Ideas for Organizing Information: Graphic Organizers

Note: Although some of the examples that follow are geared towards young learners, the concepts and suggestions are relevant for adult learners.

The following has been adapted from:

The Graphic Organizer

http://graphic.org/

Schools of California: Activity Bank

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm

Name: Brainstorming Web
Description: Ideas and questions are linked.
Uses: Generate ideas and questions, access prior knowledge, assess interests and knowledge, develop probing questions and problems.

Critical Questions:

• What is the topic or question to brainstormed?
• Is the process clear for brainstorming?

Suggestions:

• Relax. Play some creative music.
• Spelling or style doesn't count.
• Don't worry about organization.
• Free-associate ideas. Keep them simple.
• Write or sketch as quickly as you can.
• Write or sketch in any order.
• Develop all ideas.
• Keep working.

Webbing Strategies:

• Work from a central idea, concept, topic or question, gathering and linking thoughts in text and/or pictures. Expand thoughts from the center like branches on a web. Weave the web. When one branch stops or an idea doesn't fit create a new branch.
• An alternative is to free associate a random list then sift, sort and develop relational links and design the web. Expand web branches and links. Explore any associations that strike your fancy.
• Use paper and pencil, text or free sketch. Connect thoughts with relational links. Use sticky notes as an effective alternative. Free associate a different idea on each note, regroup the sticky notes into categories, then construct a web on butcher paper. Use different colored sticky notes to denote headings or categories that emerge from the brainstorm. Develop links on the paper -- text or sketches can be added at any time.
• By far the most effective and efficient method is to use a commercial software program such as Inspirations.
• Software programs have significant advantages over paper and pencil. They encourage building, creating and inventing -- yet keep the web legible. Webs become unwieldy as they grow. Software program manage growth. Select the look -- cluster, branching, right to left etc. Try different looks and nudge the cells to for style. An emerging new thought? Click on another cell or start a new branch. Change of mind? New insight? Revise, move, delete and paste. Save, print, or export the map into various formats. Some programs produce a nice neat linear text outline. Cool!
• Group guidelines are a must when for maximum effectiveness. Use a strategy called 'Think, Pair, Share'. Work from individual association to sharing with a partner then collaborating as a group to develop the web.

Name: Double Cell Diagram
Description: Two items linked by characteristics or attributes.
Uses: Describe and compare attributes and characteristics of two items, things, people, places, events or ideas.

Critical Questions:

• What items do you want to compare?
• What characteristics do the items have in common? What are not in common?
• How are the items similar and different?

Suggestions: A Double Cell Diagram is an excellent substitute for a Venn Diagram for comparing likenesses and differences. A good tool to launch writing about what is similar and what is not.

Name:Cluster Diagram -- Research Cycle
Description:Research question is linked by criterion and telling questions.
Uses:Develop criterion and telling questions for investigations.

Critical Questions:

• What is the research question or problem?
• What are the criterion against which I will weigh the decision?
• What are the telling questions that will focus the search for information?
• How will I gather the information?

Suggestions: The Research Cycle, developed by Dr. Jamie Mckenzie, is a powerful tool for developing student investigations. His web site,From Now On [on line], an electronic journal, is an excellent resource for learning more about creating researchable questions, The Research Cycle and integrating technology in schools.

Name: Web -- Project Work -- Writing

Uses: descriptive writing and exploration around future project work. This is an excellent way to begin and track project work.

Name: Concept Map

Description: A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links explain the relationship between the nodes. The arrow describes the direction of the relationship and reads like a sentence.

Descriptive Concept Map (133K)

Research Cycle Concept Map (227K)

Uses:

• Develop an understanding of a body of knowledge.
• Explore new information and relationships.
• Access prior knowledge.
• Gather new knowledge and information.
• Share knowledge and information generated.
• Design structures or processes such as written documents, constructions, web sites, web search, multimedia presentations.
• Problem solve options.

Critical Questions:

• What is the central word, concept, research question or problem around which to build the map?
• What are the concepts, items, descriptive words or telling questions that you can associate with the concept, topic, research question or problem?

Suggestions:

• Use a top down approach, working from general to specific or use a free association approach by brainstorming nodes and then develop links and relationships.
• Use different colors and shapes for nodes & links to identify different types of information.
• Use different colored nodes to identify prior and new information.
• Use a cloud node to identify a question.
• Gather information to a question in the question node.

Name: Web Simile/Metaphor

Uses: What do school, old, and moldy have in common?
Students generate examples of similes in speech and writing using the topic of school.

Name: Venn Diagram Basic
Description: Two items linked by characteristics or attributes.
Uses: Describe and compare attributes and characteristics of items (things, people, places, events, ideas, etc.)

