Graphic Organizer Resources from TeachersFirst
Whether you call them concept maps, mind maps, KWLs, or graphic organizers, these visual diagrams show relationships between concepts and provide a powerful tool for learning and connecting new ideas. Creating graphic organizers also helps today's visual learners build reading comprehension. This collection of reviewed resources includes tools for creating graphic organizers and many suggestions for ways to use them in teaching almost any subject or grade. Be sure to read the "In the Classroom" suggestions for examples of ways to use graphic organizers as part of a lesson or unit.
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Compare & Contrast Map - Read, Write, Think - International Reading Association
Grades
3 to 12
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This interactive graphic organizer helps students develop an outline for one of three types of comparison essays: whole-to-whole, similarities-to-differences, or point-to-point. A link...more
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This interactive graphic organizer helps students develop an outline for one of three types of comparison essays: whole-to-whole, similarities-to-differences, or point-to-point. A link in the introduction to the "Comparison and Contrast Guide" gives students the chance to get definitions and look at examples before they begin working. The tool offers multiple ways to navigate information, including a graphic on the right to move around the map without having to work in a linear fashion. The finished map can be saved, e-mailed, or printed. There are many additional interactives and lesson plans (with standards included!).
tag(s): charts and graphs (113), concept mapping (14), graphic organizers (24)
In the Classroom
Use this site to introduce comparisons to your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector. After demonstrating how to use the site, create a link on classroom computers for students to make their own comparisons to be printed and shared. Divide students into 3 groups - one for each type of comparison essay - and have them create comparisons for their type, then share and compare with other students. Have students create "talking pictures" to illustrate the different types of comparisons using Fotobabble reviewed here. Use this site with gifted students as a way for them to explore subjects more deeply than discussed in class. Use this site with ESL/ELL students to help organize information easily and as a visual representation of class material.
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Colours in Cultures - Information is Beautiful: David McCandless
Grades
6 to 12
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This circular infographic shows colors connected with 85 specific emotions in a variety of cultures. What emotions do colors suggest in a culture? How does culture convey emotion through...more
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This circular infographic shows colors connected with 85 specific emotions in a variety of cultures. What emotions do colors suggest in a culture? How does culture convey emotion through color, and how does this vary from culture to culture? You can see examples of other similarly designed visualizations by clicking on "Select Visualization."
tag(s): charts and graphs (113), colors (31), cross cultural understanding (32), cultures (56), graphic organizers (24), infographics (9), psychology (23), visualizations (9)
In the Classroom
Use this site to promote visual literacy and as an example for reading graphs. Have students select another topic and make a similar graph of their own. Use one of the graph makers available at the site "Statistics - Johnnie's Math Page" (reviewed here). Look at paintings from different cultures and ask how color interacts with other artistic elements like shape, design, placement, etc. to convey meaning. Have students make an assortment of works of the same design, varying color choice depending on which culture is going to view the work. If you have student creating infographics, this chart is a must in selecting font colors and more to guide emotional impact of the graphics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Curriki - EnterpriseDB Postgre SQL company
Grades
K to 12
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Curriki is a nonprofit organization that encourages collaboration of teachers and learners in a global community of 211 different countries. Find resources by grade level, subject area,...more
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Curriki is a nonprofit organization that encourages collaboration of teachers and learners in a global community of 211 different countries. Find resources by grade level, subject area, or resource type (interactive, video, or podcast.) Usage type, or exercise, unit, lesson plan, or game, is another option for searching. Use the professional webinars for a better understanding of Curriki. Onsite training is another option listed. Join different groups for a more involved way to explore new areas in online learning, subject area interests, or focus questions. Be a peer reviewer offering comments or suggestions on submitted lessons, units, games, or exercises and give your input. Create collections of your resources to keep privately or share with others. Easily make lesson plans or web quests with the easy to use templates, which include graphic organizer and rubric options. Try a problem based learning unit. Join the challenge to create a video lesson for a chance at winning $5000. The focus of this site is to provide access to teachers, schools, students, or parents to many new creative ideas in a global community. Free membership includes monthly newsletters. Follow Curriki on Facebook, twitter, or blogs.
