baby literary essay anchor chart

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Friday, October 24, 2014

Baby literary essay.

• First, students read the text. (start off with short texts such as short stories, picture books, or excerpts from longer texts)
• Reread to interpret the text 
• Fast Drafting
• Whose story is being told?
• What kind of a person is the character? What traits could I use to describe the character?
• What does the character want at this point?
• What are some of the emotions and feelings the character has during this part?
• What gets in the way of the character getting what he wants?
• Have the character's feelings and emotions changed? How and why are they changing?
• Are there any problems or issues starting to arise?
• What is the message the author wants us to notice?
• Is there a life lesson being taught?

Below is an example of how the unit might go: 

Writing Workshop: Everything You Need To Know To Create an Anchor Chart

1. writing workshop: anchor charts 101, 2. everything you need to know to create an anchor chart for writing workshop, 3. writing workshop: everything you need to know to create an anchor chart.

“I don’t have room for all these anchor charts in my classroom.”

Does this sound familiar?

I often found myself repeating this over and over again as a classroom teacher. And then, I’d wonder:

             What kind of anchor chart should I make?              How can I elevate the level of my anchor charts?             How long should I keep an anchor chart up?

Keep reading for the answers if you’ve ever asked yourself these questions.

Anchor charts are an essential tool used to support instruction.

As you teach, you use your anchor charts to capture strategies that students can refer back to during mini-lessons , small groups, and independent writing time . Anchor charts also help build a culture of literacy by making the thinking visible as well as supporting all different learners within your classroom (i.e., visual, auditory, ELLs).

Anchor charts are typically created in real-time with students during a mini-lesson. They can display both student and teacher thinking by including teacher and student writing samples.

Then, you can display them on the wall for students to refer back to. Make sure to update them throughout the school year. Read more below about the many different anchor charts you can create to enhance your teaching and student learning.

Types of Anchor Charts

1. Procedural Anchor Charts

Use procedural anchor charts to highlight routines and systems within your Writing Workshop block. You’ll likely introduce these charts at the beginning of the school year when launching the workshop. You can create a chart for each new routine or system you want to teach or revisit old ones that need extra practice throughout the school year. You can use the anchor chart in the image for primary grades (K-2) to establish a Writing Workshop set-up routine.

2. Writing Behaviors Charts

Writing behavior anchor charts highlight behaviors we want our writers to build into habits. As your writers become more sophisticated throughout the school year, you want to make sure that your behavior charts match the level of your writers. You can use the anchor chart below to help establish stamina. Students can visibly see their goal as well as their progress as they work on building their stamina.

EXPERT TIP: Once your students build a writing habit, you can retire the anchor chart.

3. Individual Strategy Charts

Individual strategy charts focus on a single writing strategy. They aim to break down the strategy into clear, bite-sized steps that you’ll model during the teach section of a mini-lesson. Each unit of study cycles through the writing process (generating, choosing/developing, planning, drafting, editing, revising/elaborating).

Along the way, you introduce your writers to different strategies within each part of the writing process. The right anchor chart focuses on the writing process’s generating portion. It introduces a single strategy students can use when generating ideas for a true story. While you teach using your anchor chart, it’s key that the words you use match what’s on the anchor chart. Example: Saying true stories on your chart but using the term ‘small moments’ while you demonstrate.

4. Menu of Strategies Charts

If you’re introducing several additional strategies within that same part of the writing process, you can build a menu of strategies anchor chart. Unlike a zoomed-in strategy chart, a menu of strategies chart has several methods to select from. These charts give students the power to make their own decisions as to which one they want to use in their writing. The anchor chart to the left has five different strategies that

students can choose from when generating ideas for a personal narrative.

EXPERT TIP: Once you’ve introduced a strategy to add to the menu chart, you can retire the individual strategy chart.

5. Process Charts

Process charts are an excellent way to set your students up for independence by supporting them in understanding where to go next in their writing. These types of charts highlight a certain part of the writing process within a genre and can be displayed throughout a unit of study.

EXPERT TIP: Make small samples of anchor charts for students to keep in their writing folders.

6. Characteristics of the Genre Charts

Genre charts highlight characteristics of a genre, such as topics, text features, structure, tone, and author’s purpose. You can make these charts during the immersion week when highlighting craft moves and techniques of a specific genre. The anchor chart to the right highlights the characteristics of narrative writing.

7. Exemplar Piece Charts

This chart is a key lever during immersion week. You can also create it with your writer’s input. It highlights the characteristics of a strong writing piece. The chart is a living, breathing document which students can revise as they learn more about the genre and develop their level of sophistication. The anchor chart below highlights certain characteristics of an informational writing piece, such as catchy subtitles, pictures, and captions.

