biography anchor chart kindergarten

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biography anchor chart kindergarten

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biography anchor chart kindergarten

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Making biographies fun (with two freebies).

Making biographies fun in the primary classroom.

It’s never too early to start teaching biographies to students. Many intermediate teachers will teach strong biography units, but integrating them in primary is excellent, too! I’m gathering up some ideas for making biographies fun in your class!

Start by teaching the genre.

Always start each genre with an introductory lesson. To help with making biographies fun, I suggest a biography anchor chart that you can laminate and keep in your classroom throughout the unit or throughout the entire year. Below, you will see a sample anchor chart for biographies. AND I’m linking the letters and clipart for you for  FREE ! That way, you can replicate a similar anchor chart for your students.

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

(Link:  Biography Header Freebie )

2. Integrate reading into students independent and partner reading time.

Utilize all the time you can with biographies. Plug them into daily centers and even book bins for students to read during downtime. If you’re giving primary students biography books to read independently or with a partner, make sure to provide them with easy readers. Biographies are tough for students to understand because sometimes they don’t have any background knowledge. So, prevent them from having more difficulty reading their biographies by giving them easy readers to get through independently. Check out these affiliate links to books I suggest from Amazon that are ideal for making biographies fun.

Making Biographies Fun with My Favorite Picks

biography anchor chart kindergarten

  • Jesse Owens
  • Misty Copeland
  • Barack Obama
  • Alexander Hamilton
  • Thomas Edison

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

12 Leveled Biography Set

3. Have a weekly (free) challenge for review.

I blogged about this fun weekly challenge several months ago. I love it! So, what you’ll do is at the beginning of every week, you will give students a social studies or science clue. Throughout the week, as they read passages in folders and books at their reading centers, they will try to find out what the mystery clues are. It’s a great concept for making biographies fun for primary students. Check out my examples below. Also, click through to  my old blog post  to watch my video of me discussing this fun freebie.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

(Link:  Mystery Freebie Blog Post )

4. Tie in technology and reading.

Whenever it comes to science and social studies, Pebble Go and Brain Pop Jr. are necessities for my lessons. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you’ll notice I mention these two wonderful websites quite often. Below, I’ll show you their biography features! Sign up today to get access to all these videos and online content.

PebbleGo biography resources for elementary teachers.

(Source:  PebbleGo Biographies ) In the picture above, you can see the categories of biographies! There is a lot to pick from. And within each, there are even more subcategories. Pebble Go offers so many options for making biographies fun. Go check them out.

In the picture below, you can see how I’ve selected women (image of Harriet Tubman), then even more specific Civil Rights Leaders. So this is a selection of all of their biographies on women that were Civil Rights Leaders!

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

(Source:  PebbleGo Biographies )

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

(Source:  BrainPop Jr. Biographies ) You can see a selection of Brain Pop Jr.’s biographies in the picture above. And that is just some of them. There are way more! Their biographies come with animated movies, which my kiddos always responded well to. Check out the Amelia Earhart selection below. It shows the video and the follow-up activities for her!

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

(Source:  BrainPop Jr. Biographies )

5. Use readings as homework, so parents can also discuss the importance.

One option you have is to send passages home once a week for homework. These passages can be read with parents so that parents can discuss with their children their own relation or background knowledge of the person. This will help students see that they’re learning about these influential people at school and they are known outside of the classroom, too! It’s fun for them to see that their parents can tell them about what they’re learning during reading and social studies time. Also, you can choose to have one set passage for the entire class throughout the week, or you can send home a few for parents and children to pick. Then, students can write about the one they chose and what they learned.

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

Biography and Science Bundles

(Resources in Pic:  Biography Bundle  and  Science Bundle )

6. Let the kids be teachers!

Find clipart online or on TPT of the influential people that you are researching. Then, split your classroom into as many groups as the persons you’re discussing. Give each group of students markers, chart paper, a picture of the person, and a few books on that person. Then, allow them to research that person with their group and create a chart for each person. Afterward, when they are finished creating their chart, allow them to practice their Speaking and Listening skills by presenting their work to the class.

Freebie Idea

Another idea would be to grab the freebie from #1 and allowing your class to work in groups to present on the genre itself!

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom - lesson and activities ideas for biographies.

FREE BIOGRAPHIES HEADER!

For more, download the biography header! When you sign up, you’ll be delivered this freebie directly to your email inbox.

7. Stock up on biographies from TPT!

In my store, you will find over 30  biographies ! I have biographies for 30 influential people. In each of these biography sets, you can get a passage, cut and paste timeline, fact writing research page, writing sheet. Plus, a flip book that includes a passage, comprehension questions, true and false sort, and a writing page.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

  • Mother Teresa Biography Pack  (or in the Biography Bundle )
  • Henry Ford Biography Pack  (or in the Biography Bundle )
  • Susan B. Anthony Biography Pack  (or in the Biography Bundle )

Teaching Biographies in a primary classroom influential people pack.

Biography Bundle

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biography anchor chart kindergarten

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Upper Elementary Snapshots

Teaching Biographies: Activities and Ideas

Teaching with biographies and ben franklin.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

biography anchor chart kindergarten

  • ELEMENTARY TEACHING , INTEGRATED CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

Teaching Biographies To Elementary Students (Grades 1-5) in 2024

Teaching biographies can feel intimidating at first, but once you have a solid understanding of the genre, a roadmap of how to teach it, and teaching resources and activities, it’s easy! This post will equip you with all of that and more! You’ll feel prepared (and maybe even excited) about teaching biographies (especially if you are using this biography project and these biography activities )!

teaching elementary students about biographies

The Benefits Of Students Reading Biographies

There are so many benefits of teaching biographies and autobiographies! Readers are transported into that person’s life. They learn all about the person’s achievements, struggles, culture, life lessons, and personality. Biographies can also teach us about the world through the eyes of the subject while allowing the reader to make connections to them. Most students can find biographies they enjoy when they find people to read about that connect with their likes and dislikes to top it off. 

How To Introduce The Biography Genre To Students

The easiest way to introduce and teach biographies is by gathering as many biographies and autobiographies as possible from your classroom library, school, and public library. Make sure that all the books you collect are around your student’s reading levels. This idea works for any theme.

Then, set out the books you collected on each of your students’ tables and have them explore. Ask them to write down what they notice. What do all the books have in common? Have students write down their findings on chart paper. 

Next, have each table share with the class what they noticed. They should come up with some ideas like: 

  • They are all about people.
  • The person accomplished something big.
  • They all include essential dates or a timeline of the person’s life.
  • They included real pictures or illustrations of the person.
  • The books all tell factual information, and there are no made-up stories.

Lastly, tell students that books with these characteristics are called biographies or autobiographies. Be sure to tell students the difference between biographies and autobiographies too. Create an anchor chart to hang up for students to reference throughout your biography unit! 

4 Ideas For Biography Mini Lessons

After introducing biographies, try one of these mini-lesson ideas for teaching biographies! 

  • Have students pick a person they are interested in learning more about. Then have them find books about the person and complete a research project about that person to present to the class. You could even take it a few steps further and have students share what they learned in costume as the person they researched in a wax museum activity! 
  • Have students create a social media page of the person they learned about in their biography
  • Have students read about a person of interest, and then write journal entries as that person. 
  • You could make it seasonal! Around fall, have students paint a pumpkin like a person they read about and present important events or accomplishments as they share their pumpkin. In spring, students could make biography flowers where the center was a photo of the person, and the petals are important events and accomplishments. 

Strategies For Using Mentor Texts To Model Reading Biographies

Teaching biographies is simple when you use these strategies!

