A text features anchor chart is a unique way to teach your students to learn and detect different nonfiction work elements. These charts give students an understanding of what text features to look for, how to find them, and why they are important. A text feature anchor chart can be more useful than a traditional lecture. It gives the reader a visual representation of the things they are looking for within a book or other work.
Creating anchor charts can be an interactive learning process. It is another way to facilitate greater learning and comprehension of the material.
How to Make A Text Features Anchor Chart
You can buy premade text features charts online, but you can also easily make your own for the classroom. You need chart paper or another thick type of cardstock and some markers or crayons.
It can help prepare the chart’s basics ahead of time, but with the ultimate goal of working through the chart directly with your students. As we mentioned above, interactive activities are often more effective for understanding and retaining the material.
The use of bright, primary colors keeps the chart as simple as possible, especially if you teach younger students. A basic illustration to provide a visual representation of the word or concept is all you need.
Using Text Features and the Anchor Chart In the Classroom
Text features and the anchor chart are useful for reading comprehension, but they can also help introduce mathematical and scientific concepts. Don’t overuse the anchor chart. There is a time and a place where this is a useful activity to pursue with your students. Try to save these charts for the places they will have the greatest impact.
They can really be effective when you use them as a part of a general lesson, such as a reading assignment. You can keep the anchor chart handy to visually show the students’ different text features while reading the text together. It is also a great way to break down a more complex subject into more easily manageable chunks for better comprehension.
Types and Uses of an Anchor Chart
Text features provide students with important information about nonfiction books. It helps them better understand the ideas and information the book is trying to impart. Nonfiction text features are the most common types, and nonfiction text features anchor charts are readily available online, but this is not the only use they have.
Posters or text features charts that help students identify the different features are a helpful resource. They provide concrete examples of text features so the student will have an easier time locating these features. It will make it easier for them to navigate informational texts effectively.
Text features figures in books and other texts. They supply further information about key concepts that may not be found directly in the text’s body. Identifying text features will help students understand different text features and the wealth of information outside of a book’s main text.
