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Anchor Activities

Anchor Activities. What is an anchor activity?. An ongoing assignment directly related to the curriculum. It is worked on independently by a student throughout a unit or a term. It provides meaningful work for students It allows students to “dig deeper” on a topic.

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Anchor Activities

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  1. Anchor Activities

  2. What is an anchor activity? • An ongoing assignment directly related to the curriculum. • It is worked on independently by a student throughout a unit or a term. • It provides meaningful work for students • It allows students to “dig deeper” on a topic

  3. When are anchor activities used? • When students finish an activity early • When students are waiting for further directions • When the teacher is working with other students • When students want or need to “dig deeper”.

  4. What are some of the benefits? • They provide differentiated activities on the basis of student readiness, interest or learning profile (multiple intelligences, learning style) • They allow students time to work on independent research, to work more in depth with a concept, enrich their skill development • They can be used as a management strategy when the teacher is working with individual students or small groups of students • They can be a vehicle for making the classroom more student centered

  5. Who designs/creates the anchor activity? • Usually the teacher • It could be one that another teacher did and you might modify it • Students could give input or even create one, once they become familiar with them

  6. Tips for developing and using anchor activities. • Explain the anchor activity • Model and practice the procedures with the whole class • Be clear on expectations – establish clear policy for accountability, evaluation, and value • Develop ground rules with students • Provide peer/teacher review and conference time • Build in check points for accountability – don’t wait until the end to check how students are doing

  7. Tips continued • Only use anchor activities that are meaningful – they should not be busy work • Choose activities that require some time and thinking- it’s not worth the time of making the activity to have a student finish the task in a few days • Some of the best anchor activities draw on content and skills related to several learning objectives/outcomes

  8. How long should it take to complete? • It will depend on the topic and what is required. • You want to give students time to “dig deeper” • Could be any time from a month to 3 months to even a term • You may want each anchor activity to correspond to a unit • Some may cross over several units

  9. Examples • Grade 4 – Exploration • Anchor activity for study of exploration related to outcomes dealing with developing an understanding of the motivation for exploration and the impact of exploration. • You have 4 weeks to complete this study.

  10. Exploration • Select an explorer that has had a significant impact on society. Develop a portfolio for this explorer that includes the following: • A biography of the explorer • A series of journal or diary entries kept by the explorer. Include sketches, maps etc. • Sample artifacts related to the explorations made by the explorer • A narrative of events related to the explorer’s activities but told from the perspective of someone that was impacted by them • Hero or villain? Based on what you have learned, would you describe this explorer as a hero or a villain? Explain your reasoning. • At least 2 other items (to be discussed).

  11. My Community – You and your World • Use a folder to complete the following items about your community. • On a map of the community show where each of the following is located: • Your house • The school • Your favourite playground • A place to shop • Another place you like

  12. My Community • Draw a picture of what you like best about your community • Draw a picture of a favorite person in your community • Draw a poster that shows why this is a great community. • (Length of time – about a month)

  13. Another Example • Anchor activity for a physical geography class related to outcomes dealing with an understanding of the value and current state of one of the world’s ecosystems.

  14. Ecosystem • Choose 1 of the world’s ecosystems and do an in-depth study to become an expert on that ecosystem. Your research should include location, climatic conditions, vegetation, animal life, human interaction, resources, sustainability. Prepare a power point presentation (including text, visuals, sound bites, other) that shows your deep understanding of the ecosystem. This will be presented to your class. • You have 6 weeks to complete your study.

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