10 as well as Standard form.  From there we begin pulling apart numbers and putting the Expanded form with the Written form and Standard form.

One of my favorite activities to do with Base 10 blocks is to have students race to create numbers with the base then blocks.  For instance, give each group Base 10 blocks.  Then write a number on the board, have them make the number with Base 10s.  The first group to assemble and get their heads down gets a point.  We do this until time is up.  I have also reversed it and I have shown students the blocks and then had them write the numbers on a dry erase board.  First group with the correct answer as a whole group wins.

As I move past the Base 10 I begin having students complete sorts. One of my favorite activities to do is to have them sort the different forms of making the word.  This gives them the tactile practice of organizing what they see.  (Tip: Don't have them glue down until you've checked.)

 You can find the Place Value Sort here.

Don't forget to provide tons of practice in a variety of ways.  Place Value is one of those skills that it really can take a child all year to get.  The more ways you show them, the better chance they have of getting it. I teach students to place games and do activities that are part of their spiral review.  Centers are your best friend in this instance because you can move on to other concepts, but still insert that practice in your center time to review the skills and keep them fresh.

Just a few more ways we practice in my classroom...

The dice shaker is one of my kids favorites!  Get a week long pill container.  Put dice in as many compartments as you need.  (Tape the back so they don't fly out when they shake it).  Students shake it and read the numbers or write the form you tell them to put it in on white boards with partners.  I will have some other fun games featured with the shakers later on my personal blog.

The pill boxes can be found at Dollar Tree so it makes for an inexpensive game.

Another way we practice is with a Pocket Chart Sort that works the same as the place value sort that the students do on paper.

Students sort the cards and place them under the correct form of the number and they have to have the corresponding answers go across to match the number as well.  You can learn more about this center or get it here.

Finally, one of my third favorite centers to use with them is a Clip It game.  I use these centers all the time and I will be adding more soon as a way for students to practice. It is a great way for them to practice concepts using a familiar activity that they already know the routine for.  Clip Its use paper clips to choose the correct answer.

Here are two of my students playing a version in class...

Students have the cards in a pile (these two aren't the most organized of my students, lol).  As you can see on the left the paperclip starts on the top of the card.  Students read the question and then slide the paper clip to the correct answer (as seen on the right). The students both answer a question simultaneously, then switch and check each others work.  I also sometimes give my students Sentence stems to question each other over their answers depending on the concept.

As I said I have these for my students for varying topics, but with the same rules so that they know the procedures.  Here are two sets of Clip Its that go with Place Value. Click on each image for more information.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you found some useful tips and tricks for teaching Place Value!

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Summer Classroom Setup

Summer is time for all of us hardworking teachers to relax, but if you are like most of us, you will continue to think about and plan for the coming year. I am in the process of converting over to a new computer, so relaxation definitely has not come to my house yet!

However, I did take a break this past weekend to visit Lowe's with my husband. Pretty exciting, huh! Anyway during our trip down the hardware aisles I found something that is truly wonderful, and I want to share it with you today.

(Secret confession. I struggle with making anchor charts work in my classroom. I know how valuable they are, but I just don't have wall space. So my chart paper usually gets ripped off and taped up with ugly tape like above, stuck up with sticky tack, or simply leaned up against the board.)

I just happened to find these wonderful, wonderful magnets that are going to help my students get the visuals they need next year!

The magnets are backed with a protective coating, however removing it increased their magnetic grip on my whiteboards.

As you can see, it only takes 2 of these gems to hold a large pad of chart paper!

Now I won't need to tear my chart pages off unless I want to.

The magnets are strong, but can be moved with ease. I grabbed clip magnets to use for single anchor charts, notes, or other visuals.  Now I need to find the best way to store anchor charts.  I would love any ideas you might have!

I will leave you with one extra tip I used last year. Several of my students needed numerous bookmarks. Some of these same students lost their bookmarks frequently. As I trimmed laminated card stock from games and task cards, I simply placed the sturdy strips in a cute bucket. Instant durable bookmarks!

Enjoy your summer vacation and try to relax!

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Planning for Project Based Learning

Hello, everyone! I am Susan from First Grade Friendly Froggies. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing group of bloggers!  I'm learning so much and getting so many wonderful ideas for my classroom.  I hope you are, too!  