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): graphic organizers (24), literacy (99), operations (55), rubrics (15)
In the Classroom
Curriki has a number of ways to benefit teachers and students. Use Curriki as a resource listed on your website for parents and students to have extra opportunities for additional practice or enrichment. Use as a way to organize your digital resources. The lesson plan and webquest templates are user friendly and promote best practices. While growing in your professional development by connecting with teachers worldwide, let your class learn with other classes worldwide. Curriki encourages you to think critically of your own lessons, but also lessons suggested.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cell games - Sheppard Software
Grades
5 to 12
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Use this interactive resource to review the parts of an animal, plant, or bacterial cell. Hover over the areas of the cells to learn the parts and the functions. When ...more
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Use this interactive resource to review the parts of an animal, plant, or bacterial cell. Hover over the areas of the cells to learn the parts and the functions. When finished, follow with an activity to practice what has been learned or take the quiz!
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This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animals (157), bacteria (14), cells (57), plants (64)
In the Classroom
Use this resource to introduce the unit on cells. Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Students can review the cells and create a graphic organizer of information and then discuss the differences between the different types of cells. Use for continuous review until the cell parts are learned and students have mastered the game and the quiz.
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Wisemapping - Wisemapping Corporation
Grades
8 to 12
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Create a free diagram (concept map, graphic organizer) to represent words, ideas, or tasks to aid in studying, organizing, or problem solving. Link documents to a wise map and share...more
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Create a free diagram (concept map, graphic organizer) to represent words, ideas, or tasks to aid in studying, organizing, or problem solving. Link documents to a wise map and share or embed diagrams with other maps.
tag(s): concept mapping (14), mind map (16)
In the Classroom
Users must be able to navigate the icons for editing and creating a mindmap. Icons and commands are the same as in any office and free applications that most people use. View the free demo for an introduction of using Wisemapping. Use the demo editor to play with the tools and learn what they do. Note: the demo function does not allow you to save your creation as it is a sandbox area for learning. Allow students an opportunity to learn to play first without teacher direction as each person will find different ways to use wisemapping for their best benefit. Click on a set of words to edit the words, color, font, etc. in the bubble. Drag items easily around the screen by clicking and dragging the icon to drop into a new configuration. Add "icons" and flags anywhere on your mindmap. Add a "note" to a bubble anywhere. The note appears like a little sticky note on the bubble and expands when clicked on. Add a "link" to any of the text on the wisemap that leads to any link on the web you specify. Export as a scalable vector graphic (svg), PDF document, or image file. "Share" to work collaboratively with others. Users must have a login in order to share and publish. Click on the "history" of a wisemap to view the contributions of others.Assign sections of current curriculum topic to groups of students to map out and explain in detail. Link to outside web pages and pictures and create notes with additional study hints and information. Assign a different group to review information for accuracy and add additional information and explanations. Using this process, a wisemap of a chapter or unit can be created easily and efficiently while benefiting all learners.
There are countless possibilities at this mental mapping site. Demonstrate the activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to try to create their own graphic organizers. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics of study. Use this site to create family trees. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given topic. Have students organize any concepts you study; color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, question; map out a story, plotline, or LIFETIME; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle); map a real historical event as a choose-your-own-adventure with alternate endings based on pivotal points; plan a "tour" for a "thought museum." Use this mapping website as an alternative to a traditional test, quiz, or homework assignment in literature or social studies: have students demonstrate their understanding by completing a graphic organizer about the main points. Be sure that they RENAME it before they start work to an individual name so you know who did it (they could EMAIL it to you!) or have them print their results to turn in.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Writing Fun - Jenny Eather
Grades
1 to 12
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Jenny Eather's site "Writing Fun" contains graphic organizers for a variety of writing purposes. These resources aid the process of writing personal narratives, information reports,...more
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Jenny Eather's site "Writing Fun" contains graphic organizers for a variety of writing purposes. These resources aid the process of writing personal narratives, information reports, recipes, letters, persuasive essays, email, and more. Each organizer comes complete with examples and forms, free for download. Students can simply type onto the forms and then save or print them. The forms are in a Word format and it is possible to save the "form" as a normal text document.
