If you walk into an elementary classroom, you’re guaranteed to see visual charts displayed around the room. The purpose of anchor charts is to remind students of specific skills they’ve learned. Some teachers create these beautiful anchor charts that students never refer back to after the initial lesson. So what is the benefit of that? It comes down to identifying the main purpose of anchor charts and posters within the classroom. Keep reading to find out the difference between the two and the ultimate purpose of anchor charts and posters for reading instruction.
What Are Posters?
The purpose of a poster is to present information in a visually appealing manner. Posters are typically created by a teacher prior to the lesson and referred to during instruction. Students do not interact with posters, they simply view them.
How Can We Use Posters?
Even though posters are primarily just used as a visual display, there are many valuable ways we can use them within the classroom.
- Posters are a great way to present new information in a clear and visually appealing manner. They use student-friendly language and images to explain a concept. Teachers can refer to the posters during mini-lessons when teaching the new skill. (Find a fun way I display posters in my Strategy Spotlight!)
- Students can add printed copies of posters to their Readers Notebooks. They can refer back to these visual reminders as they practice the reading strategies.
- Teachers can keep a display of previously introduced posters at their small group table as a reference. Since posters take up a lot of space, print them as 5×7 pictures and add them to this easy chart display.
What are Anchor Charts?
The purpose of anchor charts is to present information in an interactive manner. Anchor charts are co-constructed with students. They can be used to share information or practice skills in an interactive format. Since students are actively engaged with anchor charts, they tend to refer to these more often than posters.
What’s the Purpose of Anchor Charts?
- Teachers can use anchor charts to introduce a new skill. Co-construct it with the students during the lesson instead of already having it prepared. You can have the title and basic outline completed prior to the lesson but fill in the specific details with the students.
- Teacher Tip – To save paper, you can display an anchor chart on your SmartBoard. Use the board or sticky notes to complete the chart during your lesson. You’ll want to take a picture or find another way to save the completed chart though as it serves as a powerful reference tool for students.
- Laminate a basic outline of the anchor chart to be reused for additional practice during whole group or small group lessons. You can fill in the anchor chart with students using sticky notes or dry-erase markers. This saves you time from having to make a brand new chart every time you want to practice a skill!
- Teacher Tip – For small group lessons, print the anchor chart on a piece of 8.5×11 paper. Laminate it or put it in a sheet protector for reuse. Read my easy way to store graphic organizers for small groups.
- Students can use the outline of an anchor as a graphic organizer. They can practice the reading skill independently or with a buddy.
Where to Find Anchor Charts?
So you know the purpose of anchor charts, but where can you find them? A simple Google search for an anchor chart about a specific concept will give you hundreds of results! You can display these on your board with poster paper on top to trace the charts. Some textbook companies such as Benchmark Literacy or HMH Into Reading provide anchor charts to supplement their lessons.
Another option is to find premade anchor charts and posters on TeachersPayTeachers. Above you’ll see the ones that I’ve created to teach over 25 reading skills! Save yourself some valuable time with ones that are already made for you!
How do you use posters and/or anchor charts in your classroom? Any tips for creating or storing these resources? Please share your ideas and suggestions in the comments!
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Melissa
I am a K-5 Literacy Coach who is passionate about creating engaging literacy activities that build students’ confidence as readers. With over 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, my goal is to support you by sharing methods I’ve seen successfully implemented in classrooms like yours. I’m excited to share resources and tips to help you plan simple but effective literacy instruction.