First, pick any biography or autobiography mentor text and read it aloud. Ok, maybe not ANY. Be sure to choose one that will be engaging to your students. Think about the things they enjoy and go from there. I love picture books because students can generally read them in one session. (Make sure you preview the text first and mark with sticky notes to remember to stop and discuss during the read-aloud!)

Stop at important dates, accomplishments, life lessons, or significant life events to discuss. I even stop to discuss any figurative language or text features included. This will help students with both reading and writing! Students generally have TONS of connections to share during biography read alouds that lead to great conversations. 

How To Teach Students To Write Biography Reports

One way to help students learn how to write biographies is to write their first one about themselves! Students can brainstorm what should be included in their biography by creating a timeline that includes important events in their life. Then, they use the timeline to help them write their biography in chronological order. You can model this with a biography about yourself on an anchor chart for students to use if they need help. This is also an excellent way to get to know each other at the beginning of the year! 

When it comes to writing biographies about other people, students need to have read several biographies to get an idea of how authors organize this type of writing. When you read aloud, be sure to point out that authors of biographies generally write the story of the person’s life from beginning to end. So students will need to be familiar with sequential order/chronological order text organization. Have students fill in a timeline when you model during read alouds. Point out that biographies usually focus on a part of the person’s life that taught them a life lesson. This biography project and biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies.

Resources for Teaching Biographies

Here are some resources for teaching biography:

1. Biography Project for Elementary Students

Are you looking to begin using a biography project ? Perhaps you are just looking for something better than you already use. If so, this is the resource you need! It is a great resource for teaching elementary students about biographies.

This is a great project to complement a genre study of biographies, an author study, social studies concepts and more. I’ve recently updated the entire product so that it now includes an option to do the Living Biography Museum where families come into school and the students “perform” in character OR can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.

The twist is that instead of having the students dress in costume (which can be a hassle for the parents since most kids can’t put their own costume together) they make a poster board costume with a space for their head to pop through.

A-DOR-ABLE!!!

In the past I’ve done the living museum and had students prepare a brief speech to recite in character. This year I opted to send it home as a homework project and will instead take their photos with their poster board and display them with the written report.

This download now includes BOTH the original version and my new and improved updated version as well. If you have high achieving students who need enrichment this is a perfect activity for them to do on their own or you can use it with an entire class. It’s ideal for grades 2-5.

This biography project contains everything you need to have your students complete a project of their very own to present in class or at a Living Biography Museum.

biography project

What is included in this biography project?

Make teaching biographies fun by incorporating this biography project , which includes the following:

  • Grading rubrics / criteria checklist
  • Graphic organizer to plan writing
  • Graphic organizer to record sources
  • Student writing pages
  • Poster board visual directions 

5 Reasons Why Teachers Love It

Below are 5 reasons why teachers love using this resource for teaching biographies.

  • This comprehensive biography project includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your they will feel successful.
  • The project makes a challenging concept accessible for elementary students.
  • This resource facilitates a fun hands-on learning experience that offers opportunities for students to practice important skills without them even realizing it.
  • This print and go resource will save you lots of time planning and prepping.
  • It is aligned to the Common Core Standards, so it will give you peace of mind knowing your students are practicing important grade level skills.

How to Implement the Project in Your Classroom

You can either do a Living Biography Museum where families come in to school and the students perform in character or it can instead be used simply as an independent research project in class or as a homework assignment.

How I Used the Resources in My Classroom to Teach Biography

We had so much fun making these bio poster boards.

As a bonus, the kids learned a ton.

I started by having them complete oodles of activities from my biography activities packet which acquainted them with a whole bunch of famous folks.

Then I had them work in teams to research Benjamin Franklin. They had discussions about why he was famous. They talked about his accomplishments. Finally, they each wrote about him in the 1st person and performed a monologue as if they were Ben.

To make it oh-so-much-more-fun, I gave them each a poster board to use as a “costume.”

I’m now having them each select their own historical figure of choice to repeat the process as an independent project at home.

I seriously loved this project. The kids did too.

They enjoyed walking around wearing their poster boards and singing, “Who flew a kite in a storm and made history… Ben Franklin Square Pants.”

They also enjoyed having “conversations” with each other while wearing the poster board.

Kid 1: Hey Ben

Kid 2: Yo Ben

Me: **Listening carefully how this conversation is going to go.**

Kid 1: Ben, I really liked how you proved lightning was electricity.

Kid 2: Thanks Ben. You know you’re awesome, right? I mean, you signed the Declaration of Independence and all.

Kid 1: I know dude, right? I totally rock!

And then there was the boy who did a stellar job with his presentation… and then ended it by yelling, “Thank you Philadelphia. Ben Franklin has left the building.”

Third graders make me laugh.

2. Biography Activities for Elementary Students

These biography activities are great resources for teaching biographies to elementary students. It provides teachers with no prep printable biography activities that can be used over and over when studying any person.

This unit was designed to enhance the study of individuals. The activities can be used as part of a genre study or within the content areas. I have also used them with author studies and have had the children complete them as autobiographies about themselves.

printable biography activities for elementary students

What is included in this resource?

This biography activities resource includes 7 activities. Learn about them below!

1. Biography Poster

Students gather information about any individual and use their research to create an 8.5 x 11 inch poster. The poster has spaces to record the person’s name, date of birth, place of birth, interesting facts, reasons of importance and character traits. They then draw a portrait of their individual.

2. My Life in Pictures: A Scrapbook Biography Project

To complete this biography, activity the student will take on the role of the individual they are studying. The student can either draw illustrations or print and attach photos highlighting important parts of the individual’s life. The student then writes captions. This biography report is so much more fun than writing an essay and more pages can be added as enrichment.

3. Top-Down Topic Web

This graphic organizer shows the relationships to the main idea and details. They represent main ideas in a hierarchy. These research-based tools help the students to comprehend what they have read because it organizes ideas in a systematic, visual graph.

4. The Important Book Biography Activity

The Important Book is a great book for teaching students about writing patterns. This activity was modeled after the format of that book and was designed to encourage students to identify key, important facts about the person they are studying. It makes a great bulletin board display.

5. Body Biography

A Body Biography project is a combination of artwork and writing. The packet includes a poster to use as directions or to display with the students’ completed biography projects. They complete sections such as a speech bubble with a quote by the individual, a thought bubble to show what they have thought about, shoes labeled with places the person has been, a heart filled with character traits. They then draw objects in the hands that relate to the person and create a background that tells the viewer more about the historical figure.

6. Timeline Biography Report

Unlike a lengthy written report, this is a creative way to showcase important events in the person’s life. Students identify key moments and tell about them in words and pictures. They are added to a foldable accordion booklet in sequential order.

7. I AM Poem

An I AM Poem is typically completed as an autobiography. I also have my students do one about themselves to learn more about them. The format is also great for showing what they know about a person they have learned about. The students take on the role of that person to write the poem in the first person.

  • These biographies activities are high-interest for students, so they’ll be motivated to learn through reading and researching.
  • This comprehensive resource includes differentiated materials, so all you will be able to meet all of your students’ needs and your students will feel successful.
  • Your principal, colleagues and school librarian will be impressed by the creative methods of sharing learned information and the integrated learning that takes place.
  • The resources can be used with an biography study and be used over and over again.

How to Implement it in Your Classroom

It’s part of our social studies curriculum and technically it is a study of Massachusetts Biographies, but we began learning about the genre with a mini-study of Martin Luther King Jr.

I read several picture books and the students buddy read a free printable reader from A to Z.