Critical Questions:

• What items do you want to compare?
• What characteristics do the items have in common (intersecting portion)?
• How are the items similar (the same) and different (non intersecting portion) based on the characteristics?

Suggestions: Venn diagrams are useful when comparing two things and for use with younger children. String or colored yarn can be used to make circles on the floor and manipulatives and pictures are strongly encouraged. A useful tool to launch writing about what is similar and what is not. A better tool to use is the Double Cell Diagram. See also Venn Diagram Expanded for comparing three items.

Name: Venn Diagram Expanded

Description: Three items linked by characteristics or attributes.

Uses: Describe and compare and attributes and characteristics of items (things, people, places, events, ideas, etc.)

Critical Questions:

• What items do you want to compare?
• What characteristics do the items have in common (intersecting portions)?
• How are the items similar and different (nonintersecting portion) based on the characteristics?

Suggestions: Use when comparing three items. Can be used with younger and older children. When using more than two items consider using a Comparison Matrix. See Venn Diagram Basic and Double Cell Diagram for comparing two items.

Name: Comparison Matrix

Description: Linked by characteristics or attributes.

Uses: Describe and compare attributes and characteristics of items (things, people, places, events, ideas, etc.), brainstorming.

Critical Questions:

• What items do you want to compare?
• What characteristics do you want to compare?
• How are the items similar and different based on the characteristics?

Suggestions: Place a 'X' in the box to indicate if an item possesses that characteristic. Make sure the student is clear and agrees on the definition of the specific characteristic.

How are they alike? How are they different?

Name: Expanded Linear String
Description: Events are linked by time.
Uses: Describe a sequence of events, stages, phases, life cycles, actions and outcomes.

Critical Questions:

• What is the name of the event, procedure or human figure that will be described?
• What are the stages, steps, phases or events?
• How do the stages, steps, phases or events relate to one another?
• What is the final outcome?

Grids Organize Thinking for Decision-Making and Choices

Name: KWHL Chart
Description: Matrix for planning and gathering initial information.
Uses: Accessing prior information on a topic or theme, identifying primary and secondary resources to access, developing a plan for accessing resources, identifying attributes and characteristics to research.

Critical Questions:

• What do we already know?
• What do we want to find out?
• How are we going to find out? What primary and secondary resources can we access?
• What did we learn?
• What attributes or characteristic should we focus on?

Suggestions: Excellent tool to access prior information and to develop a plan for investigation. See AERO for details and options for types of primary and secondary resources tht could be accessed. Other graphic organizers can be linked as an extension of the KWHL Chart. A similar version can be used for active thinking during reading.

Using KWLH to create active thinking during reading:

The K-W-L-H teaching technique is a good method to help students activate prior knowledge. It is a group instruction activity developed by Donna Ogle (1986) that serves as a model for active thinking during reading.

K - Stands for helping students recall what they KNOW about the subject.

W - Stands for helping students determine what they WANT to learn.

L - Stands for helping students identify what they LEARN as they read.

H - Stands for HOW we can learn more (other sources where additional information on the topic can be found).

Students complete the "categories" section at the bottom of the graphic organizer by asking themselves what each statement in the "L" section (What We Learned) describes.

They use these categories and the information in the "H" section (How Can We Learn More) to learn more about the topic. Students also can use the categories to create additional graphic organizers. They can use the organizers to review and write about what they've learned.

Using KWLH to create active thinking during reading:

K-W-L-H

Dinosaurs

What We Know	What We Want to Find Out	What We Learned	How Can We Learn More
Dinosaurs are large. Dinosaurs are dead. They lived a long time ago. There is a movie about dinosaurs	How long ago did they live? Why did they die? How do we know what they looked like? Who are the people who study dinosaurs?	An archeologist has an exciting life. Dinosaurs eat plants and some eat meat. Some dinosaurs were gigantic, but had small brains. Fossils uncover dinosaur traits.	Research Museums Field Trips Archeological digs Videos Internet computer search
Categories of Information we expect to use: Size Career Eating Habits

Which was the worst war in history?
	Casualties	Damage to Places	Long Term Damage to Society
Vietnam
World War I
World War II

Who was the worst leader in history?
	Destruction	Cruelty	Failure	Deceit
Adolf Hitler
Idi Amin
Attila the Hun

Which social problem deserves the most attention?
	Numbers Affected	Property Losses	Spiritual Losses
Racism
Pollution
Drugs

Which computer stock is likely to repay your investment most handsomely?
		Current Condition	Prospects	Ratings
Apple Computer
	INTEL
	Motorola