Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are excellent visual tools to help make material easier to understand and improve learning outcomes for students. They come in many varieties and are also referred to as knowledge maps, concept maps, story maps, and concept diagrams. Graphic organizers help students visualize relationships between facts, terms, and ideas and aid in organizing information. They also help students connect new knowledge with existing knowledge. Teachers should first teach and preview graphic organizers then model how to use them and, lastly, have students use them. The following examples are only a few of my favorite graphic organizers.
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Venn DiagramA Venn Diagram is an excellent tool for comparing and contrasting. It can be used to compare and contrast the characteristics of people, characters, relationships between concepts, etc. In the outer circles, the student writes how the subjects are different. The student writes what they have in common where the circles overlap, It can be made up of two or three overlapping circles.
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Bubble MapA Bubble Map is great for brainstorming and organizing thoughts. The students writes the topic or main idea in the center bubble and supporting thoughts and ideas in the connecting bubbles.
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T-ChartThere are many uses for t-charts including making predictions, organizing what we know and what we learned, writing pros and cons on a subject, and listing facts verses opinions.
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Four SquareFour squares are great tools to help students learn new vocabulary. The student writes the word in the center. In one section he writes the definition, in another section he writes the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.), along with a synonym and an antonym. In the remaining sections he draws a picture that illustrates the meaning of the word and writes a sentence using the word.
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KWL ChartA KWL Chart is good for helping students actively think and read by communicating what they already know (K) about a topic, what they want (W) to learn about it, and summarizing what they learned (L) after they have read. This organizer is great for activating prior knowledge.
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5 Ws and HThis organizer helps students to understand what they have read and support their writing. It is good for examining the key points of a story or event.
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5 Elements of a Story
The 5 Elements of a Story, also known as Plot Mountain, is a graphic organizer that is used to help students map
the events in a story. This tool helps readers to visualize the key features of stories.
the events in a story. This tool helps readers to visualize the key features of stories.