Anchor Charts in Secondary Social Studies

January 11, 2016

As a secondary Social Studies teacher, the thought of anchor charts intimidated me – isn’t that an elementary thing? How would I use them in my class? Would they even work with teenagers? What would they say?

Then I saw some amazing anchor charts in classrooms and the light came on! These are for the concepts in Social Studies and the big ideas – those topics you spend a few weeks on.

PERSIAAcronym for Geography and World Cultures

As I integrated anchor charts into my classroom, I noticed how much they benefited my ELL students. During reviews, I could see them referring to anchor charts; pointing to different parts as they talked about history.

Use anchor charts to review key content

I also began to use them to reinforce certain teaching strategies.

Somebody Wanted… is a great summarization strategy

I am currently in love with my Social Studies Skills Anchor Charts – they can be posted at the beginning of the year, and then as you focus on a certain skill, moved to the front of the room. They provide a graphic organizer and sentence stems for your ELL students.

Reinforce Social Studies Skills with my anchor charts.

In addition to anchor charts on chart paper, have you ever considered making them out of the activities you have just completed? In these anchor charts, a teacher enlarged a scenario activity reviewing the Bill of Rights. By posting them in her classroom, she can refer back to them throughout the year.

This is what they look like: