5 Brain Science-Backed Anchor Chart Tips
I LOVE creating anchor charts. They are an amazing teaching tool that have the power to guide students toward problem-solving and independence, which I’m a huge advocate for! They also help me, as the teacher, to think carefully about my instruction and how I am going to scaffold a learning experience in a way that is purposeful, targeted and inclusive.
Let’s be honest, though. Anchor charts do also have the potential to end up as nothing more than an ignored classroom decoration that gathers dust. How can we make sure this doesn’t happen? How can we harness the power of an anchor chart and make sure it actually gets used and gives students that all-important nudge toward independence?
Here I’m going to share with you 5 tips, that are backed by brain science, for creating effective anchor charts that students will use!
TIP #1: KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Believe it or not, anchor charts do NOT have to include fancy fonts, ornate borders and elaborate pictures to be effective. Sometimes, those elements can actually have the opposite effect and be too overwhelming for our students.
Brain science consistently shows that clutter combined with complexity leads to overwhelm, which in turn decreases learning potential. One of the best things we can do is to keep our charts as simple as possible.
How might we simplify our charts? Here are some ideas:
Make headings short (and catchy if possible).
Limit the amount of text on the page.
Make sure the text is clear and easy to read, especially from a distance.
Carefully choose vocabulary that will be understood by most students.
Limit the variance of color and bolding on the page (research shows that strategically using highlighting, color and bolding is most effect when it accounts for no more than 10% of the overall design!).
TIP #2: USE VISUALS
Intentionally using simple, easy to understand visuals is a powerful move when creating an anchor chart. Research has shown that if information is only spoken, about 10% of that information is remembered after 3 days. Add purposeful visuals and that number skyrockets to 65%! Using visuals is not only a scaffolding tool to help students understand broad concepts, but aids in information recall too.
Consider the following tips when adding visuals to your charts:
Use icons or symbols that will be easily recognized by students
Not everything on the chart requires an accompanying visual. Think about the ‘big ideas’ and how they may be represented visually.
Keep it simple! (again). You don’t need to be an amazing artist… stick figures are fine!
You could also involve students here by asking….”What image might we use to represent this big idea?
Tip #3: MAKE IT INTERACTIVE
Students will gain a sense of ownership when they are involved in the creation of a chart, which in turn will increase the likelihood of the chart being used in the future. While we may plan some parts of the chart ahead of time, thinking carefully about how me might involve students in the process will go a long way toward increasing overall engagement! Remember, “the chart belongs to them as much as it belongs to us!” (Martinelli & Mraz, 2012).
So, in what ways might a chart be interactive? Here are a few ideas:
Make space for students to record their own ideas, questions, examples or vocabulary. Strategically invite students to ‘turn and talk’ to discuss ideas prior to adding them to the chart.
Use student exemplars on the chart that demonstrate key skills or strategies ‘in action’ (e.g. a writing sample).
Add photographs to the chart that show students demonstrating an important skill (e.g. How to show you are listening).
Prepare sticky notes with key information ahead of time and invite students to place these on the chart as the lesson progresses.
Ask students to suggest ways we might visually represent a big idea.
Consider adding to the chart over a series of lessons. For example, if the chart is outlining strategies nonfiction writers use to engage their reader, don’t overload the students with these strategies all at once! Use sticky notes to gradually add each strategy over time. This also decreases cognitive load!
TIP #4: INCORPORATE TRANSLANGUAGING
Whilst working at an international school with a high population of multilingual students, I was introduced to the idea of translating key vocabulary on the chart into different languages to support new English language learners. I instantly realized the power this simple, yet often overlooked, strategy has in not only building language connections for my newer English speakers, but also in making them feel included and like they belong.
If you have new language learners in your class, translating key vocabulary is an excellent scaffolding support; and for more proficient multilingual students, this is a wonderful form of enrichment.
Here are some tips that may be helpful when incorporating translanguaging into your anchor charts:
Seek out the support of multilingual teachers. While it’s fine to use Google translate, having someone that you are able to communicate with can be a better (and more accurate) option!
Don’t feel that you need to translate everything. This will ultimately lead you to feeling overwhelmed. Choose key vocabulary that represent big concepts and ideas and translate those (at least to begin with!). These translations, combined with visuals, will go a long way toward building new language skills.
Use sticky notes with translated text and stick these next to the primary text on the chart so that a student’s mother-tongue language sits alongside the English text.
Ask parents to help! This is a fantastic way to build connections with home and show families that we value their mother-tongue language.
TIP #5: CHOOSE LOCATION WISELY!
Where you choose to place your chart is going to greatly impact whether students use it or not! We cannot expect students to refer to something that is hung high and out of reach, in an obscure location in the classroom. Unless we want our charts to become wallpaper, we need to choose our real estate strategically!
If your goal is for a chart to be used by students independently, consider these tips when choosing a chart’s location:
Only select a few charts to hang in the room. Too many charts will contribute to clutter and cause overwhelm.
Make sure the chart is easily accessible.
Avoid high traffic areas.
Place the chart at the eye level of the students.
As the teacher, be consistent in referring to the chart often!
Our brains are wired to ignore familiar things in our environment, so when the unit is done and the chart is no longer needed - remove it!
If you are looking for more information, I highly recommend this book ‘Smarter Charts’ by Marjorie Martinelli and Kristine Mraz! Although this book is targeted at K-2, as an upper elementary teacher I found the information in this book extremely helpful and transferrable to the higher grades.
