Hook and Hold

Author(s): Jennifer R. Brown

Source: Teaching Children Mathematics, Vol. 21, No. 1 (August 2014), pp. 46-54
Published by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
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Hook AND HOLD
Set sail By Jennifer R. Brown

W
to explore alk into my classroom, and you will
see anchor charts displayed on every
powerful wall. For years, anchor charts have
been commonly used in literacy
ways to instruction (Miller 2002). They also
can be a powerful tool for learning mathematics. Anchor

use anchor charts help create excitement for learning, establish real-
world connections, and furnish a reference during work

charts in time as well as a solid foundation for later lessons.

When and why

mathematics Anchor charts are constructed either during the initial
phase of the lesson or during the conclusion of the les-
teaching and son. The purpose of these two types of anchor charts
varies. An anchor chart constructed at the beginning of
learning. the lesson helps create excitement for the work as well as
provides scaffolding of math content. Anchor charts at
the end of the lesson include student quotes and high-
light specific concepts or strategies (Miller 2002). Both
types of charts help students solidify learning. When
students see their names on a chart with a quote iden-
tifying important contributions, they may feel a sense
of belonging to the classroom learning community and
VINCENT_ST_THOMAS/THINKSTOCK

may experience higher levels of confidence. Charts that

scaffold learning and provide a resource during work
help students feel increasingly capable and competent.
Belonging, competence, and meaningfulness are three
main characteristics of math lessons that are motivating
to students (Turner, Warzon, and Christensen 2011).

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 Each anchor chart element has a specific purpose.
TABL E 1

Element Purpose

Title and picture Focus students on the topic and provide

a quick reference for later

Story introduction­ Activate student background knowledge Using anchor charts

in a three-part lesson
Essential question Begin to set up student task Problem-based lessons usually include three
main lesson components. The lesson begins
Simple drawing Provide a visual representation with with a launch into a task, transitions to work
schema building
time when students explore the problematic
Key idea Establish a learning target aspects of the task, and concludes with the
summary discussion portion of the lesson
New math vocabulary Establish new terminology to be used (Smith and Stein 2011; Van de Walle, Karp, and
underlined during the lesson Bay-Williams 2010).
The lesson launch has important purposes,
Labels Feature examples
such as activating schema for children, pre-
Nonexamples Help students construct a working senting needed math vocabulary, and estab-
definition of new math terms lishing motivation and desire to solve the rich
math task as well as helping students prepare
Color coding Help students see different parts of the to begin working on the task. The launch can
story during the lesson launch open with literature that connects to the math
Organization Help students follow and locate content or with an interesting story or situa-
information tion that has personal relevance to children’s
lives. The launch of the lesson must be engag-
ing, often involving a real-world application.
What evidence does this chart display regarding what Math work with an authentic problem helps
FIGURE 1

students were learning on this particular day? What math do
you see? How would this chart support student learning?
children connect to the beauty of math and its
usefulness on a daily basis. While in the launch
portion of the lesson, it is important for the
teacher to create a visual record of key concepts
or terms for the children to use during all three
parts of the lesson (Smith and Stein 2011).
To launch a lesson, the teacher begins the
chart with a title, an essential question, or a key
idea. An effective anchor chart will also include
new vocabulary from the lesson and examples
of these terms, which helps students construct
their own definition of the new vocabulary
and begin to approximate while exploring the
problem. Anchor charts can include pictures or
diagrams to help students connect the launch
story to the setup for the math task. A well-
crafted anchor chart will contain all this infor-
mation and also be easy to look at, colorful, and
organized. Creating an anchor chart during
the lesson launch should take only five to ten
minutes. As the teacher is talking to the class,
he or she is also writing on the chart. Table 1
summarizes the purpose of each element on an
anchor chart.
After the children fully understand the prob-
lem at hand, they dig into the work and dis-
cover or create a solution pathway. During this
time, the teacher monitors the class, looking for
interesting solution strategies as well as mis-
conceptions. The teacher records notes about

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student work and thinks about how to select
and sequence student ideas during the sum-
mary portion of the lesson (Smith and Stein
2011). This is the ideal time for the teacher to
consider how to feature students’ competence
in problem solving. Recording quotes while
students are exploring—with the purpose of
highlighting quotes during the summary—is a
great way for a teacher to foster students’ hook-
ing and holding onto one another’s thinking.
This strategy captures and records students’
thinking that might otherwise be lost.
The third part of the lesson typically focuses
on a summary discussion. In this final phase,
the children share their work, and the teacher
carefully helps them connect mathematical
concepts they have explored earlier (Smith
and Stein 2011). Teachers often drop this part
of the lesson when time is running low. How-
ever, without a meaningful math discussion,
tent (Miller 2002). If the anchor chart is messy
or disorganized, it could create confusion for
students rather than serving its purpose of
anchoring students’ thinking to their work and
to mathematical concepts.
I usually plan for a new anchor chart by
sketching out a rough draft on a sticky note
ahead of time and placing this in my plan book
to remind me of the chart design. When creating
the rough draft, I first think about the title and a
quick picture. A title and picture help students
link a few words and a visual to the math content
(see fig. 1). (These are especially helpful when
students try to go back through a stack of charts
to find a specific example.) I then write the key
idea for the lesson and the new vocabulary
terms that students will need to help support
their thinking (e.g., see figs. 1 and 2).
The teacher printed and cut out images ahead of time to use
FIGURE 2

many great ideas will not stick. In fact, apart

while constructing an anchor chart with her students.
from a productive math discussion to solidify
students’ understanding, the entire exploration
may have been a waste. Additionally, logging a
record of student thinking becomes important
later. It might be days or weeks before a strug-
gling math student is ready to adopt an idea
that others suggested. The summary anchor
chart serves as a tool for students to use when
they are ready to experiment with a new math-
ematical concept. This type of chart can be
created quickly in front of children, capturing
their thinking during the summary portion of
the lesson. The more practice a teacher has
with anchor charts, the quicker he or she can
complete them.

Incorporating anchor
charts into planning
A truly helpful and supportive anchor chart
usually does not just happen by accident. While
engaging in regular instructional planning
practices, teachers can deliver stronger instruc-
tion by planning and using anchor charts. With
a strong plan, a natural next step is visualizing
an anchor chart. In preparing to launch the les-
son, teachers can think about what information
to include and how to organize it on an anchor
chart. Returning to the initial purpose of the
lesson and chart is important. By definition, an
anchor chart is a place for children to connect
their thinking and learning to the lesson con-