EXPERT TIP: While students are editing and revising, it can be helpful to reintroduce this chart and remind them what they can approximate from other writers!

8. Checklists Charts

Editing checklist charts help students monitor their progress during the revision and editing process. Make copies so students can refer back to them in their folders. Often, students will be in different stages of the writing process, so it’s helpful to have something to reference. These charts can be revised as students learn more throughout the unit and learn more sophisticated skills.

Expert Tips for Effective Anchor Charts

There are many different ways to improve your anchor charts. Below are three ways you can elevate your anchor charts.

1. Add visuals: One way to raise the level of your charts and support your learners is to add visuals. This is essential for our primary readers and writers to be more independent when using charts. These visuals ideally match your teacher demonstration piece. For example, if you are writing about using a big feeling, such as being excited to generate small moments you can write about, include a visual of those feelings on the anchor chart. You can also include drawings, print out clipart, or add photographs of your student doing the steps or process.

2. Include examples from mentor texts: You can include examples from mentor texts that have already been introduced and read to your class. These examples can be photocopied and placed directly on the chart.

3. Include writing samples demonstrating the writing strategy: Writing samples can be either teacher or student created. These can be used on anchor charts to show a model example of the strategy.

Anchor Chart Maintenance

Anchor charts are most helpful when students see and use them! Make sure you have a designated place in your room to display your workshop charts. It’s useful when all writing charts are together in one area. When using anchor charts during Writing Workshop, make sure to display them in a clutter-free space in your gathering area.

Once you have introduced your chart during your mini-lesson, you should be referencing it consistently throughout and every time you state the teaching point. Following your mini-lesson, keep the anchor chart visible for all students to reference as they work independently. This also allows you to reference the charts while conferring, in small groups, and during partnership work. You can also refer to the chart at the end of the workshop during the teaching share.

Decide if you’ll display or retire the chart by surveying your writers. If you retire a chart and you have the space, keep it. If not, take a picture of it. If you continue to display the chart, place it in a clutter-free, prominent spot designated for workshop charts. You can create smaller versions for students to put in their folders or keep them at the writing center.

EXPERT TIP: A great way to know when to retire a chart is to survey your students and ask, “who uses this chart?” If a small number of students use the chart, you can make smaller individualized copies for those students and take down the original.

Whether you’re just getting started with creating anchor charts or have been doing them for a while, hopefully, some of these ideas might be helpful for you as you think about which type of anchor charts you can make, how to elevate your anchor charts, and how long you should keep an anchor chart up.

Keep exploring with these articles:

• Setting Up a Writing Center: 8 Basics
• The Writing Process for Primary Grades
• Supporting English Language Learners in Writing Workshop

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Dianna Radcliff

Teaching Upper Elementary & more

The Best Anchor Charts

February 6, 2018 by Dianna Radcliff

The Best Anchor Charts for your ELA classroom all together in one place! You will find outlines to utilize in Reading Literature, Reading Informational, Writing and Language. 

Explained in this blog post is about the purpose of utilizing anchor charts in your daily instruction. Along with tips to organize your charts.

Below is a collection of anchor charts that have been used during instruction in my classroom. The goal of putting this blog post together is to help fellow educators.

The Purpose of Anchor Charts:

To being, anchor charts are a non-negotiable addition for my instruction. These visuals are looked at as a learning tool for my students and myself, ultimately becoming an instructional and learning strategy. Also, charts are a tool that not only supports the instructional goals of a lesson, but support students’ ongoing learning of the lesson.

These outlines are created to capture the content delivered in instruction. Along with building upon strategies and previous standards taught.

Finally, visuals created in lessons need to be accessible to students throughout the school year. They also help to create a visual imprint for students to refer back to when needed.

Anchor Chart Organization Tips:

• Labels – In the top of each anchor chart, label them by standards, category, skill, strategy, etc… This allows students an additional reference point.

• Always make ACADEMIC LANGUAGE stand out to help immerse students in the formal language. For example, use bold letters, capital letters, red markers, underline… Doing so allows you to slip in ACADEMIC LANGUAGE  instruction which benefits students on future assessments. 
• Anchor charts are meant to anchor a lesson, therefore to save time you can always create the outline, but leave open spaces to complete with students during lesson.

• Create images and sections in your anchor chart to organize information. 

Anchor Chart Examples:

Here are the anchor charts I have created in my 5th Grade ELA Classroom:

(Side Note: I use my own ideas, my students ideas and online ideas for these charts. Credit to all the fabulous teachers who have posted images of classroom visuals online, there are so many fabulous teacher-authors to give credit to, along with the shared ideas within my school buildings. Thank you for helping me instructionally and my students.)

