1. Anchoring Activities

2. What Is An Anchoring Activity?  Ongoing assignments that students can work on independently throughout a unit, a grading period, or longer.  When:  students have finished an assignment or project  they first enter the class  they are “stumped” and waiting for the teacher’s help.

3. Purpose  Provide ongoing tasks that tie to the content and instruction.  Provides the classroom teacher the time to work with other groups of students or individuals

4. Examples  Create Bulletin Board about current topic  MAP Practice Packets  Learning Centers  Magazine Articles  Math Puzzles/Games  Research Projects  Commercial Kits  Write a skit or talk show about a current topic.  Learning Logs  Journal Entries  Activity Box  Silent Reading  Create a storyboard for a commercial

5. Work Best When:  Student expectations are clear.  Tasks are taught/practiced before use.  Students are accountable for on-task behavior and/or task completion.

6. Characteristics Instructional clarity Based on performance indicators Curriculum-based Differentiated to meet the needs of each student Engaging

7. Benefits of Anchoring Activities  Maximizes instructional time  Facilitates Differentiation  Tailors activities to student needs  Connects to future learning  Creates tone of “Student as worker”

8. What are the benefits in using an anchoring activity? Brainstorm good times to use anchoring activities. Think about transition times. What might be the concerns / problems in using an anchoring activity? Brainstorm how you will overcome the concerns/ problems in using anchoring activities.

9. Planning for Anchoring Activities Subject/Content Area: ___________________ Name and description of anchor activity: What is the rationale for using specific content? How will students be grouped? How will activity & process be introduced to students? How will the activity be managed and monitored? How will student work be graded?