Anchor Texts
The idea behind an anchor text is that it serves as a foundational text along with other texts that can be used to enhance complex thought around the critical themes the anchor book. --Katrina Litzau & Katrina Murray, 2014
Provided here are suggestions for professionals who want to explore Cognitive Capital in more depth, and to begin to think and collaborate with others about how to put the ideas into practice. We believe that the ideas in this book are important enough that it should serve as a reference for ongoing work in schools moving forward into the future. An 'anchor text' is defined as a pivotal text that is selected to anchor a complex set of ideas, and was introduced as a way to help students find deep connections in text. Once a book is identified as an anchor, it becomes a reference point for other forms of interpretation including other readings, experiences, or visual representation. An anchor text serves as a foundation for building critical thinking. Additional texts, graphics, or quotes are used to expand anchor text themes to enhance critical thinking. Collectively the readings create a common structure for discourse and for learning. In this way anchor texts serve to support thinking by providing a set of common understandings for professionals to capitalize. Situated in this way, anchor texts solidify learning and foster applications to practice. Litzau & Murray (2014) first developed the idea of an 'anchor text' as an idea for a professional development program. They conceived of anchor texts as a way for professionals to support each other's thinking about a new book, Cognitive Capital. In the study guide they created they wrote, "The idea behind an anchor text is that it serves as a foundational text along with other texts that can be used to enhance complex thought around the critical themes the anchor book. For example in a middle school literacy class might have adopted The Giver as an anchor text, and the teacher might extend meaning by providing articles about different types of society structures, or read to the class from novels that align or challenge the ideas in the anchor text. " Just as an anchor keeps a ship from floating away; an anchor text stabilizes complex concepts in order to support deep, complex thinking about professional practices.
These study guides are intended as supports for using Cognitive Capital as an anchor text. Diane Zimmerman has created stand alone templates that can be employed throughout a school year in order keep a group of professionals focused on the book as an anchor text. Katrina Litzau and Vicki Murray have created a sequence of facilitation guides that they used to guide a professional development program over the course of a semester.
The idea behind an anchor text is that it serves as a foundational text along with other texts that can be used to enhance complex thought around the critical themes the anchor book. --Katrina Litzau & Katrina Murray, 2014
Provided here are suggestions for professionals who want to explore Cognitive Capital in more depth, and to begin to think and collaborate with others about how to put the ideas into practice. We believe that the ideas in this book are important enough that it should serve as a reference for ongoing work in schools moving forward into the future. An 'anchor text' is defined as a pivotal text that is selected to anchor a complex set of ideas, and was introduced as a way to help students find deep connections in text. Once a book is identified as an anchor, it becomes a reference point for other forms of interpretation including other readings, experiences, or visual representation. An anchor text serves as a foundation for building critical thinking. Additional texts, graphics, or quotes are used to expand anchor text themes to enhance critical thinking. Collectively the readings create a common structure for discourse and for learning. In this way anchor texts serve to support thinking by providing a set of common understandings for professionals to capitalize. Situated in this way, anchor texts solidify learning and foster applications to practice. Litzau & Murray (2014) first developed the idea of an 'anchor text' as an idea for a professional development program. They conceived of anchor texts as a way for professionals to support each other's thinking about a new book, Cognitive Capital. In the study guide they created they wrote, "The idea behind an anchor text is that it serves as a foundational text along with other texts that can be used to enhance complex thought around the critical themes the anchor book. For example in a middle school literacy class might have adopted The Giver as an anchor text, and the teacher might extend meaning by providing articles about different types of society structures, or read to the class from novels that align or challenge the ideas in the anchor text. " Just as an anchor keeps a ship from floating away; an anchor text stabilizes complex concepts in order to support deep, complex thinking about professional practices.
These study guides are intended as supports for using Cognitive Capital as an anchor text. Diane Zimmerman has created stand alone templates that can be employed throughout a school year in order keep a group of professionals focused on the book as an anchor text. Katrina Litzau and Vicki Murray have created a sequence of facilitation guides that they used to guide a professional development program over the course of a semester.