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Baby Literature Anchor Chart

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Description

This anchor chart can be used to guide your baby literature unit. There are 15 slides that you can print on color paper or in color and use! There are also mini anchor charts for your students.

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Baby Literary Essay Graphic Organizer

Grammar / Vocabulary

5th-8th grade anchor charts.

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I’ve said this before on my blog, but it is most definitely worth saying again, I work with an amazing group of middle school language arts educators.  There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something from each one that I work with.  I have a special treat for my blog followers, and that is a picture walk through my middle school through anchor charts! 

Purposes of anchor charts include:

• To display routines and expectations throughout different parts of Reading and Writing Workshop.
• To have up as inspiration for ideas in writing or how to select books during reading.
• To chart and summarize the learning of a specific lesson that can be referenced again and again throughout the year.
• To give students ownership in the classroom by displaying their self-generated ideas.

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EL Education Curriculum

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• ELA 2019 G8:M3:U2:L1

Write an Informative Essay: Analyze a Model

In this lesson, daily learning targets, ongoing assessment.

• Technology and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Materials from previous lessons, new materials, closing & assessments, you are here:.

• ELA 2019 Grade 8
• ELA 2019 G8:M3
• ELA 2019 G8:M3:U2

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Focus Standards:  These are the standards the instruction addresses.

• RL.8.5, W.8.2, W.8.4, L.8.1a

Supporting Standards:  These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

• RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.10
• I can identify the parts of a model literary analysis essay and explain the purpose of each. ( W.8.2 )
• I can determine criteria for an effective literary analysis essay. ( W.8.2, W.8.4 )
• I can explain the function of gerund and infinitive phrases. ( L.8.1a )
• Opening A: Entrance Ticket
• Work Time A: Annotated, color-coded Model Literary Analysis Essay: Relationship of Structure to Meaning ( W.8.2, W.8.4 )
• Work Time B: Annotated Informative Writing Checklist ( W.8.2, W.8.4 )
• Work Time C: Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Gerund and Infinitive Phrases ( L.8.1a )
• Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1
• Model Literary Analysis Essay: Relationship of Structure to Meaning
• Informative Writing checklist
• Read the Paint an Essay lesson plan to review the color-coding and purpose of each choice of color.
• Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 at each student's workspace.
• Review the anchor charts used in this lesson: Structure anchor chart and Characteristics of a Literary Analysis Essay anchor chart.
• Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

• Work Time B: Convert the Model Literary Analysis Essay: Relationship of Structure to Meaning, and invite students to complete it in an online format—for example, http://eled.org/0158 .
• Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.B.6 and 8.I.B.8.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

• To support ELLs, this lesson includes scaffolded work with analyzing a model compare and contrast essay that uses the Painted Essay® format and analyzing the structure of texts. Students will consider the structure of Maus I and the way in which the author uses dialogue, chronology, and flashbacks to tell his father’s story. Students will participate in a mini lesson on the form and function of gerunds and infinitives and the relationships between words and phrases in sentences (L.8.1a, L.8.5b). The lesson includes collaborative discussion and familiar routines to help students navigate both the writing and language content and skills that they will encounter.
• ELLs may find it challenging to navigate the breadth of concepts and tasks presented in this lesson. Students will be exploring a number of things for the first time: structure in texts, a compare and contrast essay format that identifies similarities and differences in structure within texts, and the grammatical concept of verbals. Encourage students to consider all that they already learned that will inform their work in each portion of this lesson and refer back to content and concepts from Modules 1 and 2 where possible.
• gerund, infinitive (A)

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Paint an Essay lesson plan (for teacher reference) (from Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 6, Work Time A)

Painted Essay® Template (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

• Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 (answers for teacher reference)
• Model Literary Analysis Essay: Relationship of Structure to Meaning (example for teacher reference)
• Characteristics of a Literary Analysis Essay anchor chart (one for display)
• Informative Writing checklist (example for teacher reference)
• Gerund and Infinitive Phrases anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
• Gerund and Infinitive Phrases anchor chart (one for display; co-created in Work Time C)
• Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Gerund and Infinitive Phrases (answers for teacher reference)
• Structure anchor chart (one for display)
• Homework: Gist, Theme, and Infinitive Phrases (answers for reference) (see Homework Resources)
• Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 1 (one per student)
• Model Literary Analysis Essay: Relationship of Structure to Meaning (one per student)
• Informative Writing checklist (one per student and one for display)
• Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Gerund and Infinitive Phrases (one per student)
• Homework: Gist, Theme, and Infinitive Phrases (one per student; see Homework Resources)
• Homework Resources (for families) (see Homework Resources)

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

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