Learning the levels of organization, that is!
My students are working hard on our living systems unit. Our newest anchor chart is all about the organization of living things.
I am a huge fan of anchor charts because it helps my students organize the content into bite sized pieces. In our living systems unit we discuss the levels of organization, plant and animal cells, classification and cell theory. I like to make an anchor chart for each of the different topics and hang them around the room as we complete them.
Even more than that, I like the students to have their own copies of each anchor chart. So while I'm building a big one, they are making a smaller version at their desks.
The levels of organization student version has all the boxes, but they're all mixed up. The students first figure out which boxes go together and then color those boxes to match.
Once colored they are cut and pasted to the empty boxes on the final page.
I love that my students end a unit with a set of anchor charts all their own. By the end of the year they have a nice science collection, highlighting the content they learned in a way that's easy to reference and, hopefully, easy to remember!
The Let's Build: Levels of Organization Anchor Chart can be found here.
The Let's Build: Levels of Organization student version can be found here.
Recently my class worked on learning the organelles that make up a plant cell. I created an anchor chart and a student activity for the occasion. The student activity is free and can be found here.
First off, I printed out the colored version of the anchor chart parts. I laminated them so I wouldn't have to recreate the wheel, so to speak, when I teach the same unit next year.
You could also print out the black and white version and either color them yourself, or what I like to do, is break my class into groups and assign each group an organelle. They color the organelle, name tag and function tag all the same color.
I use laminated poster boards for my anchor charts. I have several of them. They allow me to add the pieces and then pull them back off when I'm finished with the unit to use another day or another year. I don't have the cool sticky paper for my anchor charts, but that would work too.
I like to involve my students in putting the chart together. I give students the pieces and they listen for me to call for their piece. When it's their turn, they come up and add it to the chart.
In the end, we end up with a completed plant cell that tells the name and function of the ten organelles we are learning about.
After I build the chart up front (or sometimes while I am building), my students build one of their own. They color the picture, name tag and function tag all the same color.
For the little pieces or the pieces with crazy edges, I have them color around the organelles with the color of the cytoplasm. That way they can cut out a block rather than tiny or crazy pieces.
Theirs looks just like mine, only smaller. They end up with a copy of the anchor chart that they can use for reference or to review before a test.
It's also great for teachers who help their students build yearly portfolios. It's neat to be able to look back on all the concepts they've tackled in a nice, neat notebook.
The student version, Let's Build: A Plant Cell, is available here for free.
The anchor chart version, Let's Build: A Plant Cell Anchor Chart, is available here.
