Easy and Cheap Anchor Chart Display!
I L-O-V-E making anchor charts with my students. We make them for everything and anything. Sometimes I make them just to show off my awesome drawing skills to my students. Okay, that one isn’t true. I’m always jealous of the awesome anchor charts I see on Pinterest that have fabulous drawings. I can’t draw – at all! My kids don’t seem to mind. It becomes a game to us. I draw a cow. They tell me it looks like a duck. I tell them to pretend. They laugh. Repeat.
But the truth is, creating an anchor chart for what we are learning helps my students visually connect their thoughts to the new knowledge we are forming during our mini-lessons. We refer back to these anchor charts throughout the week and throughout the year as we review and make connections.
I used to have a rolling pocket chart stand that I put my anchor charts on. I fished it out of a dumpster after someone threw it away. Yep. That’s how I roll. I’m a teacher, and I’ll do what it takes to get the classroom supplies I need haha! However, my pocket chart stand was bulky and inconvenient. I didn’t have a good place to put it when we weren’t using it, so I wanted something different for this year.
I was strolling through Wal-Mart last week to get some curtains for my classroom. I stumbled upon this magnetic curtain rod.
I love it! I just don't have anywhere to hang it. 🙁 I have block walls. Sara B
I glued heavy duty magnets at the appropriate distance apart on my non-magnetic board. Worked great!
Great idea! I love those magnetic towel bars. I have seen a ton of uses for them. I have been trying to think of a small way to display stuff since I am mobile. I have a few ideas:)
Kristy
What other uses have seen, Kristy? When you saw you're mobile, do you mean you have a cart that you take to rooms? I've recently seen that and it's tough stuff! 🙂
Ashley
This is genius!! Thanks so much for sharing! I have 3 classes I'll be creating anchor charts for and I was really struggling with how I'd store all those charts now my problem is solved!
Courtney
Polka Dot Lesson Plans
Soo smart!!! Awesome idea!!
Kerry
This HAS to be one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever seen for displaying anchor charts. It's on my list to buy at Walmart tomorrow. Thanks so much!!! 🙂
Cynthia
My Kind of Teaching
this is amazing. I can not wait to go to Walmart and try to find one – I hope mine has one. I just can not tell you how happy I am you shared this idea!!
I love this! I will be on the lookout for one of these
You are so clever!! On my list of to-dos! Thanks for sharing!
What a neat idea!!! Thanks for sharing!
Your post made me LOL! I am definitely going to look for that magnetic rod. I've never seen one before and I love your idea. Thanks!
Lori
Teaching With Love and Laughter
luvyorkies@gmail.com
Thanks Lori! 🙂 Haha! I'm glad I could make you laugh! 🙂
I love it!! i need that! and thanks for the laugh!
LOVE this! I hope you don't mind, but I would like to share this on my Creative Teaching Press blog, Inspired In Style! I noticed the Poppin' Pattern letters and border by CTP, so I think it would be perfect to post. Of course, I will put a link to your site. I will also post this on Facebook as well! 🙂 Awesome, idea!
Hi Melanie! I would love that! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
I love, love this idea! I may head to Wal Mart tonight! And you are going to LOVE Monterey! We're going there next weekend for a family wedding. It's just beautiful!
How did you get bulletin board paper to stay on your white board? I have tried everything, but nothing seems to work long term. Love this idea!
I use Scotch masking tape 🙂 I put pieces all over the whiteboard, then I stretch the paper over it. I do this for my word wall too, so that my words are magnetic. 🙂
I'll give it a try. Thanks so much for your help!
What a great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!
Nichole
Craft of Teaching
Love, love, love this idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to look for these tomorrow. Almost want to go tonight, lol. Thank you for this BRILLIANT idea!!!
I can't wait to get to Walmart to grab one!
Great idea!
LOVE this idea! On my list of things to get!
