Writing Anchor Charts

I just finished working on my Writing Anchor Charts and it's uploaded on TPT!  My Reading Anchor Charts still seem to be a hit on TPT, so I like to create others with the same styling for anyone to use in the classroom.  There are two types of themes: Bright Chevron & Ocean Waves!

Writing Process

I included 7 steps with the writing process: Prewrite, Draft, Revise, Edit, & Publish are the usual.  I added in Peer Review & Present as optional steps.

I have done these steps with my class in the past and found good benefits from it!

Types of Writing

Persuasive, Descriptive, Expository and Narrative writing have been explained with some helpful tips.

You can easily use these to help introduce each type of writing and display as a reference for students.

Editing Marks

Tons of poster pages to display for students to use while the editing & revision stages of writing.

These are bright and easy to read.

Thinking Maps & Charts

I made sure to display all types of Thinking Maps & Charts I've used to organize information.  Each poster names the use for each.

These allow students to understand & utilize the "Prewrite" stage fo writing.

I have also included these extras & more:

• Writing Hooks
• Transitional Words
• Essay Writing Layout

Language Arts Anchor Charts, Packet #1

My Reading Anchor Charts are my most purchased item in my TPT Store, so I decided to continue using this format in other subjects.  I created a packet of 35 display full page posters to aid the teacher and students in Language Arts.  This packet focuses on Parts of Speech & Punctuation with a brief explanation and a mixture of images, examples, sentences, and side notes.  These are intended to help introduce and display for reference.

There are two versions: Bright Color/General Theme and Ocean Waves Theme

Parts of Speech Focus:

1. Adverb
2. Article
3. Conjunction
4. Interjection
5. Preposition
6. Pronoun
7. Subject-Verb Agreement
8. Adjectives, including Comparative & Superlative
9. Nouns, including Common, Proper, Singular, Plural, Possessive
10. Verbs, including Regular, Irregular, Action, Helping, Linking, Being

Punctuation Focus:

1. Apostrophe
2. Brackets
3. Colon
4. Comma
5. Dash
6. Parentheses
7. Period/Full-Stop
8. Semicolon
9. Ellipsis
10. Exclamation
11. Hyphen
12. Question Mark
13. Quotation Marks

I'll be working on more Anchor Charts as I enjoy making them.  I have plans for the following: Understanding Words (Base Words, Prefixes/Suffixes, Homophones, etc.), Text Features (Headings, Captions, Table of Context, etc.), Lang. Arts Packet #2 (Grammar, Editing, Types of Sentences, etc.). I may even venture into Math & Science Vocabulary!

Are there any Anchor Chart ideas you'd like?

Word of the Day

Word of the Day was something I tried for the first time last year with my 3rd graders (8-9 year olds).  Our new curriculum had a book of challenging words to accompany enrichment reading.  I found these words were great for my class overall since I had majority of high learners.  

Using with Writing Journals

We used mini sheets and the students filled out the information I provided on the front board (word, parts of speech, definition, and my sentence example).  Then the student would write their own sentence using a form of the word and try to think of a synonym, antonym, and the word using a prefix or suffix.  After completing this, the students would glue the sheets in their writing journals and work on grammar sentences.

We did a lot of modeling and discussing of each parts at the beginning of the year.  We would discuss that the students were to copy the word, part of speech, and definition, but were not allowed to use my sentence.  A lot of my students would get stuck on writing sentences, so I gave my example but would discuss that they can only use it as a guide to create their own

With synonyms, antonyms, and prefixes/suffixes, we discussed that not all words would have these and you may not be able to fill out all parts.  After our morning announcements, I would review the word with them and let a few students share their examples, and fill out the remaining as a class.  I also allowed time to complete the sheet after discussion to fill out the final boxes and finish up their own sentences.  

Why It Helped

My students may not have been able to memorize all or some these words, and that wasn't the goal.  I did notice that my struggling students were able to read stories and come up with similar definitions just from how the story used them and could identify parts of speech, synonyms, and antonyms.

We would read in whole group and small groups, and all my students would came across words with prefixes and/or suffixes and were able to point them out on their own.  When I would ask them to evaluate the word, they could tell me the base word, its definition using the prefix/suffix, the definitions of the base word and prefix/suffix separately.

Want More?

I'm working on building on this packet.  This is currently a free download at my TPT store, but I hope to add another packet with these sheets and a listing of 4 sets of 45 words.  This way the words and information are provided for you.  Keep a look out for that in the future!

Have you used something similar to Word of the Day?
Share your thoughts!