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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Free - See, Think, Wonder - TPT
Grades
K to 6
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tag(s): brain (59), graphic organizers (60), teaching strategies (85), thinking routines (62), thinking skills (137)
In the Classroom
Display an intriguing image, artifact, or chart at the beginning of class. Using a See, Think, Wonder graphic organizer, have students jot down what they notice, what they infer, and what they're curious about. This works well as a warm-up for ELA, science, or social studies lessons. After reading a short story, article, or poem, students can complete a See, Think, Wonder reflection to analyze characters, themes, and emotions. They can use the free printable templates to guide their responses. Present a visual math pattern or real-world image involving shapes, symmetry, or data. Have students use the See, Think, Wonder framework to describe what they observe, hypothesize relationships, and pose questions for deeper exploration.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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PBS KIDS Graphic Organizers - PBS LearningMedia
Grades
K to 3tag(s): critical thinking (193), graphic organizers (60), organizational skills (91), preK (333), reading comprehension (145), spanish (113), thinking routines (62)
In the Classroom
After watching an episode of Wild Kratts or Arthur, have students complete a character web to describe a main character's traits, actions, and relationships. Spanish-speaking students can use the corresponding organizer in Spanish to support bilingual learning. Use the sequencing graphic organizer to help students retell an episode in order (beginning, middle, end). Have students draw pictures or write simple sentences, depending on their level. Students can also use a blank story map to plan their own short story using PBS characters or original ideas. Encourage them to share their story with peers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mayan Civilization Lesson Plan: Time, Continuity, and Change - BrainPOP
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Use the Make-a-Movie feature under Deepen and Extend to create a video diary from the perspective of a person living in Maya society that describes a day in your life. Make a concept map using BrainPOP's Make-a-Map feature or MindMup reviewed here identifying key features and contributions of Maya society and culture. Creative Coding on the BrainPOP website can enable students to code a museum with artifacts representing key elements of Maya civilization.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Storyboard That Mesopotamia - Storyboard That
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): asia (138), digital storytelling (181), mesopotamia (31)
In the Classroom
Students can design a map of the Fertile Crescent, labeling key rivers, cities, and regions. Students can use the storyboard format from Canva's Storyboard Templates, reviewed here to visually represent the social hierarchy of Mesopotamia, from kings to enslaved people. Have students create a timeline using Timeline Infographics Templates, reviewed here to highlight major achievements, such as the invention of the wheel, writing (cuneiform), and irrigation systems. Challenge students to create a storyboard that depicts the daily life of a Mesopotamian family, focusing on religion, economy, and culture. Have students create storyboards that illustrate different laws from Hammurabi's Code, showing how laws were applied in Mesopotamian society.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Testing the Limits - Discovery Education
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): aviation (51), flight (33), STEM (381), virtual field trips (150)
In the Classroom
A teacher's companion guide comes in various languages (English, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, and Spanish). The guide gives pre-, during, and post-activities that align with the Next Generation Science, Common Core Math, and Technology Literacy Standards. Activities listed in the guide include a digital collage, a graphic organizer, and a career profile handout.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lumio - Smart Technologies ULC
Grades
K to 12tag(s): assessment (141), blended learning (28), communication (125), Learning Management Systems (19), questioning (37), remote learning (32), Teacher Utilities (224)
In the Classroom
Use Lumio's many included features to deliver personalized learning opportunities for all students. Begin learning about Lumio's features by exploring the activities available in Lumio's library and editing the content to fit the needs of your students. Once familiar with the tools and delivery system, upload and create personalized lessons for students. Quickly adapt activities and content to fit the needs of multilingual learners, gifted students, or special needs students within any content area.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Includes teacher tools for registering and/or monitoring students
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WordDB: The Word Database - The Word Database
Grades
K to 12tag(s): crosswords (22), DAT device agnostic tool (133), dictionaries (49), rhymes (24), thesaurus (21), vocabulary (255), vocabulary development (106), word study (59)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and keep this site handy for many classroom uses. Include a link to WordDB on your class website and classroom computers for students to access at school and home. Encourage students to use the tools on WordDB to improve their writing projects by finding antonyms, synonyms, and words of different lengths to include. Share the daily popular words as vocabulary activities using the Frayer Model as a graphic organizer to provide and apply knowledge of the words. Use the Frayer Model template provided on Figjam, reviewed here to discuss vocabulary, then use Figjam's tools to write sentences and short stories together as a class using your new vocabulary words. Extend learning using AI tools such as Twee, reviewed here and MagicSchool, reviewed here and create stories, vocabulary activities, and assessments quickly using words studied on WordDB.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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An Educator's Guide to Orange County Diversity - Heritage Museum of Orange County
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1800s (90), 1900s (87), agriculture (53), california (18), climate change (112), commoncore (63), cross cultural understanding (175), cultures (297), diversity (57), gold rush (20), immigrants (50), railroads (17), westward expansion (42)
In the Classroom