We created a top-down web listing information that we learned about MLK.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Then I read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, and the students completed an activity I created for my biography packet that was inspired by the book. They used the same format as Brown’s book to compose their own version, “The important thing about Martin Luther King Jr. is…”

Finally, each of my friends made a portrait of MLK using the directions from TLC. They came out crazy cute. I hung each of them up even though I’ll probably take them down and send them home soon. They were just too adorable not to display.

Today, we did another activity (The I Am Poem) from the biography activities packet and a craftivity to go with it. I really feel like I am able to get to know my students on a completely different level through projects like these. They really open up and share such sweet ideas and insight into who they are.

3. Biography Picture Books

Belo are 4 high-quality biography children’s books for elementary students.

1. Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport is a nonfiction picture book that teaches children about the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students will learn what life was like for Martin growing up and how he became a leader in the fight for equal rights.

Throughout the book, the author includes actual quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. This book explains how Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged people to use their words to make change and the impact he had on the country. This story follows Martin all the way from childhood through the end of his life.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Martin’s Big Words activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

2. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

The Story of Ruby Bridges details the struggles that six-year old Ruby Bridges endured when she was chosen to attend an all-white, segregated school as a black girl.

All of the other students’ parents pulled their children out of school because of her, and so she was forced to attend class all alone. She was escorted by U.S. Marshalls every morning, as she had to listen to jeers and insults being thrown at her while she was entering the school.

Despite these hardships, Ruby’s courage through non-violent actions did so much for the civil rights movement, and later that year, two white boys started to attend school with her. This inspirational true story teaches children that, no matter what age you are, anyone can be a trailblazer for change.

I liked this book so much I will be adding it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Story of Ruby Bridges activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

3. The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca

The story The Girl Who Thought in Pictures follows the life of Temple Grandin. The story starts off with Temple being born, and the doctors thinking that she needed to be sent away because she was different. Temple liked to watch things spin, did not like loud noises or crowds, anything that was itchy, or big squeezy hugs. She also did not talk until she was three. Temple got diagnosed with Autism. Her mom said that Temple was “different, not less.”

When Temple goes to school, the children there would tease her relentlessly. One day, Temple’s mom thinks that it would be better for Temple to stay on her aunt’s ranch. There, Temple finally feels comfortable and explores ways to help animals. Temple goes to college and gets three degrees! Now she travels the world giving speeches and spreading hope. She spreads the message that the world needs brains of all kinds.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these The Girl Who Thought in Pictures activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

4. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre by Anika Denise

The sixth picture book on the list of books that are great for teaching biographies is Planting Stories . It is a biographical picture book about Pura Belpre, who was the first Puerto Rican Librarian in New York City. When she started working the library, she realized that there weren’t any of the stories and folktales that she was familiar with in Puerto Rico. She decides to share her stories during story hour and through puppet shows, and eventually publishes a book.

Pura travels across the country and from classroom to classroom planting her story seeds and educating about her homeland. When she returns to the library, she sees that her story seeds have bloomed and everyone is telling her stories. Students will love learning about Pura and how she shared her stories with children everywhere.

I liked this book so much I added it to my Starts With a Story collection! Grab these Planting Stories activities to deliver a highly engaging and purposeful interactive read aloud!

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The Curriculum Corner 123

Biography Unit of Study for Reading

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Download this free biography unit of study for reading to help you introduce and work with biographies in the classroom.

This biography unit of study contains anchor charts, lessons, graphic organizers and more within this collection.

This is another free unit of study for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Download this free biography unit of study for reading to help you introduce and work with biographies in the classroom.

We enjoy reading workshop because it is a great way for teachers to help students explore different elements of literature. At the same time, we love that we are encouraging our students to build a love of reading. 

The Key to Teaching Biographies

Biography is a genre that can sometimes easily be neglected in classrooms with regards to informational text studies. We suggested giving it a try because it’s one that can be truly engaging for lots of students.

The key to getting students excited about a study of biographies is to have many relevant and appropriately leveled texts for all of your various readers.

You might even want to think about having a class discussion (or present an interest inventory) to find out who your students might be interested in learning about. 

Once you know their interests, take some time to visit your school and local libraries. Add to your book basket by picking up some favorites at your favorite used bookstore or ordering from Amazon. You will keep interest and engagement high if students are reading about people who are relevant to their interests and lives.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Starting with Immersion

We believe that immersing students in books and letting them develop their own “noticings” is a great way to begin many language art units.  

Be sure your collection of biographies includes a variety of options. You will also want to be sure that your collection contains as many of the biography text features as possible.

We have included a Biography Noticings Anchor Chart that you can use with your kids during or after their immersion experience. Or, you might choose to record your students noticings on a blank chart (which we have also provided).

What We Learn From Biographies is another tool you can use to get your students familiar with this genre. It is an anchor chart that contains characteristics of many biographies.

We have also provided two Find the Biography  resources that require students to distinguish between different genres.  Begin by giving small groups two different types of texts. You can give them literature & biographies OR give them biographies & another type of informational text. They will need to flip through the books to determine differences. They can write their ideas on the organizers.  If you don’t want them to write on these organizers, another thought would be to just have them do a similar activity with Post-It notes.

Yet another resource is our Biography Text Feature Checklist. This would be a good tool to use to facilitate a class discussion as you flip through some biographies together. Check off when you see the specific text features listed within the books. This is also provided in a black & white version with a space for student’s name in case you want to use it as a literacy center activity.

New to reading workshop? Start here and then come back to this unit: Preparing Your Reading Workshop

Biography Reading Unit of Study FREE from The Curriculum Corner

Read Alouds

Another way to get students familiar with the biography genre is to share them during your read aloud time.  Choose a few examples that will be of high interest to your students, but that might be above their reading level.  

As you read the books or chapters aloud during your regular read aloud time, you can touch on the ideas you are teaching during your reading block.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Focus On Author’s Purpose

You might want your students to think more deeply about why specific biographies have been written. Obviously the purpose of a biography is to inform, but thinking about the reasons an author has to write the biography can help students to determine importance.  

Our goal as teachers is to help students pull out the purpose. You can use this half sheet Focus on Author’s Purpose during a mini-lesson or at literacy center. There is also a page of Author’s Purpose Exit Slips you can use as a quick check.

An extension of this could be our  Biography   Search , which is intended to be used as a literacy center as well. Once students are able to determine why biographies have been written about specific people, then you could have them search through a stack of books to find different categories.

Biography Reading Unit of Study FREE from The Curriculum Corner

Thinking About Background Knowledge

Activating schema is an important part of students becoming strong readers. A goal for teachers is for our students to think about what they already know before learning new information.

We have created two Building Background  organizers for students to record their background knowledge. Choose the one that you feel best fits your specific students.

Biography Reading Unit of Study FREE from The Curriculum Corner

Gathering Important Information

Your students might no be ready to begin reading appropriately high interest biographies and gathering information to share.  We have come up with a few different ways for your students to begin to pull out important information from the biographies they are reading.

One way for students to begin focusing on important information from biographies is to have them begin to take simple notes.  Students need guidance so that they don’t copy complete sentences or paragraphs from books.   Biographies: When Will I Take Notes  is an anchor chart that will help them begin to figure out what to write when taking notes. If you have other ideas about how and when you want students to take notes, you can use our blank template to write your own ideas on.

Our  Life Outline resource is a simple way for students to break down personal information from the biographies they are reading into portions of time in a subject’s life.

We have also included nine different Graphic Organizers that you can introduce to your students as they begin to read.  These cover a range of skills.

There is also a cause & effect organizer that will get your students thinking about how particular events have affected the lives of the people they are reading about.