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 The red, underlined text on this launch chart helps
FIGU R E 3 students focus on finding how much money in addition
to finding how many pounds.
To save time when creating a summary chart to conclude
FIGURE 4
a lesson, the teacher could have photos of students on
hand to attach next to their respective quotes.
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I think about text features that would be
helpful for students to look at, such as charts
or diagrams (e.g., see the T chart in fig. 2). I like
to use nonexamples (e.g., see the right side of
the T chart in fig. 2) whenever possible to help
students create their own working definitions
of new math terms. When I am satisfied with
the sticky note draft, I take it with me to the
large-group area. Students seat themselves on
the floor. With the chart on an easel, I re-create
a large-scale anchor chart using unlined, white
chart paper and colored markers. I draw the
picture and talk about the math with my stu-
dents. They are part of the chart creation and
therefore are engaged during this process. This
discussion and creation of the anchor chart
help develop vocabulary, especially for English
language learners. As students offer ideas and
contribute to the discussion, the original plan
for the chart changes to include students’ ideas.
Anchor charts should be created with students,
not presented to them.
Creating anchor charts is like developing
any skill: You get better with practice. You will
always have after-the-fact ideas for how to
improve the chart. Recording your thinking for
reference is important so that you can incor-
porate these revisions in future anchor charts.
If possible, capture your revised thinking after
the lesson on the anchor chart itself. Students
will be interested in seeing how your ideas
change, and modeling your own metacognitive
thinking is helpful to them.
Types of anchor charts
Connecting math concepts
I wanted my students to learn the vocabulary
term factor as well as begin to construct mean-
ingful ways to find all factors for a given prod-
uct. Students already were using skip counting,
repeated addition, and number-line jumps for
multiplication. They had also learned about
division in terms of repeated subtraction and
backward jumps on a number line. This anchor
chart (see fig. 1) helped students see the con-
nection between multiplication and division.
I used the familiar children’s storybook The
Doorbell Rang (Hutchins 1986) for the les-
son launch. As I read the book, I periodically
paused to write on the launch chart and talk to
the class about the math concepts involved in
the story.
Story telling
Many children’s books could launch a lesson,
but if I cannot find a book that matches my spe-
cific task, then I often rely on the art of telling a
great story. The tale need not be long or overly
complicated, but it should be about something
that will capture students’ interest and create a
desire to hear more in even the most reluctant
mathematician (Davies 2005).
After working on concepts with multipli-
cation, such as arrays and skip counting, we
navigated deeper waters: more complicated
story problems for which students could use
these multiplication concepts to help solve the
problem. For instance, figure 3 includes most
of a launch story and offers different strategies
students might use to solve the problem.
Most elementary school students are moti-
vated to listen to a story about their teacher’s
life outside school. Such stories can show
students how math connects to daily life and
can give them a feeling of gaining “insider”
knowledge about their teacher’s personal life.
The story should connect to the picture that the
teacher draws on the chart (see fig. 3). The size
and type of picture can help steer the layout. If
you feel that you are not a good enough artist to
create your own anchor chart, never fear; with
the power of a color printer, you too can create
amazing anchor charts. Figure 2 is an example
of how colored photographs add a wonderful
visual aid to anchor charts.
Summarizing
The anchor chart made during the conclusion
of a lesson (see fig. 4) helps solidify learning,
build students’ confidence, and promote a
sense of competence with math concepts. Stu-
dents feel proud to see their words in quotes,
displayed on a chart for all to see. The per-
manent record of student thinking can hold
students accountable for old ideas as well as
for connections to new ideas (Miller 2002). The
quotes serve as a way for children to go back

Teach. Ask. Learn. New from

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EDITED BY DR. LYNN M C GARVEY

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 and reference ideas from other students. These
summary charts are vital to students’ ability to
visually remember the varied solutions paths
offered by their peers.
Assessing
Anchor charts can also be interactive and sup-
port formative assessment. Each morning, I
create a chart message that I use for forma-
tive assessment for lesson content learned. By
purposefully assigning work to students, I can
provide an appropriate level of challenge for all.
After students complete their work, I analyze
the chart. I look for overall evidence of readi-
ness to move on to explore deeper concepts.
If the evidence indicates that the class has a
strong understanding of that concept, I can
use the formative assessment chart in a launch
later in the day or week.
A few days after we worked with factors, I
created a chart message in which each child
was to find the factors for the number inside the
student’s designated box (see fig. 5a). Later, as
we analyzed the completed chart together (see
fig. 5b), students were able to identify patterns
and create mathematical conjectures. Students
began to notice that all even numbers had
more than two factors and that some odd num-
bers had only two factors. Using the anchor
chart as an example, they realized that this rule
did not hold true for all odd-number prod-
ucts. The morning chart message established
a heading that led the class into a rich math
task to discover why some odd numbers have
only two factors. The formative assessment
chart became the anchor during student work
time. Students could go back and look at the
odd-number examples, which helped them see

A few days after the class had worked with factors,

FIGURE 5

(b) As the class analyzed the completed factor chart

the teacher created an assessment chart. together, students identified patterns and made
mathematical conjectures, noticing that all even numbers
(a) Each child was to find the factors for the number inside had more than two factors and that some odd numbers
a designated box. had only two factors.

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patterns and create structure regarding even
and odd numbers for a given product.
Reviewing the chart message could happen
in two main ways. First, the teacher could review
the chart individually with students to discuss
mistakes or misconceptions. After talking with
the teacher, a student could then fix the error.
Sometimes giving students a large sticky note to
put over their square and do the work again is
helpful if the error is too large to fix.
The second way to review the chart could
happen before a lesson launch in which the
teacher talks about each student’s box and asks
other students if they agree or disagree with
the work. If a mistake is discovered, then the
student can come up and fix the mistake or call
on another student for help.
In this example, we looked at errors together
as a class, but our discussion went beyond
errors; we took new tacks to many more deep
mathematical discussions than what I initially
had anticipated when I created the formative
Interactive anchor charts
can be used to support
a lesson launch, a lesson
summary, a formative
assessment of lesson
content, and future charts.
assessment anchor chart. We talked about how
the equations had to be purely multiplication.
Equations such as Joy’s, Simon’s, or Peter’s (see
fig. 5b), which use a combination of multiplica-
tion and addition, do not work for finding fac-
tors. Students could see that Krista’s box should
have included two as a factor. Chris explained
how he thought about seventeen pieces of
candy and sharing the candy with a friend. He
knew that one piece would have to be split in

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 in mind this bigger, more global perspective,
then implementing anchor charts in planning
and in teaching becomes easier and less time
consuming. I used to keep anchor charts to
reference how I had created them in previous
years. Now anchor charts have become such a
habit of mind and practice that I give the charts
away at the end of the year. I am always amazed
at how students cling to some anchor charts
as if they have discovered a long-lost friend.

WAVEBREAKMEDIA LTD/THINKSTOCK
Anchor charts become a cherished memory of
the classroom experience, capable of hooking
and holding students’ deep thinking.

REF EREN C ES
Davies, Alison. 2005. “Story as a Tool for
Learning.” Mathematics Teaching 191
Long after a class­ half. Chris continued to assert that adding eight (June):16–18.
room learning and one-half together makes seventeen. He Hutchins, Pat. 1986. The Doorbell Rang. New
experience, children
explained the use of repeated addition as a way York: Greenwillow.
refer to, connect
with, build on, to show multiplication. His approach in find- Miller, Debbie. 2002. Reading with Meaning:
and cherish anchor ing factors led to an unexpected result of using Teaching Comprehension in the Primary
charts. fractions. Chris’s work allowed the class to later Grades. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
explore the connection between multiplication Smith, Margaret S., and Mary Kay Stein. 2011.
and fractions. This work produced the conjec- 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Math
ture for b × 1/b = 1. As we examined the chart Discussions. Reston, VA: National Council of
further, students also began to ask what nine, Teachers of Mathematics; Thousand Oaks,
fifteen, twenty-one, and twenty-seven all have CA: Corwin.
in common. Emily wondered why twenty-five Turner, Julianne C., Kristen Bogner Warzon,
was special, and she noted that this number and Andrea Christensen. 2011. “Motivating
has three factors. This formative assessment Mathematics Learning: Changes in Teachers’
chart led to many great discussions and future Practices and Beliefs during a Nine-Month
lesson launches. Collaboration.” American Educational
Research Journal 48 (3): 718–62. http://
Using anchor charts dx.doi.org/10.3102/0002831210385103
in your practice Van de Walle, John A., Karen S. Karp, and
The application of anchor charts is quite liter- ­Jennifer M. Bay-Williams. 2010. Elementary
ally limitless. The use of anchor charts is a pow- and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching
erful way to help students solidify learning and Developmentally. Boston, MA: Allyn
connect math content to large math concepts. and Bacon.
The anchor chart supplies a permanent record
of learning and a referent for future learning. Jennifer R. Brown, jennifer.brown@
Long after a unit has concluded, my students evergreenps.org, currently teaches
return to anchor charts to help recall and build third grade at Columbia Valley
on ideas or connect previous work to new con- Elementary School in the Evergreen
cepts. For example, they accessed figure 2 later School District in Vancouver,
when examining fraction concepts. Washington. She is a doctoral student at Washington
For a teacher new to anchor charts, this State University–Vancouver as well as an adjunct
instructional practice may seem daunting. The professor at Portland State University. She is
important idea to remember is how the chart interested in problem-based mathematics instruction
will hook and hold student learning from day to and how professional development can help support
day, lesson to lesson. If a teacher is able to keep teacher learning in this area.

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