Use these guides as created or adapt the lesson plans to develop social justice lessons based on your local history. As a final project, ask students to use Google My Maps, reviewed here to create a virtual field trip through your town or state that includes links to videos and images that share the story of your location.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Explore Learning Resources - Canva
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): antonyms (12), art history (109), artificial intelligence (352), collages (17), colors (64), coordinates (16), creativity (93), factors (29), fractions (174), graphic organizers (60), human body (98), infographics (73), multiplication (133), oceans (143), paragraph writing (18), perimeter (21), plants (144), posters (46), presentations (49), pythagorean theorem (19), solar system (126), stories and storytelling (80), synonyms (16), verbs (25), waves (14), writing (310)
In the Classroom
Set aside time to look through these attractive templates to add to your current lesson plans or create a new unit. Students with a specific interest and want to know more about a topic could look through the templates to see what they could learn. Think about creating a Wakelet, reviewed here to share this addition resource for the topics you study in class with students. They can use the Wakelet for review or further information.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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In Pieces - 30 Endangered Species, 30 Pieces. - Bryan James
Grades
K to 12tag(s): animals (284), conservation (98), endangered species (28), extinction (4), origami (15), statistics (126), tangrams (10)
In the Classroom
This resource would be great in art, math, or science. Download the images and have students use a drawing program to cut out shapes or use pattern blocks to replicate the downloaded image. Use this site in math class to enhance your statistics unit. The information is shown in various ways and provides students with a real-world connection on how statistics can be used to communicate information. Have students research a different endangered animal not shown and create a statistic presentation. In science, use this site to engage students in a unit on conservation. Have students view the site and record facts or statistics they found interesting. They could utilize a KWL to chart and record their thoughts. You can find many different graphic organizers at Freeology - Free Printable Graphic Organizers, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New American History - University of Richmond
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): american revolution (99), black history (132), branches of government (70), civics (130), civil rights (224), civil war (148), colonial america (86), colonization (22), constitution (104), elections (87), emancipation proclamation (15), environment (246), great depression (33), immigrants (50), immigration (86), inequalities (27), native americans (148), primary sources (156), racism (82), segregation (20), underground railroad (15), womens suffrage (64), world war 1 (88), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
This site is an excellent resource for American History teachers; be sure to add it to your collection of teaching resources. Each lesson provided by New American History includes several ideas for using digital tools within the teaching tips; take advantage of these ideas to engage students in learning and differentiate instruction for learning styles and abilities. As students complete activities such as KWL charts, use the graphic organizer templates found at Canva Edu, reviewed here to share students' ideas. Extend learning by asking students to use Canva tools to show what they know by creating infographics, presentations, flyers, and other multimedia projects.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Patsy Mink - Changing the Rules - iCivics
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil rights (224), congress (37), politics (121), women (192)
In the Classroom
The video "Patsy Mink: Changing the Rules" can promote your student's critical thinking and civic engagement and teach students the contributions of women and people of color to American politics and society. Use the video as a launching pad to discuss women's history and representation in different fields, such as STEM or sports. Have students research prominent women in science, engineering, or athletics and compare their experiences to Patsy Mink's using a digital graphic organizer tool such as mindmaps, reviewed here. Assess student understanding by creating an interactive quiz game with Quizlet Live, reviewed here, or Kahoot, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tales from the Griots - The Mali Empire - TeachersFirst
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): africa (162), help article (63)
In the Classroom
Use the ideas and resources found in this article to enhance your lessons on ancient civilizations or provide information for a new teaching unit. In addition to the suggestions already seen on the article, consider using technology tools to help students curate resources, organize information, and share their learning. Wakelet, reviewed here, is an excellent tool for curating resources into shareable collections. Use Wakelet individually or collaboratively when working on research projects. Use CirclyApp, reviewed here, as a graphic organizer to help students understand and compare the Mali Empire with other civilizations. CirclyApp is an excellent visual tool that includes several useful templates to compare and contrast information easily. As students prepare to share their learning, consider the options found at Genially, reviewed here, for students to create interactive presentations, infographics, charts, and more. Resources correlate to ISTE and AASL National School Library Standards.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Voices of Democracy - The U.S. Oratory Project - Voices of Democracy
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): authors (115), civil rights (224), conflict resolution (10), freedom of speech (15), religions (120), speech (66), speeches (22)
In the Classroom
Include these significant speeches as part of speech class or during history lessons related to the speech's topic or speaker. Clip portions of any video using ytCropper, reviewed here, for students to use when focusing on presentation techniques or content of the speech. For a more in-depth look at any video clip or the entire speech, use Timelinely, reviewed here, to add images, maps, links, and more to any area on the video timeline. As a final project, ask students to record their own speeches or present one of the featured speeches on Padlet, reviewed here. Padlet includes many tools to extend student learning in addition to the video recording feature. Ask students to use Padlet's features such as the Brainstorming Board, AI Art, various graphic organizers, images, and more to enhance their speech presentation. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wisconsin Biographies - PBS Wisconsin Education