tag(s): graphic organizers (24), process writing (13)
In the Classroom
Use this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector when introducing a particular writing genre. Each text organizer comes complete with examples and an on-line form for classroom demonstrations. Scroll over a list of procedural tips and simultaneously highlight this particular element in the example. Have the whole class practice using the organizer together. Afterwards have students project their own work and explain how the procedural tips enhance their final piece of writing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Telescopes and Mirrors - Corning Museum of Glass
Grades
7 to 10
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"Telescopes" (brought to us by the people at the Corning Museum of Glass) is a click-thru tour of telescopes. Rich with historical information and science explanation, this activity...more
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"Telescopes" (brought to us by the people at the Corning Museum of Glass) is a click-thru tour of telescopes. Rich with historical information and science explanation, this activity is interesting in that it combines pictures, text, and different views of outer space through the different types of telescopes.
tag(s): newton (15), space (129), telescopes (5)
In the Classroom
Have students click through the site as the instructional part of the lesson which would be great for introductory physics or physical science. Students can work through the module taking notes as they proceed. Then, have students create a graphic organizer comparing both the microscope differences, and have them use the view of the telescope function. Have students draw or take screen shots using a program such as Jing (reviewed here) of the views from the different telescopes. Have students add analysis bubbles to the pictures comparing the views.
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Flu Trends - Google
Grades
4 to 12
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This site shows graphs of flu cases in the U.S., and with an easy click, allows students and teachers to check similar graphs in countries around the world. At the ...more
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This site shows graphs of flu cases in the U.S., and with an easy click, allows students and teachers to check similar graphs in countries around the world. At the time of this review, the graphs were updated through 2009. Google uses aggregated data to make the flu trend data into graphic form. In an accompanying narrative, Google suggests that people who search for flu trends are often suffering from flu themselves. The site also compares the data Google collects and the published data from each country's health services.
tag(s): graphic organizers (24), medicine (27)
In the Classroom
Use this site when teaching graph reading and also data collection presentation when students are doing research. Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on graphic organizers on a projector or interactive whiteboard. The site includes an active graph that adds data by time period as students view it. To show what they have learned from this site, challenge students to create a different type of online graphic to share using Tabblo reviewed here. Discuss with your students other types of data that Google might be able to collect in a more up-to-date manner than public agencies.
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5 Minute Mystery - Mystery Competition, LLC
Grades
4 to 12
4 Favorites
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This mystery reading game helps increase reading comprehension and critical thinking skills in an innovative way. The basic game is free. You can sign up to have two mysteries a ...more
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This mystery reading game helps increase reading comprehension and critical thinking skills in an innovative way. The basic game is free. You can sign up to have two mysteries a week sent to you, or you can use their archive. There is a "How to Play" section where you can view a video, open pdf instructions, or look at the instructions online. After reading a mystery you select the correct sentences that are clues, and select a character that the clue either exonerates or implicates. Points are awarded for each clue you get correct. For a fee, you can get a premium account that has graphic organizers, questions, and writing suggestions, however, this review is for the free, basic version. Even with the basic program, you can look under lesson plans and find objectives and ideas for your classroom and for creating leagues.
Bonus: There's an app for that! For the iphone, of course!
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Bonus: There's an app for that! For the iphone, of course!
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): critical thinking (50), mysteries (17), reading comprehension (34), short stories (14)
In the Classroom
Use your projector and interactive whiteboard to show your students the directions for getting points by selecting the correct clues and solving the mystery. To begin with, as a class, read a mystery and discuss what the clues might be and whether they implicate or exonerate each suspect. Once the students have volunteered their ideas for which sentences are clues, submit them to see the score. The program will highlight the answers you should have had, if you got any wrong. Model for your students a discussion about why those are the correct answers and why the ones they submitted weren't. Eventually have this disscussion by themselves in small groups. Those of you with multiple classes will want to create a league for each class.Eventually you can have small groups of students compete against each other by creating leagues. Have your students come to consensus about the clue sentences and who the real perpetrator is by voting using Thinkmeter reviewed here.
