Graphic Organizer

Why GO’s Work:

Random facts are lost quickly.
Brain’s ability to store pictures is unlimited!
Graphic Organizers
Agenda:
Graphic Organizers
Advantages:
 Research finds that Graphic Organizers work.

Describe the three manners in which Graphic Organizers can be used.

In recent years graphic organizers such as diagrams, webs, maps, charts and concept
maps have become valuable educational tools. Both teachers and students are
encouraged to use graphic organizers to organize and present information visually
because this often allows them to convey meaning in a way that would not be easy
through words alone. For example, elementary school teachers use them to help even
the youngest students understand cause and effect in literature so that children can
retell the stories in their own words. And high school teachers can use graphic
organizers to help their students understand and explain complex scientific principles.
Teachers have discovered that these tools can be used in the following manner . By
critically examining details, processes, relationships, or meaning, better understanding
is achieved. Teachers and students could use organizational charts, concept maps, or
Venn diagrams as part of their analysis. A problem solving technique where students
are encouraged to spontaneously, quickly, and creatively share ideas while one person
writes them down, often in the form of a web. Ideas or events are prioritized or
ordered. Teachers sometimes use this technique to help students understand the
relationship of events or the hierarchy of information. This often takes the form of a
flow chart or outline. With the increased access to computers and the Internet in
schools, software programs and Web resources have been designed specifically to help
teachers bring this process of thinking and learning into the classroom.
How do Graphic Organizers work?
http://members.whro.net/~pterry/vwc/week7/Gos.htm
 Teaching Algebra
to Struggling Students
http://usablealgebra.landmark.edu/instructor-training/beneficial-practices/
 Algebra
Hierarchical
 Multiple Meanings – example
Right Equiangular

3 sides 3 sides

3 angles 3 angles

1 angle = 90° 3 angles = 60°

TRIANGLES

Obtuse
3 sides 3 sides
3 angles 3 angles
3 angles < 90° 1 angle > 90°
10
Fractions. Visual Aides
 Problem Set A:
Use the following words to organize into categories and subcategories of
Mathematics:
 Possible Solution to PS. A
Mathematics
Geometric
Numbers Figures
Operations Rules Symbols

Rational Addition Postulate m║n Triangle

Prime
Subtraction √4
Corollary
Integer Hexagon
Multiplication
Irrational
Division Quadrilateral
Whole

Composite

{1,2,3…} 13
 Series of Definitions

Word = Category + Attribute

= +

Definitions:
______________________________________________
________________________________________

14
 Series of Definitions – example
Word = Category + Attribute

= + 4 equal sides &

Square Quadrilateral
4 equal angles (90°)

Definition: A four-sided figure with four equal sides and four

right angles.

15
 English
Brainstorm for Thematic Essay
 English

Prompt: “People who value money

and work are unhappy”
Stick Man Diagram
 Science

States of Matter
•Encourage Students to create their own
concept map.
•A physics teacher asked students to show all
they knew about the states of matter.
•Above is a student example.
•It shows the student has an understanding
each state, but the teacher was not sure if she
understood the relationship between each.
Science
Political Spectrum
(Government)
4 Features of a State
 1. List 3 forms.
2. Identify where power is held by shading in circles.

HINT:
Origins of the State: 4 Theories
 Resources:
Strangman, N., Hall, T., Meyer, A. (2003) Graphic Organizers and
Implications for Universal Design for Learning: Curriculum Enhancement
Report. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General
Curriculum. Available
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/GraphicOrga
nizersHTML.asp

Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002).Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA:

National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Available at
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_go.html

Maccini, P., & Gagnon, J. C. (2005). Math graphic organizers for students
with disabilities. Washington, DC: The Access Center: Improving Outcomes
for all Students K-8. Available at
http://www.k8accescenter.org/training_resources/documents/MathGraphicOrg.pdf
 Websites:
For Teachers to Download
GO’s
Technology for Learning
http://myt4l.com/

Freeology (Free Printable Graphic Organizers, Posters, etc..)

http://freeology.com/