How Are You Anchoring Learning For Students?

We all know students do best when they have a touchstone or link to material especially when the content is abstract or difficult. We all know the standards are high and the content is tough but how are we helping children have an anchor to learning.

Anchor charts and word walls are very powerful if:

*Students help create them.

*Students and teachers use them regularly.

*They are meaningful to the students.

This leads me to thinking....

*Do I use signals or gestures to help embed the content?

Do I have portable academic word walls?

*Are kids referencing these anchors?

*Do I hear academic talk about these anchors?

*Are my tools kid friendly -- from organization to content as well as visually?

I saw some great examples last week in a Science class where her word wall was broken into subjects. There were also reference tools for the students desks. They were a really useful tool.

Leaves me to thinking.... Am I anchoring learning enough to support my students?