Student Made Anchor Charts

For the first time ever in my teaching career, students made their own anchor chart.

It felt like a big deal.  My students felt like it was a big deal.  I could tell because of the feeling of anticipation over who was going to be chosen to write and what color marker each student was going to choose.  (We don't use markers often, and especially not Ms. Talia's special smelly markers!)

We've been working hard on Number Talks with addition strategies for the last several weeks and it's time for us to head in a different direction with Number Talks.  But I wanted some closure to what we've been working on.  And during conferences last week, many parents mentioned that they wanted to know more specifically what strategies we are working on.  And of course Graham planted the idea of  student created anchor charts in my brain.  So it all came together today.

As students walked in the door, I gave them an entrance slip.  Solve the problem 27 + 8.  Solve it in one or two of the most efficient ways that you know how.  As students talked to their Turn and Talk partner about their strategy, I quickly went through the entrance slips to see which students were ready to showcase their strategy to the whole class (and now the whole world, thanks to Twitter!).

I found 4 learners to help share their strategy: the one for whom learning in general is hard, the one who has been unmotivated to learn lately, the one who is just this year beginning to learn English, and the one who floors me everyday with her math thinking.  

I didn't plan this.  I didn't plan those particular four students.  But those four friends showed that they were ready to have their learning be permanent and shared with others.  

Before I called each student up one by one, I asked the other students what they should be doing while waiting for a friend to share their strategy.  "Watch and try to understand their thinking" was their response, as if  --DUH-that's what we do--.  

And that's just what they did.  They watched students carefully pick their favorite color, carefully write their equations and their thinking, and tried to make sense of what they saw.  They used our hand signal to show they agree or used the same strategy, they shouted out the name of the strategy each student used, and I think they were inspired to be the next ones to make their own anchor chart.  

They will never forget making their own anchor chart.   The first of many to come.

And now I share it with you.  Enjoy!