Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are like gold in third grade. We use them all the time in reading, writing, and small group. I enjoy them because they provide a platform for students who aren't strong writers to show their ideas. In my class I've noticed a modest group of students who are able to list and organize their ideas with a graphic organizer, yet have a little bit of trouble using the graphic organizer to write the final piece. Most of the time the disconnect comes from the students needing to be reminded that they can use the ideas from their organizer to write their BCR, summary, or other reading response. Sometimes the problem lies in taking the lists or bulleted ideas and making them into complete sentences.

I've noticed some graphic organizers are better in certain situations than others-- sometimes you need more lines, and sometimes you need fewer. Oftentimes adding picture cues is also a great way to keep the kids connected to the task at hand. Here are a few different types of graphic organizers and the ways in which we use them:

Jellyfish Organizer: The jellyfish organizer looks sort of like its namesake. The body is used to write the main idea or topic sentence. The legs are used to write supporting sentences. Our classes uses this organizer when we're writing summaries. One way to make this a little more fun is to actually shape it like a jellyfish. The kids enjoy writing on the squiggly lines.

Add 'em up organizer: We also use this organizer for summarizing. It's a neat concept for the kids to think of all the important facts coming together to make the main idea. 

Web: The web is great for making lists. There typically isn't much room to write complete sentences on a web, so it is nice for quick ideas and keywords. Most recently, our class used a web to generate keywords for five senses writing.

T-charts and Venn Diagrams: We use T-charts and Venn diagrams in whole and small group reading lessons. They're helpful for critical thinking questions that ask the class to make comparisons between characters, settings, and other story elements. This week, we used a t-chart to compare our lives to those of Pilgrim children in the 1620s. 

These and several other graphic organizers can be found at: http://www.buddies.org/articles/edschool.pdf