You might also want to try our set of Important Information Bookmarks . These can be used for students to mark text.

Students simply insert them into the book at the appropriate places. They then go back to them to share information with the class or to fill out one of the organizers.

Biography Reading Unit of Study FREE from The Curriculum Corner

Most biographies share the impact that others had on the subjects’ lives. These influences can be either positive or negative. Whichever case is true, we want students to be able to name those people who were crucial to the success or failure of the person and why.   

This task may be difficult for students, so we suggest that you choose a short, simple biography to read to the class. You will then discuss the influences in the subject’s life. Identify why they had a positive or negative effect. Finally, fill out one of our two organizers with the students so that they can understand their use.

Biography Reading Response Prompts

You can cut these 8 prompts apart, assign to students and glue into reading response notebooks.

Character Traits

While reading biographies you will want to focus on the character traits of the biography subjects.  Many times it is these character traits that serve as the author’s purpose.  

For materials to use in focusing on those traits, you can check out our Character Traits post. You will find a range of lists of character traits and activities to use during reading workshop.

Sharing Student Learning

You will want your students to be able to share their learning as they read and learn. There are so many different ways they can do this. Below we have shared some of our own resources and ideas.

Biography Brochure – This template can provide your students with an outline to create a brochure focusing on the individuals they are reading about.  Choose the template that fits your students.

Simple Biography Books –  Once your students have read many biographies, you might have them create simple books to share with younger students. We have created templates for both female and male subjects. You will find them with handwriting and standard lines.  You will find this download here: Simple Biographies – Books

Timelines – Of course biographies lend themselves well to student-created timelines. Our students always love using PowerPoint for timelines, but good old-fashioned posters are always great visuals too!

Wax Museums – Another popular way to share student learning for this genre is the Living Wax Museum. Students view pictures and dress up as their characters. They memorize as much as possible and stand at-the-ready to tell others about their lives.  These can be fun presented during the school day to other classes. Or, make it an evening event where parents would be able to watch.

You can download the PDF printables for this unit of study here:

Reading Download

We know that some teachers like to have the lessons above in a document they can easily print and add to their lesson plans. You can download these lesson plans here:

Lesson Download

A few of our favorite biography studies can be found below. These are each free and designed to be ready to go literacy centers.

FREE Katherine Johnson Book Study Resources from The Curriculum Corner

You might like these for your biography book basket (contains affiliate link)

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[…] If you are looking for additional resources for your study on biographies, you will find our unit of study here: Biography Unit of Study […]

Book Study: Katherine Johnson - The Curriculum Corner 123

Tuesday 26th of December 2017

Book Study: Ballerina Dreams - The Curriculum Corner 123

Thursday 12th of October 2017

Wednesday 4th of May 2016

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thank you so much for this great resource on biographies for grade 2.

Biography Lesson Plan: An Introduction to Biographies

Submitted by: stacey lopez.

In this lesson plan which is adaptable for grades 1-5, students will use BrainPOP and/or BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about biographies. Students will then select a person whose biography they would like to read (or watch a short video about on BrainPOP). Finally, students will write their own biography on a selected person.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:.

  • Define and explain what a biography is.
  • Read or watch an example of a biography.
  • Compose a biography.
  • Computer with internet access for BrainPOP
  • Interactive whiteboard (or just an LCD projector)
  • Chart Paper
  • Markers--variety of colors
  • Sticky notes and pencils for students
  • Biography template (optional)

Preparation:

Lesson procedure:.

  • Explain to students that a biography of a famous person includes many facts. Ask them to take notes while they are watching either the BrainPOP Biography movie or the BrainPOP Jr. Biography movie. Explain that they will contribute to a class anchor chart about biographies.
  • After the movie has finished, ask each student for a fact to add to the anchor chart. Alternate the colors to make it exciting. Students will be able to identify their contribution to the class anchor chart.
  • Ask to students to read or watch a biography for a selected person in order to gather more information. Students could watch any of the BrainPOP topics in the Famous Historical Figures Unit or BrainPOP Jr. Biographies Unit , or read about the person's life in a book or online. Instruct students to take more notes while reading.
  • Talk with students about the common features their biographies shared. What makes a good biography? Add to the anchor chart as needed.
  • Each student may then write their own biography of another person using some of the facts that the class gathered.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

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The Kindergarten Smorgasboard

  • Categories Classroom Management , Literacy , Math , Organization

Anchor Charts! Ideas, Tips And Tricks!

  • Greg Smedley-Warren
  • July 5, 2017
  • No Comments

biography anchor chart kindergarten

I admit it.  Until recently I didn’t use anchor charts.  True story.  You see, I didn’t believe I was talented enough to to create anchor charts and I didn’t fully understand their value.  Fast forward a couple of years and I now firmly believe anchor charts should be in every classroom!

So, Mr. Greg, what are the benefits of anchor charts:

  •  Student involvement!  We create anchor charts in class TOGETHER!   It’s a team project and gets students involved which means engagement is increased and learning is happening!
  • Review concepts!  Anchor charts provide visual review of concepts and if your anchor charts are displayed in the classroom, it provides a source of ongoing review!
  • Create print rich environment!   Anchor charts provide sources of kid friendly print which is vital for students learning to read and write!

OK, Mr. Greg, we’r sold!  What are some of your favorite anchor charts?

Name writing anchor chart.

This is our first anchor chart of the school year.  Have students write their name on the anchor chart to set a baseline for name writing!  And then we do it again in December and in May to show our progress!  Laminate this chart so it will last all year!

ABC BOOTCAMP CIRCLE MAPS

These circle maps are how we introduce letters and sounds during our 26 day ABC BOOTCAMP!  For more information, check out our ABC BOOTCAMP page!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten

School supply anchor charts.

These anchor charts are part of my Back To School Research Project .  We make a tree map for each school supply as a way to learn how to use our classroom supplies.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Number Bootcamp Circle Maps

These circle maps are made during our NUMBER BOOTCAMP.  This is how we introduce numbers to 20 in the first 20 days of school!   For more on Number Bootcamp click the image!

What Is A Label?

We use this anchor chart to introduce labels.  Then we do a writing activity where the students draw Mr. Greg and label Mr. Greg!   For more on this activity, check out this post!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Characters Anchor Chart

What can we write about.

This is a very important anchor chart because one of the biggest issues for our kids when it comes to writing is what to write about.  This chart helps them know that they can write about ANYTHING!

Read the book Run, Turkey, Run !  Discuss verbs and have students brainstorm as many verbs as they can think of!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

This is a fun chart to make while working on OO words!   I write oo words on plastic spoons using a Sharpie.  The kids take turns choosing and spoon and reading the word.  Then we hot glue the spoon onto the chart.  (Hot glue means the teacher does the gluing….)   For more ideas on teaching OO words, check out this post!

Read the book Sheep In  A Jeep .  Students choose a sheep and read the EE word.  Then we glue it on the Jeep! For more ideas on teaching EE words and to see how we bring Sheep In A Jeep to life, check out this post!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Shark Words are engaging and fun and help us learn our AR words!   Students choose a shark tooth, read the AR word and glue the tooth in the shark’s mouth!

Addition And Subtraction Bootcamp Circle Maps

These addition and subtraction circle maps are a little more challenging.  Students have to find the equations that equal the number on the circle map!

Vowels Circle Maps

Shapes anchor chart.

We make these shape anchor charts for 2D and 3D shapes!   We make Shape People and use our shape people or shape monsters to help us create the anchor chart!  Check out Shapes Bootcamp for more shapes activities!

The wedding of Q and U is a highlight of the kindergarten experience.  What 5 year old doesn’t like good wedding sealed with a hug?!  As part of our Q and U wedding, we come up with qu words and create this anchor chart!   For more on our QU wedding, check out this post!

OK, Mr. Greg, now we have ideas for anchor charts, do you have any tips for creating anchor charts?!  Ya’ll, do I have tips?  You know I have some tips…

Circle Maker!   Ya’ll need a circle maker.  Trust me.  I’m not one to get hung on things being perfect…but we do so many circle maps…so many circle maps…and I was embarrassed by our lopsided circle maps.  A friend gave me this idea:  use a paint stir stick to make a circle maker.  Check out this post for directions to make your circle maker!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Prep ahead of time!   I prep all of my anchor charts or class charts on Sunday.  Do I make the charts?  NO.  I prep them.  I get the skeleton ready but I don’t fill in the information.  That’s where the kids get involved.  Prepping them on Sunday means I’m not stressed and rushing around all week making anchor charts!   TIP:  Make the charts and put them in the car.  All that prep work doesn’t do any good if you leave them at home!  True story.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

And of course use smelly markers!  All. the. smelly.  markers.

And finally, Mr. Greg, how do you store and display your anchor charts?

I have a few different ideas for organizing and display anchor charts!

First, we have this area above our cubbies where we keep current anchor charts!  This is made with some bulletin board border and clothespins!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Second, anchor charts on a rope!   We have a rope stretched across the room and we hang our anchor charts on that rope!  Click on the image to get all of the details on our anchor chart rope!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Third, once we take the charts down from the rope and the wall, we keep them for the kids to use.  And they will use them.  My students love looking at all of our charts!  So we made this PVC anchor chart stand where we hang all of our charts!  Click the image to get all of the directions to make your own chart stand!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

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biography anchor chart kindergarten

Interactive Anchor Charts in Kindergarten

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Interactive anchor charting in Kindergarten. Yes it can be done and here's how! The Applicious Teacher

One of the biggest questions I get about my Interactive Anchor Charts is whether or not they’re appropriate for kindergarten. I’ve always answered that question with a solid “teacher’s know their students best”. Why? Because I didn’t know better. I hadn’t actually seen or used Interactive Anchor Charts in kindergarten to verify. But now? Now I can say YES! Interactive Anchor Charts can (and should) be used in kindergarten!

Using interactive anchor charts in kindergarten

I’m not gonna lie, switching from 5th to kinder back in October was tough. I had to have a complete mind-shift. One of my saving graces has been “Good teaching is good teaching is good teaching” and lucky for me, good teaching involves Interactive Anchor Charts . I knew they worked in 2nd, 3rd, and even 5th grade. Why not kindergarten?

So, I took a gamble and started using them in Kinder. Although I had to make a *few* adjustments to make them work for my non-reading, non-writing, school-is-still-new-to-me-friends, they’ve been a great asset to our learning routine! So, today I thought I’d share a few tricks for making interactive anchor charts in kindergarten (or 1st grade) work for you!

Model, Model, Model

Interactive anchor charting in kinder- YES it can be done and it's kinda amazing!

One of the biggest ways to use Interactive Anchor Charts in your classroom starts with using it as modeling base. Model how you are filling in the information. Model how you are sounding out and forming letters. This turns the comprehension piece of reading into something more meaningful, more powerful for your little learners.

I also like to continuously use the same interactive anchor chart many weeks in a row. This Story Map anchor chart is a staple in our classroom. Not that we don’t work on any other standards because believe me WE DO! It’s just a perfect way to continue modeling how to examine story structure.

Add engagement by having the students put up the reponses for the interactive anchor chart.- The Applicious Teacher

Use Pictures and Words

One of the hardest parts of teaching kindergarten versus ANY other grade level is that the majority of my students are non-readers or beginning readers. Unless what I am writing has 3 letters or less, there was no way my kiddos could use what I wrote as a guide for any future learning.

using interactive anchor charts in kindergarten- The Applicious Teacher

To help with this, I’ll often use a mixture of pictures and words as we fill in the chart.

Add Student Responses (Even If They Aren’t Legible)

After you’ve modeled adding student answers to the chart, eventually you have to pass off the learning to the students. This is the ultimate purpose of Interactive Anchor Charts , isn’t it? To make students as part of the learning.

Make the most of your interactive anchor charts by having the studnets fill in the charts (even if they can't write!)

This past week, I handed over the sticky notes and had students write/draw the information to put on our chart. We had read the story, “The Three Snow Bears” and were working on retelling events from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

I’m not gonna lie… their responses weren’t exactly perfect. I swear some of them were just random shapes/letters…

biography anchor chart kindergarten

My initial reaction was… wait… how could I leave this up? You can’t even READ this! Then, I remembered… they can’t read either ! But, they know what they wrote or illustrated. So, we presented the information on our sticky notes to the class.

Let’s talk about the engagement factor here. Sure, before my kids loved putting up the information that I wrote out on the chart. But engagement soared to a new level when I handed them the pencil and sticky note. They were excited to share, they were excited to listen, they were LEARNING! There’s a distinct difference between the appearance of learning and actual learning. Allowing my students to write their own responses may not have the “appearance” of learning, but they sure were learning!!!

I was also able to see right away who understood the events that defined the beginning, middle, and end of the story and those who were on the struggle bus.

Use Templates

Use a template to help structure a student response when using interactive anchor charts- The Applicious Teacher

There are times where a response from a student needs to look a certain way to help maintain the integrity of the lesson. Other times, you need students’ responses to include very specific details. This is the perfect time to pull out sticky note templates.

For example, this week in kindergarten, we were learning all about adding to make 10. I wanted my students to understand that a tens frame can help us make ten when adding. In addition, I wanted to see that my students could write an addition sentence AND use a tens frame to illustrate their addition fact.

Sure, I could have just passed out a worksheet and coach them through completing the worksheet. Then collect it, check it, and try to remember who got it and didn’t get it the next time I pull a small group. But this is real life and I teach five-year-olds. All I really needed was one response and for it to be QUICK! I also needed it to be littles friendly. Drawing a tens frame AND an addition sentence? A little too much to ask for at this stage in the game.

Adding to make a ten interactive anchor chart- perfect way for students to show they know how to use a strategy WITHOUT a worksheet.

So, I made up a quick printable “adding to make a ten” template and printed off a class set of sticky notes. Boom ! In a matter of minutes, I was able to see who knew how to use a tens frame and write an addition sentence that added to ten-a nd who didn’t. 

No Grading.

No trying to remember (or having to pull up a gradebook )

No wasted time!

#Teacherwinning

These are just a few ways I’m making interactive anchor charting work in my Kindergarten classroom. Want to snag these charts for yourself? Be sure to follow this link (or click any of the pictures) to grab my Interactive Anchor Charts: Never Ending Bundle. This chunky download gives you access to all my current interactive anchor charts AND future anchor charts! #WINNING!

So what are some ways you’re engaging your students in Kindergarten? Do you use interactive anchor charts in your classroom? If you do? Keep the conversation going by commenting below!

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  • Categories: interactive anchor chart , reading

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Hi, I'm Leigh.

The Applicious Teacher is all about creating hands-on and engaging lessons that align with the standards while still having time for your life. This is your place for ideas, tips, and resources for the REAL teacher!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

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Printable Anchor Charts That Save You Time and Money!

We love sharing our favorite resources, books, classroom supplies and teacher stuff with you. When we do, we may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. This does not affect our choices in what to recommend. Rest assured, we only recommend our favorite products to you! You can find our full advertising policy on the Partner With Elizabeth page.

Hi Teacher Friend!  I am so happy you found your way to this blog post because I have some amazing time saving, money saving tips for you! Annnnnddddd . . . you don’t have to give up an engaging lesson or student engagement.

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

OK to get started – let’s play a quick little game.  I am going to give you a word and I want you to think about the next word that comes to mind.  Are you ready?!?  Here we go . . .

**ANCHOR CHART**

So, what popped in that mind of yours?  A word?  A feeling?  Both?  Did you do a little happy dance? Did you let out a big sigh?

Here’s a few words some teacher friends shared with me:

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

I get it!  I get all of these responses (good and bad) and I’ve been there myself.  Let me start by saying that all of these teachers use anchor charts because they know how effective they are for our learners.  But that doesn’t mean they like the process of preparing them or the cost of buying ready made charts.

Well, where did you fall in this spectrum of words?  I’m guessing you too have experienced many of these same feelings.  Not any more my friend – not any more!

So what is an anchor chart anyway?

Time saving, money saving anchor charts.

What if I told you that you could have an amazing looking anchor chart for just a few cents, some markers and about 5 minutes of your time.  I know what you are thinking – but it’s true.  You can and that is why I am so excited you found me today!

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

“ Hmmm – where am I going to print this anchor chart,” I thought to myself.    (Cuz we all know that printing on multiple pages and cutting and pasting it together just completely eliminated the time saving aspect.  Please tell me I’m not the only one who has put together something in my classroom this way!)  My local drafting business to the rescue!

I started thinking outside the box and realized that these posters were about the same size as a blueprint.  I called a local drafting company that creates and prints blueprints and told them what I needed. They were happy to help me out.  For just 60 cents a page – yep $0.60 – as in less than a buck – my new anchor chart became a reality.  {Some teachers have gone the Staples or Kinkos route too.  Just know that is a little more expensive.}

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

Here’s how I use these Interactive Alphabet Anchor Charts in my classroom.

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

Even better than our whole group learning time, I see my students using the anchor charts when they are working independently.  Whether it is during writing time or a word work center, they know these charts are tools to help them.

Find out more about these interactive anchor charts in this short video:

Printable Interactive Anchor Charts The Kinderhearted Classroom

Differentiated Teaching

A Beginner’s Guide to Incredible Anchor Charts

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest, you’ve likely been inundated with images of stunning classroom anchor charts. If you’re like me, you’ve probably scrolled through the eye-candy wondering how anyone has time to make these charts look so pretty and still cook dinner for their kids, grade papers, write lessons, do the laundry… you get my drift.

For many new teachers, the pressure to have a Pinterest-worthy classroom can feel overwhelming with all the other things being thrown your way. If this is you, don’t stress! Many first-year teachers walk into the classroom eager to take on the new challenge, but without much understanding of how best to get the most bang for their buck out of instructional tools, like anchor charts.

Anchor Charts 101 A Beginners Guide anchor charts,anchor chart examples,anchor chart

Today I wanted to share a little background information on what anchor charts are and how best to use them to support learning in your classroom. Whether you’re a brand new teacher or a returning veteran, I hope you’ll find some helpful tips and new information as you read.

This post may contain affiliate links.

What is an anchor chart?

An anchor chart is a teaching tool that helps visually capture important information from the lesson. They are created, at least in part, during instruction to help emphasize and reiterate important information, procedures, processes, or skills being taught. 

what are charts?

For example, if you’re teaching students a problem-solving strategy to help them approach multi-step word problems, your chart might include the steps in the process so that students can refer to this as they work through problems. 

Some anchor charts are interactive, meaning that students help to fill them in as a part of the lesson by writing directly on the chart or using post-it notes. This can be a great tool for formatively assessing student understanding during instruction. 

You can use anchor charts for any subject, and they are commonly seeing in reading , writing, and math classrooms. After the lesson, the chart should remain visible for students to refer to during independent practice and across future lessons.

Why are anchor charts valuable tools in the classroom? 

Using anchor charts is a fantastic way to get students actively engaged in lessons. You can use these charts to teach vocabulary, explain concepts, illustrate examples, and make the learning process fun and visually engaging for students.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Anchor charts serve as a great scaffolded support in the classroom offering a visual reference that you and your students can look back at as you work through guided and independent practice.

While charts are great for all learners, they are especially helpful for several groups of at-risk learners. They offer students who struggle with attention a visual of the steps to guide them through a process. They can also offer English Language Learners a reference for vocabulary and key academic language .

You can also use charts to help students retain key information and make connections between prior knowledge and new information. Research shows this is a key to helping students build a stronger understanding of new material. 

How To Make An Anchor Chart With Your Students

As you’re preparing to make a chart for your class, you’ll want to have a plan for what information you want to include and how you anticipate it being laid out prior to teaching the lesson.

biography anchor chart kindergarten

Since your students should be involved in the actual creation process (whether in a hands-on or verbal participation format), you don’t want to fully create the chart in advance.

However, that doesn’t mean you want to start class with a blank slate! 

You can prep certain parts of your anchor chart – like headers, graphics, or questions you plan to have students respond to – in advance. This can allow you to focus on the instructional pieces more fully during the lesson instead of trying to get everything on the page while your students watch you write. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

The great thing is that you don’t need a ton of supplies to make some really amazing anchor charts for your classroom. There are really only four things you’ll need:

Materials to make an anchor chart anchor charts,anchor chart examples,anchor chart

  • Large chart paper – I love the Post-It Easel Tablets (affiliate link) because I can peel & stick.
  • Markers – I prefer the wide Crayola markers & the Mr. Sketch markers (affiliate link)
  • Projector (optional) – great for pulling up images to trace vs. trying to freehand graphics

During your mini-lesson, you can either record student responses or allow students to record their ideas on sticky notes to add to the anchor chart. You can also have students record answers directly onto the chart if you’re feeling really brave. 

Okay, but how do you make an anchor chart pretty? 

When you’re new to making anchor charts, the prospect of wanting everything perfect can be a bit overwhelming. First off, no one is expecting Pinterest-level perfection like some of the examples you’ll see below. This is especially true with interactive anchor charts, which are meant to be completed by the learners.

how to make your charts pretty

Here are a few simple tips to help keep things neat and organized while making your charts: 

  • Use your projector. Special fonts, graphics, etc can be displayed directly onto your chart paper as you prep your chart. Use a pencil to lightly trace the design to get you started. 
  • Start with a pencil. For charts that will be 100% teacher-written, create a light roadmap of where all the information will go. You can then write over this with a marker during the lesson as you complete each portion with your learners. 
  • Stick with simple. Trying to put too much information on a chart can create a huge mess. Focus on just the most important details and write big enough that the student furthest away from the chart can still refer to the information. 
  • Use Post-It notes for student responses. While you can have students write on the chart, you can use the same chart multiple years if you have students respond with sticky notes. 

That being said, if your anchor chart doesn’t quite turn out how you hope it would during your lesson, you can always re-write it at a different time to make it pretty or more organized. However, I’d save your time and only do this if it is an anchor chart you plan to use consistently across time because your plate is already WAY too full. 

How do you hang an anchor chart in the classroom?

This can be an issue depending on the types of walls you have in your classroom. Cinder block walls tend to be especially tricky. More than once I’ve come back to my room after a long weekend to find all my posters and anchor charts have fallen while the air conditioner was turned off.

how to hang anchor charts

That being said there are several ways to display anchor charts that can help maximize their use. First, try to select an area that you’ll consistently use across time for each subject. That will help students develop a habit of referring to that area when they are seeking support or need to double-check for the information from the lesson.

Here are a few options for hanging your anchor charts:

Use a curtain rod. A thin curtain rod with two metal hooks can be a great way to display anchor charts. Add new charts to the ring across time for easy reference.

Try hooks. Command hooks and magnetic hooks can both be great options depending on your walls and board space. If you’re in a portable classroom, magnetic hooks can keep things really neat and easy to move when necessary.

Poster Frames can be a great choice, too. If you like things to look a little neater, cheap poster frames can be a great alternative. Just be sure to get the right size so they fit your chart paper correctly.

Use a pants hanger. You can easily clip the poster inside the pants hanger. Then hook it to the top of a whiteboard, on a cupboard, or on a nail. Most stores would be happy to give you one for free if you tell them you’re a teacher.

Use hot glue to help with cinder block walls. Hot glue clothes pins or hooks to your cinderblock walls. You can easily remove these later, but they won’t fall down like tape or the putty.

Dedicate bulletin board space by creating a focus board. Create a subject-based focus board that includes vocabulary, standards being covered, etc. Leave space to display your anchor charts after you create them. This creates a one-stop-shop for students when they need to reference something for more information.

The 4 Most Popular Types of Anchor Charts

While there are lots of different kinds of anchor charts out there, as Pinterest can plainly show us. Most anchor charts you’ll create for your classroom fall into one of four main categories. These four types are interactive charts, vocabulary charts, strategy charts, and procedures charts.

types of anchor charts

Here’s a little more information about each type.

1. Interactive Anchor Charts

Interactive anchor charts are designed to be completed as a part of the lesson process. They are a way of students showing their learning. These anchor charts are commonly designed in a way that they could be used multiple times within a unit.

For example, when teaching a skill like main idea and supporting details, the anchor chart might include the graphic organizer where students can add a main idea and supporting details using post-it notes from a reading the class did together.

Interactive anchor charts can be a great tool for formative assessment .

2. Vocabulary Anchor Charts

This type of chart focuses on content area vocabulary. It commonly includes visual examples, definitions, and details that can help the students apply the term to their learning and in academic conversation.

Here’s a great example:

3. Strategy Charts

This type of chart is common in classrooms. They provide the steps and strategies students can refer to when working through assigned tasks. Designed as a way to scaffold instruction, strategy anchor charts lay out the step-by-step process the student should go through to implement the material taught in the lesson.

This often includes worked examples done as guided practice and graphic organizers, acronyms, or other tools that students were taught to use during the mini-lesson time.

4. Classroom Procedure Charts

These charts remind students of the expectations in the classroom. This can include the routines and procedures of the classroom . It might also include how student work is expected to be structured or completed prior to being turned in.

Sometimes teachers create anchor charts to show expectations for notetaking or adding headings to assignments. The goal of these charts is to make it easier for students to organize their assignments and materials in a way that helps them successfully accomplish the classroom tasks.

The Positives & Negatives of Visual Supports

While the idea of creating a chart in front of your learners may make you shiver, anchor charts offer a number of important benefits for student learning.

Not only do they offer a visual that helps keep students engaged during the lesson, but they also provide help to facilitate self-directed learning. Instead of being reliant on the teacher to answer every question that arises, students can refer back to the anchor chart to clarify and reassure them that they are on the right track.

benefits of anchor charts

However, it is important to remember that there can be too much of a good thing. It is important to prioritize what information you’re putting onto a specific chart, but it is also important to prioritize how many charts are on display at any given time.

Too many visuals in the classroom can be a major disruption to learning. This means that instead of helping your struggling learners by providing visual cues on how to complete the task at hand, you might actually end up making the task more difficult because they’re being overwhelmed by too much visual stimuli.

Therefore, it’s important to find a balance. As a new teacher, you may feel pressure to make an anchor chart for everything. Take time to assess whether this is something that your students will use again and again. If not, feel free to let that pressure go!

biography anchor chart kindergarten

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15 Clever Anchor Charts for Teaching Story Elements

All the pieces that make up a story.

Collage of Story Elements Anchor Charts

Identifying the elements of a story helps students deepen their reading comprehension skills. Plus, it guides them when they’re ready to start writing their own stories. These story-elements anchor charts are easy enough for any teacher to make, and they provide lots of good information for kids to reference. Choose one or more to share with your class!

1. Basic Story Elements

Basic story elements anchor chart showing characters, setting, problem, and solution

This anchor chart is excellent for kindergarten or first grade. It lays out the basic story elements, leaving room to add information with a marker or sticky notes.

Source: The Animated Teacher

2. What Are Story Elements?

What Are Story Elements? anchor chart

This text-based chart is better for older elementary kids. Hang it up to remind them of the key elements to look for as they read or write.

Source: Confessions of a Primary Teacher

3. All Good Stories Need …

Story Elements anchor chart titled

This is one of those story-elements anchor charts that works for just about any age. The symbols are easy to understand at a quick glance.

Source: 3rd Grade Thoughts

4. Fiction Story Elements

Fiction Story Elements Anchor Charts

Here’s another simple text-based chart with the basic fiction story elements. There’s room for sticky note details, too.

Source: Hippo Hurray for Second Grade

5. Parts of a Story

Parts of a Story anchor chart with hand-drawn illustrations (Story Elements Anchor Charts)

If “elements” is too difficult a word for some students to remember, replace it with “parts” instead. Add some sweet illustrations to relate the terms to a story they’re reading.

Source: Keeping It Cool at School

6. Story Elements With Clip Art

Story Elements Anchor Chart illustrated with clip art

Not much of an illustrator? No problem! Grab some free teacher clipart to dress up your anchor chart.

Source: Eclectic Educating

7. Story Elements Puzzle

Anchor chart showing story elements as puzzle pieces

This is one of the most common designs for story-elements anchor charts. The puzzle pieces show kids how all the elements come together to form an engaging story.

Source: Teaching With a Mountain View

8. Literary Elements

Literary Elements Anchor Chart

This chart includes another popular design, the roller coaster. Use it to represent the way plot action rises to a climax and falls to a resolution.

Source: The Creative Apple

9. Sticky Note Illustrations

Anchor chart of Little Red Riding Hood story elements illustrated with drawings on sticky notes

We love this idea for pre-writers. Have students illustrate the various story elements on sticky notes to add to your chart.

Source: Blooming in Kindergarten

10. Story Map

Story Map anchor chart

The same concept works for older students, except they can write their answers instead of (or in addition to) illustrating them.

Source: The Applicious Teacher

11. Compare and Contrast Story Elements

Compare and Contrast Story Elements anchor chart

Delve deeper into reading comprehension by comparing and contrasting story elements. It will help kids better understand characters and plot points.

Source: Jennifer Findley/Pinterest

12. Story Retelling

Story Retelling Anchor Chart

Retelling a story is another way to deepen comprehension. Students recount the story’s elements in their own words. This anchor chart can help them along the way.

Source: Jordan O./Pinterest

13. I Can Retell a Story

I Can Retell a Story anchor chart

One cool way to help kids retell a story is a story-elements bracelet. Add a colored bead for each element, corresponding to this chart. Kids then move the beads along the bracelet as they recount each part of the story.

Source: Kindergarten Chaos/Pinterest

14. 5-Finger Retelling

5 Finger Retelling Anchor Chart (Story Elements Anchor Charts)

The five-finger method is another popular choice for retelling a story. Teach students to associate each finger with one type of story element.

Source: Skinned Knees & Shoelaces

15. How to Retell a Story

How to Retell a Story anchor chart

This chart combines the five-finger method with the roller-coaster model. You get two charts in one!

Source: Glitter in Third/Pinterest

Enhance your lessons on story elements with a video or two! Take a look at Our Favorite YouTube Videos for Teaching Story Elements .

Plus, get all the latest teaching tips and ideas when you sign up for our free newsletters ..

15 Clever Anchor Charts for Teaching Story Elements

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Autobiography VS. Biography Anchor Chart

biography anchor chart kindergarten

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  1. Identifying and Counting Coins Anchor Chart Butcher Paper Activities, Kindergarten First Grade 2nd

  2. Character anchor chart

COMMENTS

  1. Making Biographies Fun (with TWO Freebies)

    That way, you can replicate a similar anchor chart for your students. (Link: Biography Header Freebie) 2. Integrate reading into students independent and partner reading time. Utilize all the time you can with biographies. Plug them into daily centers and even book bins for students to read during downtime.

  2. 22 Kindergarten Anchor Charts You'll Want to Recreate

    This anchor chart is simple, but it's a great way to encourage your students to do more reading. Source: Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten 24. Drawing People. Kindergartens will work on their people-drawing skills all year, so this anchor chart is a good reminder of the basics. Source: Kindergarten, Kindergarten 25. Classroom Constitution

  3. Teaching Biographies: Activities and Ideas

    With ABC brainstorm, students write what they know about a given topic using each letter of the alphabet. Instead of ABC's, we did a BEN brainstorm. Students wrote one fact about Ben Franklin with each of the 3 letters: "B", "E", and "N". (3 facts are much faster to write than 26.) I discovered that many of my students knew very little of Ben ...

  4. Biography Anchor Chart (Printable) by Cady Parker

    The PDF file you purchase will include: Tips and tricks for use, plus the following six versions of your anchor chart. ONE: Color Version #1 (Completed Anchor Chart) A full-color version that can be printed as an anchor chart size (approx 24 x 32 inches) by following the instructions included for display in your classroom, TWO:

  5. Teaching Biographies To Elementary Students (Grades 1-5) in 2024

    Create an anchor chart to hang up for students to reference throughout your biography unit! 4 Ideas For Biography Mini Lessons. After introducing biographies, try one of these mini-lesson ideas for teaching biographies! ... You can model this with a biography about yourself on an anchor chart for students to use if they need help. This is also ...

  6. PDF Lesson: Introduce the Elements of Biographies

    4. Review the text features of biography. 5. Choose a biography read aloud to share. 6. Have chart paper and markers available. 1. Differentiate Genres 20 minutes Share with students that they are beginning the biography genre today. Although fiction and biography share characteristics, a biography is an

  7. Biography Unit of Study for Reading

    This biography unit of study contains anchor charts, lessons, graphic organizers and more within this collection. This is another free unit of study for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner. We enjoy reading workshop because it is a great way for teachers to help students explore different elements of literature. At the ...

  8. Biography Lesson Plan: An Introduction to Biographies

    Grade Levels: 3-5, K-3. In this lesson plan which is adaptable for grades 1-5, students will use BrainPOP and/or BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn about biographies. Students will then select a person whose biography they would like to read (or watch a short video about on BrainPOP). Finally, students will write their own biography on a selected ...

  9. Anchor Charts 101: Why and How To Use Them

    An anchor chart is a tool used to support instruction (i.e., "anchor" the learning for students). As you teach a lesson, you create a chart, together with your students, that captures the most important content and relevant strategies. Anchor charts build a culture of literacy in the classroom by making thinking—both the teacher's and ...

  10. Biography Poster Anchor Chart by Cynthia Meteiver

    Kindergarten ELA. 1st grade ELA. 2nd grade ELA. 3rd grade ELA. 4th grade ELA. 5th grade ELA. 6th grade ELA. 7th grade ELA. 8th grade ELA. High school ELA. Elementary ELA. Reading. Writing. Phonics. Vocabulary. Grammar. ... I saw a need for a Biography Poster Anchor Chart, so I made this freebie! Enjoy! Credits are included.

  11. Anchor Charts! Ideas, Tips And Tricks!

    Howdy! I am Mr. Greg from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard. My real name is Greg Smedley-Warren. I have been teaching for 11 years. I spent a year teaching fifth grade, two years in second grade and am now in my 9th year in Kindergarten. Kindergarten is my passion and my calling but honestly, that wasn't how it started. When I was moved to Kindergarten (not voluntarily!) I called my mommy and ...

  12. All the Best Writing Anchor Charts for Kids

    28. Show, Don't Tell. "Show, don't tell" is a cardinal rule of writing. This anchor chart, best for upper elementary writers, can be used to strengthen scenes in fiction and narrative nonfiction works. Build out this chart for middle school writers with additional ideas and more complex emotions.

  13. Interactive Anchor Charts in Kindergarten

    Model, Model, Model. One of the biggest ways to use Interactive Anchor Charts in your classroom starts with using it as modeling base. Model how you are filling in the information. Model how you are sounding out and forming letters. This turns the comprehension piece of reading into something more meaningful, more powerful for your little learners.

  14. The Ultimate Guide to Anchor Charts

    To make an anchor chart, you first need to gather materials. This will include chart paper and markers. Next, you need to plan your content around a key lesson or concept you want your students to remember. Choose a layout that clearly and visually organizes the information, such as bullet points, diagrams, or mind maps.

  15. Biography and Autobiography Anchor Charts by Nancy Teach

    One biography anchor chart and one autobiography anchor chart. These can be hung up in the classroom or given to each student/table as a reference when mastering the concept of both genres. Each anchor chart include: 1. a definition. 2. book covers of examples of each genre.

  16. Printable Anchor Charts That Save You Time and Money!

    An interactive anchor chart allows the students to take part in the creation or application of the anchor chart. This interactiveness builds a sense of ownership in the students and makes the chart that much more meaningful. Your students will have hands-on memory pegs on which to anchor their learning.

  17. Teach Students to Write Biography Reports

    Teach Students to Write Biography Reports. Author: Jessica Boschen. Social Studies, Writing. 9.5K shares. Our biography unit is one of my favorite units in our classroom! This is the first time students experience an independent report, use technology, and have to synthesize information from various sources.

  18. PDF 25 Awesome Anchor Charts for Teaching Writing

    25 of our favorite charts for teaching your students all about writing. 1. The Why Behind Writers Workshops Source: The First Grade Parade First and second graders will draw inspiration from this fun-filled anchor chart about why we write. Make this chart applicable to older students by expanding on each aspect with a specific audience or goal.

  19. Anchor Charts: What they are & why you need them

    These anchor charts are commonly designed in a way that they could be used multiple times within a unit. For example, when teaching a skill like main idea and supporting details, the anchor chart might include the graphic organizer where students can add a main idea and supporting details using post-it notes from a reading the class did together.

  20. Presidents Day Biography Study Lesson Plans for kindergarten

    Presidents Day Biography Study Lesson Plans! Students will love learning about informational text features as they read and write about President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln. Close reading questions for deep comprehension, anchor charts, timelines, sentence study, and President's Day Craft too!

  21. Biography Anchor Chart by Kaiti's Kreations

    Just a quick AC I made that I then made into 4 smaller ones on a piece of paper for students to insert in their notebooks.

  22. 15 Clever Anchor Charts for Teaching Story Elements

    Choose one or more to share with your class! 1. Basic Story Elements. This anchor chart is excellent for kindergarten or first grade. It lays out the basic story elements, leaving room to add information with a marker or sticky notes. Source: The Animated Teacher. 2.

  23. Autobiography VS. Biography Anchor Chart

    This is an anchor chart that states the differences between an autobiography and a biography. I blow it up on poster maker for my anchor chart wall and then shrink it down for the students to glue in their journals. Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content ...