Sixteen picture-first chart ideas for kindergarten, and a five-step way to build each one on the carpet with the class.
Anchor charts for kindergarten start with routine charts in the first weeks, then add one literacy chart and one math chart per unit, each built live with the children. At Chalkbox, we build free classroom tools and guides for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) teachers, and every chart idea below is drawn with pictures first and words second.
An anchor chart is a large poster built with students during a lesson and kept on the wall as a reference. In kindergarten, most of the chart is pictures and symbols a child can "read" before they can read the words.
The first kindergarten anchor charts to build are routine charts: our class rules, how to line up, and voice levels. Add the rest in this order:
Build each chart live with the children watching. Draw the picture first and write the word second.
If your reading or math units run in a different sequence, build each chart in the week its skill is taught.
These charts are for teachers who draw them with their class. If you want a wall that is finished before the first day, these ideas will not give you that, because every chart here is made on the carpet. Transitional kindergarten (TK) and first-grade teachers can borrow any chart below and use the same five-step build.
Sixteen kindergarten anchor chart ideas cover routines, literacy, writing, and math. They are original Chalkbox suggestions, so pick the ones that match each unit and skip the rest.
| Chart | What goes on it | When to build it (suggested) |
|---|---|---|
| Our Class Rules | Three to four rules, each with a drawn picture of a child doing it | Week 1 |
| Feelings Chart | Faces with names, and children place a clip or name card | Week 1 |
| Voice Levels | A ladder of pictures from silent to outside voice | Week 2 |
| How We Line Up | Numbered picture steps | Week 2 |
| Kind Words | Sentence starters children can say, such as "Can I play?" | Any of the first weeks |
| How to Read a Book | Picture walk, point to the words, retell | Week 3 |
| Letter Sounds | A letter, a picture word, and the sound | Week 3 |
| Rhyming Words | Pairs with pictures, such as cat and hat | The week the class learns rhyming |
| Retell a Story | A beginning, middle, and end strip with a drawing for each | The week the class learns to retell |
| Characters, Setting, Events | Three boxes, one for each | The week the class learns story parts |
| Sight Words We Know | A growing chart of words the class has learned | Add one word each time the class learns one |
| Writing Helper | The frame "I see a ___," a capital at the start, a period at the end, finger spaces | The week the class starts writing sentences |
| Counting to 100 | Rows of ten | Week 4 |
| Shapes Around Us | A shape name, a drawing, and a real object from the room | Week 4 |
| How Many? | Count a group, then circle the last number said | The week the class counts groups |
| Number Bonds to 5 | A number split into two parts, drawn with objects | The week the class splits numbers |
The Writing Helper is the only writing chart on the list. Its frame, "I see a ___," is four words once a child fills the blank, so it already fits the five-word rule below.
To build a kindergarten anchor chart live, choose one skill, draw the title picture, and add one picture and one word at a time while the children tell you what to draw. Follow these five steps:
Take How We Line Up as an example. In step 3, you draw one numbered picture step at a time, and the children say what each picture shows. In step 4, the class reads every step together before the chart goes on the wall.
Seven Chalkbox design rules apply to kindergarten charts.
The color rule works across charts as well as within one. For example, if green marks the first step on How We Line Up, use green for the beginning box on Retell a Story too.
Six charts on the list line up with Common Core kindergarten standards. The pairings are Chalkbox suggestions, and the standard wording below is quoted exactly:
Beginning-of-the-year anchor charts in kindergarten fit a four-week order, with two charts each week. This order is a Chalkbox suggestion and is not research:
| Week | Charts to build |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Our Class Rules, Feelings Chart |
| Week 2 | Voice Levels, How We Line Up |
| Week 3 | How to Read a Book, Letter Sounds |
| Week 4 | Counting to 100, Shapes Around Us |
Two charts a week for four weeks puts eight charts on the wall by the end of week 4. Kind Words can go in any of the first weeks. Adjust the order to your own schedule and your school's curriculum.
Children use a kindergarten anchor chart in four ways once it is on the wall:
Four common kindergarten anchor chart mistakes each have a direct fix:
For chart types and classroom setup, read our general guide, Anchor Charts: Types, Examples, and Classroom Setup. For subject charts, see Anchor Charts for Math and Anchor Charts for Reading. The Voice Level Chart page pairs with the Voice Levels chart in week 2.
For the growing sight word chart, use our Word Wall Words page and the Sight Words worksheets. See the Rhyming Words worksheets to go with the Rhyming Words chart. For more practice pages across the year, see Kindergarten Worksheets.
Build routine charts in the first weeks, then add one literacy chart and one math chart per unit, drawn live with pictures first and words second. Gather the class on the carpet in week 1 and build Our Class Rules as one of your first anchor charts for kindergarten.
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Start with routine charts: Our Class Rules, How We Line Up, and Voice Levels. Then add one literacy chart, such as Letter Sounds or Rhyming Words, and one math chart, such as Counting to 100, in each unit. Build every chart live with the children, with pictures first and words second.
Make routine and community charts first: Our Class Rules and a Feelings Chart in week 1, then Voice Levels and How We Line Up in week 2. Add How to Read a Book and Letter Sounds in week 3, then Counting to 100 and Shapes Around Us in week 4. This order is a Chalkbox suggestion.
Make it live on the carpet in five steps. Choose one skill, draw the title picture while you say the title, and add one picture and one word at a time as the children say what to draw. Then read the whole chart chorally and post it at child height. Keep every sentence on it to five words or fewer, with a small picture beside each word.
Six kindergarten reading anchor charts are Letter Sounds; Rhyming Words; Retell a Story; Characters, Setting, Events; Sight Words We Know; and How to Read a Book. Letter Sounds shows a letter, a picture word, and the sound. Retell a Story is a beginning, middle, and end strip with a drawing in each part. Sight Words We Know grows one word at a time as the class learns each one.
Four kindergarten math anchor charts are Counting to 100, How Many?, Shapes Around Us, and Number Bonds to 5. Counting to 100 is laid out in rows of ten. How Many? has children count a group and circle the last number said. Number Bonds to 5 splits a number into two parts, drawn with objects.