Chart Sense: Common Sense Charts to Teach 3-8 Informational Text and Literature

This is a great book. The author patiently takes the time to teach different aspects of writing through charts. I do have a suggestion for an improvement: As it stands, the book is overwhelming. First of all, the children for whom this book is meant will be dealing with charts for the next 10 years of their life. Both elementary and middle schools are papered with charts. So the question is: how can we make it count. How do you gain a child's trust and not make him or her feel that you consider that your work is done once you've thrown yet another chart at him or her. It seems to me that one possible solution is to offer clearer connections between the charts. There should be 3 or 4 mega maps and all the other little maps should be clearly situated within the 3 or 4 big maps. This way, one can get a big picture (the macro) and details (the micro). Even the most interesting and collaborative charts can come to feel repetitive. One way to address this is to recognize the ubiquitousness of charts by unifying the charts. Linking multiple charts will give the learner more control. It will give the learner a sense of where [the chart about sentence structure to use evidence in the text] fits in the bigger chart of writing about fiction or writing about non-fiction.

I was just hired in a new district as the sole 8th grade ELA teacher. I have taught seventh grade for the past seven years and with the Common Core implementation and prescribed lessons/units in my old district, I was near terrified of the daunting task of not only learning the subtle yet vital differences between the 7th and 8th grade standards, but needing to teach those standards based on my own lessons. This book may have saved my career! I went through it with sticky notes and highlighters. I felt like I got a crash course in teaching 8th grade ELA! The charts, lesson ideas, and resources that Dr. Linder provides are easy to understand and make sense of the intricate language of Common Core. Cannot recommend this book enough to any ELA teacher of grades 3-8. I would also recommend it to social studies and science teachers who are often required to incorporate more writing and reading instruction into their lessons without being given the proper time/instruction themselves. You do not need to be an ELA teacher to understand Dr. Linder. Awesome resource!!

I really enjoy this book, but since I teach 3rd grade, some of the posters don't work with my class and I've had to modify them significantly. That said, I have totally changed my practice based on using this book, I make great charts and have them up for kids to use and refer to later. In fact, I've started making charts for other areas as well, and that's something I NEVER did before. Not to mention all the compliments I get on my charts, whether they are inspired by Dr. Roz or from my own imagination. Cool!!

I absolutely LOVE this book. As an avid creator and user of anchor charts in the classroom, I love having this book as another useful and practical guide for creating charts that my students can use and understand. I highly recommend this book to any 3-8 teacher. I especially like how Dr. Linder wrote on how to introduce the charts, and encouraging teachers to adjust the charts to fit their students' needs. Having visuals in the classroom, especially ones that are interactive, are wonderful tools! I love charts!!

Anchor charts have become a staple in classrooms. So many of us spend countless hours searching on pinterest for just the perfect chart that will capture our students attention and engage them in the topic. This book is like taking all of the best charts from pinterest and putting them in one book. Then add in the K-2 how to make great charts book (can't remember the name of it off of the top of my head right now) and you will know what the contents of this book are. I recommend a copy of this be available for all teachers to use as a resource. Love it!

I love this book! I am a first year teacher and this book has been a Godsend! I wish I had ordered it earlier in the year. At my school we teach using the Comprehension Toolkit. I found some of the lessons to be confusing for my kids. This book offers great alternatives to those lessons that I wasn't fond of. It is a really easy read (actually, you don't even have to read it. It's on of those great books that you can skim and find exactly what you're looking for.) Overall, this book is a steal for the price!!

Dr. Linder is an amazing writer, and clearly has worked with kids before! Her text, Chart Sense, has offered me so much guidance as I prepare to move from kindergarten to 6th grade. Her charts shared, as well as the lesson ideas to accompany, are connected and explained easily within the context of Common Core. Moreover, she has written anger text on Informational text,that is invaluable! After writing to her, I've learned that a similar text about reading and teaching literature will be released in November! Much thanks to Dr. Linder! I highly recommend this text!

This book has been very helpful. I like that the author provides ways to meaningfully create anchor charts with my students.

A great resource for the classroom for any teacher in elementary school. My wife has used this book on a number of instances and it has been a great benefit for the students. They seem to enjoy it too!