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American Art Themes - National Gallery of Art
Grades
6 to 12
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This section from the National Gallery's education site offers narrative and samples of American art from many themes - portraiture, landscape, abstract, nautical, etc. We wish the...more
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This section from the National Gallery's education site offers narrative and samples of American art from many themes - portraiture, landscape, abstract, nautical, etc. We wish the thumbnail sized illustrations could be enlarged, and there are no apparent links to larger images. Useful as a planning or study tool for studio or art history.
In the Classroom
Use the images on this site to create a picture walk that can help define a particular style or movement, such as impressionism. Print out 10-15 images from this site and post the images around the room, having students rotate among the images every 30-45 seconds. Have students fill out on their graphic organizers what they observe and infer about each image, noting the similarities between them all. For help making the graphic organizers, we recommend using Graphic Organizer Maker, (reviewed here). Though this is more time consuming than a lecture, it's a great student-centered format that helps students more fully comprehend a style or movement in art.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms - Karen Janowski
Grades
K to 12
9 Favorites
1 Comments
Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms is the reference tool that gives you all the necessary free websites to promote learning for all students. UDL, or Universal Design...more
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Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms is the reference tool that gives you all the necessary free websites to promote learning for all students. UDL, or Universal Design for Learning, is a concept promoting learning for all learners using assistive technology to promote motivated, strategic, flexible, lifelong learners. UDL reduces barriers and offers support and challenge for each individual learner. Create a free account to make your own wiki or to join in another wiki. Some available resources are free text-to-speech, graphic organizers, multimedia and digital storytelling, study skills tools, literacy tools, writing tools, collaborative tools, research tools, math tools, and tools that compensate for handwriting issues.
tag(s): differentiation (8), graphic organizers (24), literacy (99)
In the Classroom
Refer to this site when you have a struggling learner who needs more support or the student who needs a challenge. Dig through these sites to use in your classroom. Go down the list and incorporate two a week. Many are also reviewed in more detail on TeachersFirst, so don't forget to search for our in-depth reviews to learn more. Ask your student technology crew to investigate and find their favorite from a list of three sites. Add to your class website as a reference. Use this site at Back to School Night to help parents jump into educational technology! Add more to the list! This only opens the doors to technology.Comments
Deborah, LA, Grades: 0 - 12
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Diary of a Worm - Sue Yamashita
Grades
K to 7
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Classroom teacher Sue Yamashita's website integrates Doreen Cronin's book "Diary of a Worm" with lesson ideas for science, reading, and writing. The site contains the Scholastic video...more
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Classroom teacher Sue Yamashita's website integrates Doreen Cronin's book "Diary of a Worm" with lesson ideas for science, reading, and writing. The site contains the Scholastic video production of Doreen Cronin's book, outlines lessons for teaching first person narrative, contains links to websites that stress the importance of worms in agriculture and the role they play in our ecosystem.
In the Classroom
Elementary teachers could use this site to support reading comprehension lessons. Teach students how to distinguish fact from fiction. Use online graphic organizers from sites such as Gliffy (reviewed here) to sort and record the fictional and non-fictional details in "Diary of a Worm." Enrich an Earth Science unit about the properties of soil with this site. The Teacher Resources page provides useful links that outline complete lesson plans about worms and sites for additional background information.Middle school teachers could use this site with both language arts and science students to write research papers. Have students pick a topic, research the topic, become the topic, and write a 10 day diary using Diary of a Worm as their model. To make this even more interesting for your students, use an online tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Depending on the age of your students, this project could also be completed with cooperative learning groups.
After you save and publish the work, share the URL so people can read the entire diary online, either among an audience of "just my friends" or publicly. Bookemon also offers the embed code to place your books on a class or school web page, wiki, or blog, but at the time of this review, this code was not working properly. The BEST, free option is to copy the address of the new window displaying the interactive book.
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Threaded Adventures - Kevin Hodgson
Grades
4 to 12
7 Favorites
0 Comments
A Threaded Adventure is the online version of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" story. This site will help you and your students learn about the different "branches" a story can ...more
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A Threaded Adventure is the online version of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" story. This site will help you and your students learn about the different "branches" a story can take and how to create their very own "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories online. This is perfect for those looking to integrate technology into their writing curriculum. Not only will you find directions to help you and your students create Threaded Adventures; the explanation of how to do this IS a Threaded Adventure, and you will find sample Threaded Adventures written by students. Threaded Adventures also inspire "predicting" as a reader, an essential reading strategy!
tag(s): creative writing (53), writing (288)
In the Classroom
Click on the links to read about how your students can create a Threaded Adventure. The author of the Threaded Adventure suggests the use of a wiki to have your students create their very own "Choose Your Own Adventure" because wikis are easy of use for the students. If you are unfamiliar with wikis, see TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through. Wikis can be private or public. Just be sure you have parent permission to publish student work online. If you use wikispaces, your students will not have to have an email account to join your wiki.Have your students choose a favorite short story or picture book your class has already read. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to reread the story stopping and asking students what direction the story could take if the author hadn't finished the story, or suggest some "what ifs" yourself. Use Gliffy, an online graphic organizer reviewed here, to brainstorm with your class all the different paths the story could take. Once you and the class have decided on several different paths, go to your wiki and demonstrate how to create the "Threaded Adventure" using links to different pages. When your students understand the procedure, have small groups finish writing up the Threaded Adventure themselves. Once they've completed the class Threaded Adventure, they can use a story of their own to repeat the process.
For older students, you may want to go through the process above, and then have them put their story, or parts of their story, on MixedInk reviewed here to get ideas for story branches from their classmates. They could then use Gliffy reviewed here to organize the paths of their story. Once they've made final decisions about the different directions their story will take, they would then publish it on the wiki.
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Google Squared - Google
Grades
3 to 12
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Google Squared is an interesting way to visually organize and display information on just about any topic. Many "Squares" have been extensively done for you, which not only provide...more
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Google Squared is an interesting way to visually organize and display information on just about any topic. Many "Squares" have been extensively done for you, which not only provide a rich source of information, but also serve as models for students to create their own Google Squares. Do not be fooled by the limited number of topic links on the homepage available to click on. There are many more that you can access just by typing in the category or term you are searching for in the long rectangle at the top center of the page, just as you would when using the Google search engine, and then click on Square It. If Google Squared isn't able to automatically build a Square about the topic you entered, you will be prompted to start a Square by entering examples that are provided, or you will be given the option to start with an Empty Square. Visual thinking and information merge together as your students SEE the power of research. For example, if you type the words "United States Presidents" you will see photographs of each president, date of birth, the president whom proceeded and followed, the vice president, and more, all organized chronologically and displayed in columns. Help your students build flexible thinking by providing them with this tool to start SEEING more dimensions for researching and synthesizing information.
tag(s): graphic organizers (24), search engines (34), search strategies (13)
In the Classroom
Google Squared is rich in motivating and introducing ANY new unit topic, or developing research skills. Invite a few students to come up to your computer that projects onto a whiteboard to type in a topic that your class is learning about, and click on Square It. Your class will be stunned to see the images and data instantaneously displayed. Use it in a variety of ways, such as to expand students' knowledge and comprehension, to compare attributes of countries, famous people, events, and more, or to build even more information by conducting research and then adding an additional column in the square. Another valuable idea is to have students work individually or in small groups to conduct their own research and use the data they collect from other search engines to create their own Google Squares. Whether your class is studying American inventors, solar energy sources, historical documents, or literary terms, they can build their OWN Square on a topic and share it for others to add, perhaps in a column designated for examples. You may find it useful to provide your class with a list of search engines, other than familiar ones like Google and Bing. Have them try Bingle.nu reviewed here or Refseek.com reviewed here. This is an interesting opportunity to graphically compare and evaluate results of search engines and teach about citing proper credit.
