Anchor Chart Solutions

What do you do when you run out of wall space for your anchor charts? 
How do you display your anchor charts?
Do you make new anchor charts every year?

Hello, friends! I am Deb Hanson from Crafting Connections, and you may or may not already know that I am addicted to using anchor charts in the classroom! I frequently blog about the ones I create, and I'm constantly pinning great anchor chart ideas I find on Pinterest! Because of this, a few questions about anchor charts are sent my way throughout the school year. I must admit, a few years ago, I hadn't figured out any great solutions to these common anchor chart problems. However, thanks to Pinterest, I have found some answers that I'm going to share with you today!

Answers for your anchor chart questions! Check out these anchor chart ideas to make them as effective as possible in your classroom.


Question 1: How do you display your anchor charts?


Answers for your anchor chart questions! Check out these anchor chart ideas to make them as effective as possible in your classroom.

Before I found the creative solution shown above, I hung my anchor chart tablet on some hooks that were previously attached to my white board... or I used about 10 heavy-duty clip magnets, which was rather unattractive. The drawback, of course, was losing precious board space. I love this idea first shared by Sam from Fun with Firsties. You just need to mount two large command hooks on an open wall, hang an inexpensive curtain rod on the hooks (I bought one at Walmart for less than $3), and use binder rings to attach your anchor chart to the curtain rod!  Voila!


Questions 2 & 3: Do you tear the anchor chart out of the notebook to display? If so, what do you do when you run out of wall space for your anchor charts?


There are times that I tear my anchor charts out of their notebooks, but it nearly crushes me to do so!  Once it gets torn out, it nearly always eventually ends up getting tossed into the garbage, or rolled up and misplaced when I want to find it again. The above solution would make it possible to keep all of those anchor charts in their notebook where they are easy to find!

But what about when you want to display multiple anchor charts for an extended period of time? Create an anchor chart binder!! I first discovered this idea on the Teaching My Friends blog.
Answers for your anchor chart questions! Check out these anchor chart ideas to make them as effective as possible in your classroom.

Simply snap a photo of each anchor chart you make, print it out, and place it inside a special binder!  Now you can easily refer to various anchor charts throughout the year by finding it in your binder and placing it under your document camera.
Answers for your anchor chart questions! Check out these anchor chart ideas to make them as effective as possible in your classroom.

Answers for your anchor chart questions! Check out these anchor chart ideas to make them as effective as possible in your classroom.

If you want to download the FREE cover, just click here.  I created covers for the next 5 school years! You will find another solution in the answer to Question #6.


Question 4: But if you use a binder, don't the students lose that "easy access" to the anchor charts?

Not if you create small versions for students to glue inside their interactive notebooks!! This post by Nasreen at Upper Grades are Awesome inspired this solution.  

When you take a photo to insert into your anchor chart binder, simply make smaller versions for students to glue inside their interactive notebooks.

Answers to Frequently Asked Anchor Chart Questions
I reduced the size of the photo so that I could fit four onto a page. Each student is given an image to glue inside their interactive notebook!  Now they have easy access to their own personal version of the anchor chart.
Answers to Frequently Asked Anchor Chart Questions
Hop to this blog post to check out my Connections Anchor Chart and to download this interactive notebook FREEBIE!

Question 5: Do you make new anchor charts each year?

It just depends. I know the purpose of anchor charts is to be interactive, so if it's a more interactive anchor chart (like the adjective anchor chart shown below) I make a new one every year.

However, I must admit that there are anchor charts that I make before class, and we do a different type of interactive activity with them after we review the information on the anchor chart. For example, my "Connections" anchor chart is one that I keep from year to year (I feel that the interactive aspect comes when students create the interactive notebook page shown above). Also, other anchor charts, like my context clues anchor chart, is created more for student reference, so I reuse it from year to year.


Question 6: Do you have any ready-to-go anchor charts that are available for purchase?

Yes, I recently created a set of reading anchor charts. In this packet, you will find 27 personal anchor charts (that can be colored and glued into reading notebooks) and 27 full-page color anchor charts (that can be placed in a flip display book and set on a table). The reading topics covered include making inferences, citing text evidence, author's purpose, main idea, point of view, perspective, text structures, genres, figurative language, context clues, summarizing, plot elements, types of conflict, themes, and much more! Just click HERE to check it out!


Reading Notebook Anchor Charts- These 36 mini anchor charts can be glued into interactive notebooks and used as reference tools!


Reading Notebook Anchor Charts- These 27 reading anchor charts can be used as reference tools! Better yet, they come with personal anchor charts that can be glued into reading notebooks!


I have also created language anchor charts that align with the 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade Common Core standards.

Interactive Notebook Anchor Charts that align to the 2nd grade Common Core Standards- These 27 mini anchor charts can be glued into interactive notebooks and used as reference tools!

Interactive Notebook Anchor Charts that align to the 3rd grade Common Core Standards- These 37 mini anchor charts can be glued into interactive notebooks and used as reference tools!

Interactive Notebook Anchor Charts that align to the 4th grade Common Core Standards- These 37 mini anchor charts can be glued into interactive notebooks and used as reference tools!