Directions: Study the content and style of each
mind map shown here, then read about why this style was chosen for the
task at hand. Use your scroll bar to view all five maps. The Task: What it does: What this map shows: What it’s good for:
Students will create an idea map.
Tomas created this map to help organize his thoughts before writing
a descriptive paragraph about Autumn.
Idea Maps help generate and organize a lot of ideas in a short amount
of time.
The main idea, Autumn, is surrounded by ways Tomas enjoys the season
through his senses. The next topic Tomas might add to this map would
be the sense of TOUCH.
Idea Maps are good for brainstorming, pre-writing and large group work.
The Task: What it does: What this map shows: What it’s good for: The finished product:
Tomas decided that many of his sensory experiences were related to each
other, and modified his idea map into a web shape.
Webs are maps that show the relationships between topics with a common
theme.
Tomas is discovering that some of the things he enjoys about Autumn
are multi-sensory, such as the smell and sound of burning leaves in
Autumn.
Webbing helps students break out of linear thinking and analyze their
information in new ways.
Below is an example of Tomas' finished work. Note how he has used several
adjectives from his mind map and synthesized the ideas into a coherent
description.
The Task: What it does: What this map shows: What it’s good for:
Janelle created this mind map in preparation for a compare and contrast
essay.
Venn Diagrams help sort out similarities and differences between ideas.
This map shows Janelle’s research notes on qualities that make
polar bears and panda bears distant cousins.
Comparing helps students more fully appreciate the similarities and
differences between ideas, and stimulates thought in logical ways to
present information about both subjects in the same essay or project.
The Task: What it does: What this map shows: What it’s good for:
Mrs. Hansen created this map with her students on the first day of a
unit on the theme of bears.
KWHL charts help make learning units more inquiry-based and less teacher-driven.
This KWHL Chart shows what students already know about bears, their
own questions about bears, and describes how they are going to research
their questions. There are blank spaces to the right that may be filled
in as the students discover the answers.
This kind of map is perfect for a class wide study on a single topic.
It may be expanded and revised as the students’ knowledge and curiosity
grows.
The Task: What it does: What this map shows: What it’s good for:
Martin created this map to better understand a new vocabulary word:
Colonist.
Concept maps are hierarchically organized from the most general or important
idea down to the specific details.
Key concepts are tied together with connective links that describe the
nature of their relationship. We learn about what a colonist is by reading
DOWN the paths of the flowchart.
This kind of map is great for illustrating scientific and historical
concepts. It is also great for diagramming the meaning of new vocabulary
words.
©2001 Teaching Matters, Inc.