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EyePlorer - eyePlorer GmbH
Grades
5 to 12
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EyePlorer is a graphic organizing information tool that you are sure to enjoy! The self proclaimed graphic knowledge engine is a way to view web-based information on a given topic....more
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EyePlorer is a graphic organizing information tool that you are sure to enjoy! The self proclaimed graphic knowledge engine is a way to view web-based information on a given topic. In this case, it uses wikipedia as its source, so the information is only as good as what wikipedia offers...in most cases, solid introductory information and organization of related concepts. In contrast to search engines such as Google and Yahoo, eyePlorer graphically lays out all of the information instead of listing text. There are dots by each concept that is related and the larger the dot, the more strongly it is related. You can access the information by scrolling over the dot, or you can go further by clicking on the related idea to go the article with additional information. Note that since the original launch of the EyePlorer tool by a different company, eyePlorer GmbH continues to work to make interaction with knowledge on the web easier. The link provided with this review takes you to the original tool, now hosted on "vionto."
tag(s): vocabulary (230), vocabulary development (29)
In the Classroom
Show this to your students on the interactive whiteboard as way to get an overview of a new concept. Have students search a specific topic such as insecticides in environmental science and then have them go through graphical exploration together. Later in the study of the same concept, have students create their own graphic organizers on the concept, linking to other articles they find on the web or to their own explanations of concepts using images and text. Use a tool such as Scribblar (reviewed here).
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Exploratree - Futurelab
Grades
4 to 12
1 Favorites
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Exploratree is a free online library of thinking guides where you can choose a graphic organizer/mind map and fill it in. Or, you can create your own thinking guide. There ...more
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Exploratree is a free online library of thinking guides where you can choose a graphic organizer/mind map and fill it in. Or, you can create your own thinking guide. There are many highly interactive features: printing, emailing, and collaborating with others in real time. The home page has several videos that show you how to use the features of the site, and it has many ideas for how to use Exploratree in your classroom.
tag(s): brain (44), brainstorming (8), graphic organizers (24)
In the Classroom
Play with the tools and toolbars to create a mind map; use toolbars to collaborate, publish, or print diagrams. Creating the organizers is of easy to medium difficulty depending upon how elaborate your organizer is. You and your students must be registered and logged in to share, or comment on each other's thinking guide. Note: to use the collaboration feature, collaborators need individual email accounts to gain access. You can also export the mind maps in pdf format, text, or as an image (gif).Make sure your students use a code name or number when registering. Be sure to save their names/numbers, for when they "forget."
Have students create graphic organizers in cooperative groups as a study guide for unit content, to collect information for a group research project, or show examples of an important concept. In science classes, have groups generate visual illustrations of processes such as photosynthesis. In literature, generate story maps or diagram the relationships between characters. In social studies, illustrate different factors that lead to a war or economic meltdown. Share and compare the organizers on an interactive whiteboard or projector in class and allow classmates to suggest changes. Use student-made organizers as an informal formative assessment part way through any unit.
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Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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Giving Thanks: A Compare-and-Contrast Lesson - Gary Hopkins for Education World
Grades
7 to 12
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This activity is a good one for the Thanksgiving season or anytime. A powerful five minute video gets students reflecting on their lives and appreciating how much they have when ...more
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This activity is a good one for the Thanksgiving season or anytime. A powerful five minute video gets students reflecting on their lives and appreciating how much they have when compared to children in other parts of the world.
tag(s): critical thinking (50), thanksgiving (24)
In the Classroom
Start off by asking students to write a journal entry to answer and explain, "Do you ever think that you might have it easier compared to some other kids?" Show the video on your classroom whiteboard or projector. Have students use one of TeachersFirst online compare/contrast graphic organizers such as the Venn Diagram tool (reviewed here) or another one of your choice that can be printed from Freeology (reviewed here) to juxtapose their way of life with the way of life of people their age who have very little compared to them. Teenagers need reality checks when it comes to their wants verses their needs. As a follow up, have students work in groups to brainstorm ways that they could actually make a difference for children who endure lives of poverty. Check with your school nurse or social worker to see if there is a family in the community that could use some extra kindness and have your students come up with a plan that your class could put into action right now. Let them experience the enduring lesson and joy that comes from helping others.