I want to share how I plan projects for and with my students!  Our school's charter emphasizes hands on learning with two different pedogogical methods: Project Based Learning and Integrated Thematic Instruction.  Project Based Learning (PBL) is the buzz word (or phrase) in education these days, but what is it?  It's so many different things depending on where you look!  If you are interested in learning about PBL, I encourage you to check it out here: The Buck Institute!  Integrated Thematic Instruction or ITI emphasizes the integration of all subject areas into units of study.  You can read about it here....there is so much more to it!  The key to planning great units is collaboration!  I am so fortunate to work with a team of first grade teachers that supports each other and at a school where collaboration is encouraged and supported.  Every Tuesday afternoon is reserved for collaboration with grade level teams!  This time is essential for quality planning.  Every year each project seems to get better and it can only happen with our whole team's input!

I find that once we get started on a project,  the project almost runs itself...with the help of the students! 

The Froggy Express Post Office

I'm using my current project, our school post office project, as an example for this post!  Every year, our First Graders run the Froggy Express Post Office for our school!  All of the students look forward to it!

Our first grade team met recently and mapped out the dates for the project.  This includes the launch date, announcements to the classrooms, mailbox arrival, first pick up, first delivery, last pick up and last delivery!  We then drafted a letter to the teachers giving the dates and details for the project.  

Once the overall project timeline is established, we break it down to when and how we will introduce the details to our little postal workers.    To plan for the kick off of this project, we first discuss the mission...why do the post office?  With the involvementWe develop a "mission statement" for our post office:  

To provide a fun way to write letters to our friends on campus and to deliver the mail in a timely manner!

Like any great project or unit, I look for several great books to introduce the theme or topic.  I seem to add more books each year!  :) This year I added these books to my collection with the focus on letter writing.  Reading quality literature that engages the students is a perfect way to launch a project! Here are a few titles that are perfect for this project!

This year, after reading Letters from a Desperate Dog, we then talked about the parts of the letter!  

This serves as an anchor chart for students' reference.

This led nicely into writing our own letters!  We start off writing to our first grade friends in the other classes.  (This also ensures that each child will receive a letter on the first delivery day!) :) The students use the sample above to plan their letters.  They make sure they include all of the necesary parts of the letter.  You can grab an assortment of stationery by clicking the picture below! 

This is also that time of year when handwriting seems to slip!  Does that happen in your classroom, too?  Writing letters is the perfect way to encourage students to use their best penmanship!  This is also a great opportunity to review asking and telling sentences and conventions!  Before they can reach for an envelope, they have to show me the letter and I look for penmanship, punctuation, and capitals!

                                   

Next, it's time to learn how to properly address an envelope!  We had to come up with addresses for each classroom and displayed this an anchor chart, as well!  The students helped develop appropriate addresses for the classrooms.

Our amazing art teacher integrated a lesson into our unit this year!  She prepared a presentation for the kids about how postage stamps are designed!  Then after looking at lots of  images,  each  student had the opportunity to design their own beautiful postage stamp!  I took their artwork and shrunk them down, color copied them and now they have those to cut and glue onto their envelopes! This was a great addition to our unit this year!

                                   

Postal Jobs
Then we get to learn our jobs!  Yay! We learn four jobs for the post office.  Nixie Clerk, Facer, Sorter/Bundler and Mail Carrier.  This is when the excitement really begins!

Our little "Nixie Clerks"  have to check for return address, delivery address, and stamps!  Once this is done they get to "cancel" the stamps with rubber stamps, and stamp the envelope "return to sender" or "postage due" if necessary!

                                      

The next job is that of the "facer".  The "facers" get to highlight the routes and sort by color.  Then all of the envelopes are "faced" in the same direction!  This makes it much easier for the next group, "the sorters", to sort the mail by room number!

 Ok, hold on to your envelopes, because the next job is the most coveted! Mail Carrier!  Woohoo!  After the mail has been sorted and bundled,  the mail carriers deliver the mail to the individual classrooms on their route!

Don't turn me into the USPS!  These cool mail tubs were donated along with the official shirts!  How cool is that?  

Being there experiences, study trips, are so important to every project!  Soon we will take this project on the road and take a field trip to the post office to mail some letters in the US mail!  First we will write a letter to the President!  Did you know that your students can write letters to the President of the United States?  Check out this page on Enchanted Learning which has some information for your students.   Next,  we will also write letters to our favorite Disney Characters!  To prepare for these two activities, I asked for each student to provide two stamped envelopes with their return address on the envelopes.  What  a great way to give your students an authentic audience!

So that is a brief, whirlwind look at how I plan for PBL.  I hope you'll check out my blog, First Grade Friendly Froggies and see what fun projects we're learning about!

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