Grades
3 to 6tag(s): agriculture (53), biographies (99), civil rights (224), environment (246), journalism (74), native americans (148), recycling (48), slavery (82), wisconsin (5), womens suffrage (64)
In the Classroom
Use this fabulous site as part of your lessons on biographies or as you learn about the states. Ask students to choose one of the biographies as a starting point for researching other Americans. For example, after learning about Walter Bresette, challenge students to learn about others who teach about American Indian rights and protecting the earth. Extend learning by using this site as a model for student-created projects or as a class project. Use a website creation tool like about.me, reviewed here, to build a webpage to tell about the famous person being researched. Include a video created using Adobe Express for Education, reviewed here, to bring their story to life; find many ideas and templates to help students organize information on Read Write Think, reviewed here. When finished, upload student-created documents similar to the booklets found on the site. Use the idea maps found on the Wisconsin site to create a timeline or other graphic organizer and include it on the student webpage using a link or by uploading their saved PDF. Create and include a trading card using Canva Edu, reviewed here, and sharing a link on student pages.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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'Not Racist' Is Not Enough: Putting In The Work To Be Anti-Racist - Eric Deggans/NPR
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): bias (33), black history (132), cross cultural understanding (175), racism (82)
In the Classroom
Include this article with your other materials when discussing racism and bias. Engage students in a collaborative discussion of this article and others using Fiskkit, reviewed here. Add a link to the article in Fiskitt, then share with students to add questions and comments as they discuss the article together online. To help students focus on the topic, consider providing a list of possible questions before reading the article. Extend learning by asking students to use graphic organizers such as a 4-Circle Venn Diagram Creator, reviewed here, to compare and contrast information. For example, ask students to explore different media forms such as television, social media, podcasts, and literature and compare different presentations of racism and bias.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Discovering My Identity Lesson Plan - Southern Poverty Law Center & Learning for Justice
Grades
3 to 7tag(s): bias (33), charactered (88), difficult conversations (53), identity (44), racism (82)
In the Classroom
Include this lesson during character education lessons that teach students about racism, bias, and identity. Use Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to enhance students' viewing of the video included with the lesson. Search the YouTube portion on edpuzzle to find the video, then place the discussion questions within appropriate portions of the video. edpuzzle integrates with several learning management systems, including Canvas, reviewed here, making it easy to include your annotated video as part of a larger teaching unit. As students complete their book reviews during the lesson, use Gravity, reviewed here, to create video book reviews. Use this Gravity topic throughout the year to add additional book reviews for students throughout the school year. Upload the book review graphic organizer to your topic for easy access whenever students are ready to add a new review.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Design for Change USA - Design for Change
Grades
K to 8tag(s): charactered (88), climate (99), climate change (112), empathy (72), racism (82)
In the Classroom
Bookmark activities and podcasts shared on this site to use when teaching about racial bias, empathy, and climate. Download the educator's toolkit as an excellent resource of graphic organizers to help students organize information and plan action steps for multiple uses. As a culminating activity, engage learners to share their ideas by creating digital books using Book Creator, reviewed here. Have students create books that include images, videos, and written text, sharing their ideas on steps to address social issues.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Using iPads for Literacy and Research in Kindergarten - Dr. Kristi Meeuwse
Grades
K to 3tag(s): descriptive writing (46), preK (333), Research (92), writers workshop (30)
In the Classroom
Use this article as a starting point to develop a research unit on any topic for students in primary grades. Engage students in the learning process by offering a variety of learning materials that appeal to different learners. Use a bookmarking tool such as Symbaloo, reviewed here, to curate and share online resources with students. Symbaloo is especially helpful for younger students because the linked icons make it easy to organize information into groups and provide a visual clue to the linked information. Enhance learning further using resources found at ReadWriteThink, reviewed here. Search for the Animal Inquiry Interactive, for example, to use in creating a graphic organizer sharing animal facts, including habitat, interaction with others, and more. In addition to using Book Creator, reviewed here, to create students' final projects, consider using WriteReader, reviewed here, for younger students and emerging readers and writers. WriteReader offers unique features, including the option for students to tell a story in their writing, while the "adult" version is shown below with correct spellings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Copyright & Creativity for Ethical Digital Citizens - Copyright & Creativity.org
Grades
K to 12tag(s): copyright (39), digital citizenship (110)
In the Classroom
Utilize the free curricula offered on this site to teach students (and yourself) about the proper use of copyright. As you teach lessons and ask students to brainstorm ideas or compare and contrast information, use a graphic organizer tool such as Superstructures reviewed here, to create and save visual displays of students' ideas that include both text and images. Ask students to include a link to their Superstructures organizer on Seesaw, reviewed here, along with original drawings, recordings, or other materials created during your unit. As a final project, extend learning by asking students to create a tutorial about copyright based on their knowledge. Provide a variety of resources for creating the tutorial as a way to differentiate learning. Examples of some tools to include are Book Creator, reviewed here, or Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here, or create an infographic using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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