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Up the Creek - New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy
Grades
8 to 11
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Up the Creek is an informative, cartooned look at biodiversity. While the cartoon is made in and for New Zealand, the concepts and ideas are still good for teaching biodiversity ...more
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Up the Creek is an informative, cartooned look at biodiversity. While the cartoon is made in and for New Zealand, the concepts and ideas are still good for teaching biodiversity anywhere. In fact, since this is in a slightly different setting than the United States, it is interesting to see that the environmental protection practices tend to be the same. There are some native, Maori words and unfamiliar terms for North American kids, however they can easily be understood through context clues or having students research them from the computer.
tag(s): biodiversity (30), diversity (39), environment (216)
In the Classroom
Try having students work through the cartoon tour of the New Zealand environment, having them keep a graphic organizer comparing the biodiversity and environmental practices to those that are practiced in their community or state. Challenge students to compare using a tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here). Have students research unfamiliar terms. Perhaps share what you are doing in science a cultures class and work with them to create a mini culture lesson to pair up with your biodiversity lesson.
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Spicynodes - IDEA
Grades
6 to 12
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Create a website map or mindmap easily with this free site. Create a login (requires an email address.) Add interest to your site as visitors choose a node and new ...more
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Create a website map or mindmap easily with this free site. Create a login (requires an email address.) Add interest to your site as visitors choose a node and new options open up for them. Spicynodes is a mindmap but all portions are not displayed until they are clicked on, acting greater interactivity to your sitemap or mindmap.
tag(s): graphic organizers (24), mind map (16)
In the Classroom
Create a new map by entering the details such as a title. Choose from the template styles given. Preview the template, zoom in and out, and scroll around the mindmap using the simple tools. Click the "Edit Content" tab to change each node in your mindmap. Edit the name of the node, the description, and upload or link to a picture. Nodes can also link to a You tube video. When done, click preview to not only see the finished mindmap, but to publish on the Spicynodes site or copy the embed code for placing on a wiki, blog, or other site.There are countless possibilities at this mental mapping site. Demonstrate the activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to try to create their own graphic organizers. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics of study. Use this site to create family trees. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Create a site map that guides users throughout the features of your class website.
Collaborative Projects: Have small groups research together a topic such as unsolved mysteries of the world, planets, legends from their countries, plants, famous mathematicians, or any topic that can be broken down into parts. Each student would have their own node and color and would then upload pictures, videos, links, and other information they have found about their part of the topic. If the whole class is researching a topic, students with the "like" assignments could get together to share information and create their part of the small group node (also know as jigsaw in cooperative learning). Once all the nodes are completed, the original small group would share information with each other. There are a variety of ways students could use this mindmap. You could just leave it at the small group share out. Or, you could have the groups decide what information is important enough to present to the class and put their ideas on a Writeboard document reviewed here. A third step could be that once they've honed down the information, they could create a presentation for the class in a variety of formats: Glogster reviewed here, or Animoto reviewed here are only two of the many presentation formats we have reviewed on TeachersFirst.
Student project ideas: Have students... organize any concepts you study; color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, question; map out a story, plotline, or LIFETIME; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle); map a real historical event as a choose-your-own-adventure with alternate endings(?) based on pivotal points; plan a "tour" for a "thought museum."
Use this mapping website as an alternative to a traditional test, quiz, or homework assignment in literature or social studies: have students demonstrate their understanding by completing a graphic organizer about the main points. Be sure that they RENAME it before they start work to an individual name so you know who did it (they could EMAIL it to you!) or have them print their results to turn them in.
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Read Me Resources - National School Partnership
Grades
5 to 9
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This reading and writing site from the UK was created to reach boys ages 11 - 14. Using resources like blogs, movie trailers and graphic novels, students are encouraged to ...more
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This reading and writing site from the UK was created to reach boys ages 11 - 14. Using resources like blogs, movie trailers and graphic novels, students are encouraged to strengthen their reading and writing skills. This site offers complete lesson plans, downloads, PowerPoints, and other presentations, as well as, an incredible graphic novel creator.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (46), graphic novels (5), novels (12)
In the Classroom
English and Language Arts teachers you will find lots here to keep your students engaged. Though this site is geared towards boys ages 11 - 14, girls will find these lessons fun too. Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to share the presentations. There are various graphic organizers that go with the lessons. Use them on an interactive whiteboard and fill them out with the whole class. Print the completed organizers for students to use for reference. Teachers in any subject can have their students use the graphic novel creator to create short stories. Students can choose their own characters, write text and add captions. Depending on the level of your students, have them create a one page, two page or an entire book. Print the books and add them to the class library. Or have students create an online book using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.
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