Anchor Charts

Toward the end of last year I was exceptionally lucky to have our Deputy Principal/Literacy Guru Miss Sally (@sslattery22) come into our learning space to observe and coach my reading teaching.  She observed my teaching, and modelled a range of strategies she uses. It was a brilliant experience, although I will admit that the first couple of times I was quite anxious - it reminded me of being observed by my university supervisor while I was a pre-service teacher!

As part of the feedback process, Miss Sally asked about the lack of literacy anchor charts in our learning space. Until that point in the year, I hadn't made many anchor charts at all.  The way we'd set up the space wasn't particularly conducive to displaying them NOR was I overly confident in making them for some reason.

The first point was relatively easy to overcome: we were in the habit of changing up our learning space quite regularly so we went ahead and set up some areas to display anchor charts. The second was a bit more of a personal challenge but in keeping with our class belief in the power of a positive mindset I grit my teeth and gave it a go. And whaddayaknow? Each anchor chart was better than the last and I grew to quite enjoy the process.

This year has seen more anchor charts grace our boards, wall and cupboards.  We've all benefitted from them more than I ever imagined. I often see one kiddo or another standing at an anchor chart checking their thinking, or referring to them verbally during class discussions. Many photos have been taken on iPads and emailed to parents. I've printed copies of a few to have glued into books.  I'm making sure I take shots of them all so that when they are rotated off the walls to make room for others I can still refer kiddos to them.

There's still LOADS of room for improvement in my chart creation and I want to have more of them made by the kiddos but I'm pleased to have come this far and am excited about the next steps on the journey.

So Miss Sally... Thank you.

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know students and how they learn
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning