I was thinking about how many of our anchor charts are teacher-made. Sure, we get student input, but what if we had a way to really include students in our anchor chart-making process? Collaborative anchor charts are made by groups of students after completing a task.
To make a collaborative anchor chart for science vocabulary, 4 to 8 students work both together and individually under the teacher’s guidance to complete a task, talk about it, and write about it. In this post, I’ll share an example of how students made a collaborative anchor chart about the structural adaptations animals have and their functions.
Prep
- I hung up information cards with photos and text about different types of animals around the room.
- I set up the skeleton for the anchor chart since we needed to move quickly through the activity. Students can do this instead if you prefer.
- Print pictures of the organisms and gather some index cards or large sticky notes.
Activity
We reviewed our focus vocabulary: adapt, adaptations, structure, and function.
Partners walked around the room and selected 5 of the cards to read. On individual charts, they identified the organism, an important structure and its function.
Students chose an animal from the activity (this could also work in pairs). They wrote what one of the most important structures was nice and big on one index card and the function on another index card. Groups set up their anchor charts and then presented the information!
This strategy helped students get some good practice with related vocabulary and they had multiple opportunities to speak, listen, and explain their thinking both verbally and in writing.
Want more charts?
See more collaborative anchor charts for other science topics.
More Resources for Adaptations
Adaptations Interactive Notebook Photos: See pics from my notebook!
Adapt! Science Stations Unit: This resource on TpT has nine centers that allow students to explore and review mixtures.
7 Ideas to Teach Animal Adaptations: This blog post has 7 fun activities to try!
The post Science Vocabulary Ideas: Collaborative anchor chart for structural adaptations and functions appeared first on The Science Penguin.