21 Cool Anchor Charts To Teach Close-Reading Skills

Close reading is a hot topic that's just getting hotter! Here are 21 anchor charts, bulletin board ideas and other resources that you can bring into your classroom to turn your readers into even closer readers.

1. Check It Off!

mshouser.com

This anchor chart captures the gist of close reading. Use the checklist format to create bookmarks or laminated cheat sheets that students can use as tools as they read.

2. Dig Deep for Meaning!

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This visual helps students conceptualize "digging deep" into text.

3. Stop and Think!

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Make this anchor chart a living document by switching out the sticky notes with examples from students' reading and writing.

4. Annotation 101

anewdayoflearning.blogspot.com

These basic annotation marks are a good starting point for students who are learning to read with a pencil.

5. Read and Reread!

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Use this second-grade anchor chart to set a purpose for reading, rereading and rereading again.

6. Think-marks

lifeinfifthgrade.com

As they learn how to annotate, students can get into adding these think-marks alongside the words they've circled and key lines they've underlined.

7. How to Annotate Effectively

teachingthecore.com

Use models (like this one) to show students how to annotate and to avoid common pitfalls like the 100 percent highlighted page or the no-notes-in-the-margins annotators.

8. Annotation Helper

julieballew.com

During a first read, this anchor chart is helpful for students who need support in figuring out what to jot down. After they retell their summary (in their own words), they can write those notes in the margins.

9. Draw It!

littlebirdkindergarten.blogspot.com

This drawing annotation is a technique that could be incorporated into kindergarten, first grade or elementary special education classes to help students visualize important information as they read.

10. Step It Up!

ontheweb.rozlinder.com

This chart helps students identify exactly where they are in their close reading. At the end of each lesson, students can identify which step they're on and what they have yet to do.

11. The Accountable Ant

scholastic.com

The Accountable Ant keeps students talking within the four corners of the text.

12. Close Reading Defined

freebie-licious.blogspot.com

Put this printable in your planning binder to remind you of the ultimate goal when you're planning close-reading lessons.

13. Tell Me All About It

firstgradenest.com

This chart, updated with students' sticky notes, can be used to reflect, first, how students are building their close-reading skills and then how they're applying those skills in different lessons, contexts and texts.

14. Read Like a Detective

weareteachers.com

This poster will help you plan inventive close-reading lessons that have students zooming in on text through their reading behaviors and questions.

15. To Dos (and What Not To Dos)

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This teacher-focused chart will help you plan close-reading lessons with a reminder about what's most important and what to avoid in close reading.

16. Close-Reading Spotlight

teachertothecore.blogspot.com

It can be difficult to show off student reading skills, but this bulletin board showcases how students are color coding text and finding proof in their reading.

17. Step by Step

educationtothecore.com

Students develop independence with this chart that outlines six effective close-reading steps.

18. Question Wheel

montanaheritageproject.org

Students can use the general questions in this wheel to develop their own text-dependent questions for each story or article they read.

19. TDQ on Display

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This bulletin board highlights the ways students create text-dependent questions, and showcases how students are applying those TDQs in their work.

20. Employing Evidence-Based Terms

elainthemiddle.wordpress.com

As students discuss and write about text, this anchor chart shows them how to use evidence-based transitions and sentence starters.

21. We're Big on Evidence

tworeflectiveteachers.blogspot.com

This bulletin board display shows students how to cite evidence in big, bold ways.