Christina 🙂
Apples, Books, and Crayons
applesbooksandcrayons@gmail.com
Love this idea!!!! I am totally going out to buy that rod! Brilliant! ~pam rountree
Such an awesome idea!!! And I love the black paper!! I've been thinking about getting a bunch of black paper for my boards this year and yours looks adorable! I love how black makes color pop!!
Molly
Lessons with Laughter
Unfortunately I have cinderblock walls BUT I do have file cabinets. I think this would be a great place to use this idea. Thanks for sharing. I wonder where the closest Walmart is to this hotel…
Love the idea of using it on the side of a filing cabinet..
LOVE this idea! I also like Pamela's idea of using it on file cabinets. I pushed mine back to back last year to create another bulletin board (like on pinterest). I think this would work beautifully on there instead! Thank you for sharing!
Oooh, I love Monterey! I just visited there in March, heavenly. Enjoy your vacation.
What a fantastic idea. My walmart list just grew!! Um, the game you play with your students and art work – I play the same game. I seriously can't even draw a stick figure! When I taught 3d, I started letting my "artists" come up and draw for me 🙂
Heather
Kickin' It With Class
What a great idea! It takes so little space!
Mandi
Life With Middle Schoolers
What a great idea, and so simple! Thanks for sharing.
Where did you get the pocket chart rings?
Becky, they came with the pocket charts I've bought in the past. You can also purchase pocket chart rings separately from places like Really Good Stuff. 🙂
If you can't find those, use the large binder rings instead. They are easier to find and you can open them to the chart you want instead of flipping all the charts over.
I just bought one of those for my laundry room door (which leads outdoors). I have lived in my home for 2 years and just realized the door was magnetic. Until recently I could never figure how to hang curtains for privacy. (DUH! I know. Suzy homemaker I've never been.) WELL, you have opened my eyes to a new and WONDERFUL use for magnetic rods! My ELA focus wall in my classroom is on one of my whiteboards. I will definitely be adding a magnetic rod this year. Thank you so much for a great idea.
You are BRILLIANT!! I see a trip to WalMart in my near future! (Would it be wrong to ditch my family at the beach to find one??) :0) Thanks for sharing!
~Kathy
I have seen this popping up everywhere from Pinterest to Inspired in Styles blog! I love it! 3 out 4 of my classroom wall are magnetic and this is a perfect solution to well almost anything! Thanks for sharing!!
Brilliant idea! Thank you!
My mouth literally dropped! That is a fabulous idea!! I have a magnetic whiteboard so I'll have to incorporate that way…yes, I plan on using that 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
~ Ms Apple Blossoms
Apple Blossoms
I went to Walmart today and guess what I found. 🙂 So happy I found this on your blog yesterday! Excited to use this in my own classroom this year! Thanks for sharing.
– Pam
Moments to Teach
Cool! I gotta look around to see if Guam has some magnetic shower rods. But if not, I bet I can make my own!
Cool! I gotta look around to see if Guam has some magnetic shower rods. But if not, I bet I can make my own!
What a great idea! I will have to make a trip to Wal-Mart soon. While you are in Monterey you should check out the aquarium. It is fantastic.
How have I never thought of this before? I LOVE this idea (and have pinned it twice already to make sure I don't forget it). Have a great trip and thanks for a terrific idea!
Jenny
Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
Christina,
That is sooo smart and I think I just may have to steal this idea ~ thanks for sharing!! xoxo
Vicky
Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After
Love, love, love this idea, but how did you keep the curtain rod from flipping? I tried hanging the chart paper from it, but it would not hold. Pretty sure I bought the same one in your photo. Help!
I'm not sure what you mean by flipping? The square backing on the rod is magnetic. It would not hold an entire chart tablet but it will hold quite a few pieces of paper. If you can see from the picture, I had ripped the anchor chart off of the tablet and hung it on the rod for display. The magnets on the rod I bought were quite strong
I LOVE this! I just picked up my curtain rod at Walmart this morning! I also love your idea of using black paper over the white boards. Now that I use my smart board so much more, I could totally do that! Thanks for the great ideas!
