Graphic+Organizers

** Nikki Shifter ** Graphic organizers are charts and pictures which visually represent data or ideas.
 * Graphic Organizer SDAIE Strategy **
 * What is a graphic organizer? **

media type="youtube" key="qqm_NAS2o0k" height="315" width="420" Circle Maps Tree Maps Cycle Charts Spider Maps Compare and Contrast Chart
 * Video Demonstration **
 * Some Common Types of Graphic Organizers: **

Graphic organizers helps students acquire new information by sorting it into familiar categories that can be seen. Constructionists believe that new information can only be learned based on prior knowledge, and graphic organizers can help students connect prior knowledge to a current task. This can be seen clearly through the circle map organizer, where students start with a teacher-directed concept and then add all of the things they know about that subject to the circle map prior to the start of a lesson.
 * How do Graphic Organizers help English Language Learners? **



Graphic organizers can also help students assimilate new, content-specific vocabulary. For example, in a first grade science class, students learn the life cycle of a butterfly. In order to organize the new terms associated with this learning standard, students can fill out a Cycle Chart in which they add the new terms (adult, egg, pupa, larvae) to the appropriate boxes. Drawings of the stages can also be added to the chart to further promote an understanding of each stage.



Graphic organizers can also help students make gains in the area of comprehension, which can be seen through the effective use of a story map to help students plot the beginning, middle, and ending of a story, or the story’s setting, characters, problem, solution, and theme. When students can visually see the parts of a story on a story map, their comprehension of the concept, as well as their comprehension of the story itself, is increased.
 * A Specific, Standards-Based Example of Graphic Organizer Use: **

Students in the first grade begin learning about the parts of a story based on Reading standard 3.1: //Identify and describe the elements of plot, setting, and character(s) in a story, as well as the story’s beginning, middle, and ending.// In order to help students organize this information, a story can be read aloud and students can work in pairs to fill out the Story Mapping graphic organizer with the appropriate information. By working in cooperative groups, students make language gains through communication practice and they also gain a fuller understanding of the parts of the story, thereby meeting the target standard.



// Story Mapping Graphic Organizer //

Because graphic organizers range from the very simple (a circle map) to the most complex (spider mapping and compare/contrast charts), ELL students at all levels can benefit from the use of graphic organizers. Because most learners use a combination of auditory and visual learning styles, the use of graphic organizers should be a common practice for teachers beginning in the youngest grades and utilized throughout the student’s learning career. Graphic organizers are not just a tool for ELL students, but should be utilized as a tool to help all students achieve and make gains in knowledge assimilation.
 * Which CELDT Level Benefits Most from Graphic Organizers? **

There are many websites that offer free graphic organizers. Here are just a few:
 * Free Resources **


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 * http://havefunteaching.com/worksheets/graphic-organizers/ **