Anchor Charts

I know that Anchor Charts aren't technically a strategy, but I feel like they are incredibly useful and deserve a shout-out. I taught my lesson this morning and it went really well! The kids were SO engaged and I think a large part of that is because we were working together to create the anchor chart. I expected them to have trouble coming up with some synonyms, thinking they would all think of the same few, but they had their creative juices flowing! One synonym for cute that a student thought of was "ooh la la"! I wish I had taken a picture of the chart so I could share all of their ideas with you all!

Anchor charts allow students to learn and create at the same time, even if they aren't the ones physically creating them. To top it off, they can hang around the room to serve as a reminder for the information you need to know! Another bonus -- you can do them with any grade! This morning I was in first, I have seen them in fifth. The content changes but the usefulness stays the same! 

Week 6 post on strategies

I found the Power Notes strategy to be really useful. It is like mind mapping but (I think) more structured. I did end up using it in a lesson plan. The nice things about Power Notes is that they can be used for all subjects. Mind mapping I also used in a lesson plan, and I am using in a second one I am writing right now. I think it is a great way for students to take notes and keep organized. Utilizing a strategy that was not in the text (flipbooks) was also a lot of fun. I actually took the idea from the classroom that I volunteer in. It made it easier to create my own lesson having seen the flipbook in action. These three are all strategies that I would use in my classroom and will try to incorporate into my student teaching if I am able to. 

I am glad I got to share my lesson over synonyms with you all before I teach it next week, which I am very excited about! If you have any feedback other than what was said in class, I welcome it.