Anchor Activities

Anchor Activities (or Sponge Activities) are designed for students to work on either immediately at the beginning of class time or after their class work has been completed, so that their instructional time is maximized.  These activities are intended to review or extend learning of the subject matter, not to be busy-work.  Activities may be designed for students to complete independently or in small groups.

You may choose to assign particular students to particular tasks or to allow them to choose, when appropriate.  All tasks should be relevant to the concepts being developed in class, but some may be more complex than others; there are times when students need the opportunity to do something that is low-stress and less demanding.

General Ideas for Anchor Activities:

Silent Reading	Logic Puzzles	Concept-Related Art Projects
Journal Writing	KWL Chart or Reflection Tools	Brain Teasers and Trivia
Interest Centers	Graphic Organizers	Learning Contracts
Critical Thinking Activities	Creative Writing	Create Timeline or Mind Map of Concept
Internet-Based Activities (On-line Games, WebQuests)	Word Puzzles with Content Vocabulary (Resource: Discovery School's PuzzleMaker)	Flash Cards (Math Facts, Spelling, Vocab)

Anchor Activity Resources:

• "Don't Waste a Minute" - Education World article

• "Best Practices: Anchor Activities" (Regina Public Schools, Saskatchewan, Canada)

• "Sponge Activities" with Descriptions

• The File Cabinet - Middle Grade activities by subject areas

 

Internet Sources for Critical Thinking and Brain Teasers:

• Daily Dose of the Web - Daily Questions, Problems and Quizzes (Comprehensive List of Links for All Subject Areas and Grade Levels)

• Discovery School's Brain Boosters  - Organized by Thinking Skills

• "Hink Pinks" and other Word Play - Education World

 

Internet Sources for On-Line Academic Games and Activities:

• FunBrain - Math and other Games (for younger and middle level students)

• Starfall - For beginning readers

• Brain Pop - Learning Activities for Math, Health, Science, Technology, English, and Social Studies

• ThinkQuest - Upper level activities organized by subject area

• QuizLab and Zoomerang - Create quizzes for students to take on-line

 

Anchor Activities