Thanks so much for your idea. I have been trying to come up with a place for my anchor charts and refuse to buy some big bulky contraption. This is PERFECT!!!!
LOVE this idea!
My husband's eyebrows keep going up as he looks at my WalMart back to school list. lol
You've got to hide that list better 😀
Oh my! I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Love this idea! I will have to try it. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Monterey area. So many great things to see and a fabulous place to relax.
That is a great idea! I hope the boards in my new classroom are magnetic.
Terri Izatt
KinderKapers
I made my boyfriend stop at Walmart after dinner…they only had 2 left and I snatched them up! Thanks for the awesome idea!!
I'm loving this idea! Brilliant!!! Just a quick question, since the paper does extend out just a bit and not flat against the board/wall, is it a little harder to write on because you are not writing directly against a flat surface? I hope I made sense …eek!!! I so wanna do this. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Pam! I use my easel to write the chart with my kiddos and then I hang it on the board to display. 🙂 Hope that helps. 🙂
Oh okay! Thanks, good to know. Unfortunately I don't have an easel, but would like to create more charts with my class this year.
SO doing this… I've already been to walmart 5 times in the last 2 days… *Sigh*
I just came back to this pin on my first day working in my classroom! This is awesome, and I'm totally using this format in my kindergarten classroom. Thanks for sharing the greatness! 🙂
Kim
Carried Away in… K!
I love this. I have a wall of old magnetic chalkboard and this is perfect. You are right those chart stands take up space.
Thanks,
Blessings of a Teacher
As so many have already said….this is an awesome idea! I've added it to my Walmart list and will be heading over there as soon as I have lots of patience 😀 Heehee
Brilliant idea! Congrats on making it into the newsletter!
Heather at TeachItToday!
Awesome!
Great Idea!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I have one of these I use over the window by my classroom door. I have a curtain haniging on it so I can use it f our school ever goes on lock down. I am thrilled to have another use for them. I bought a second just in case I found something else wonderful to do with it.
Great Idea!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I have one of these I use over the window by my classroom door. I have a curtain haniging on it so I can use it f our school ever goes on lock down. I am thrilled to have another use for them. I bought a second just in case I found something else wonderful to do with it.
Thank you for this wonderful idea — I'd never seen a magnetic curtain rod before!
Also — I'm so happy you get to experience Monterey; it is a truly gorgeous place and I'm sure you will love love love it.
I'm a Californian, and it's one of my favorite places to go — I hope you get/got to take in the aquarium — it's superb! Enjoy and have a great school year!
Just got back from Walmart…can't wait to try it out at school on Tuesday! Thanks for the super idea!
Awesome, I have this space on my white board that I seriously couldn't figure out what I was going to use it for, now I know!
Melissa
Ms. Chae Charges In
For anyone wanting to try this idea but they don't have magnetic walls, look out for a suction towel rail. I bought mine at a hardware/home renovation shop in the bathroom aisle (Bunnings- but I'm in Australia. I guess Home Depot or Walmart would have this too). There's heaps of baskets and shelves also, but with a solid, strong suction fixture. I guess they're intended for rental homes, but it works great in my classroom.
Christina,
Just wanted to let you know I gave your clever idea a shoutj-out on my blog today. Drop by and comment when you get a chance.
Jill
a-little-red-wagon
Hi, Christina.
Yay! Awesome idea. 🙂
Can you provide any details about the product for those of use who will be ordering the shower curtain rod online? I tried to find the item at Walmart.com, and I see quite a few negative reviews for the one I found. I just want to be sure to order the one you have used, since it's been teacher-tested and teacher-approved. 🙂 Thank you!
I am so in LOVE with this idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love it! I have a chalk board I don't use and it's magnetic!
I love your blog. It has a great info.
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