Graphic Organizers, Thinking Maps, Webs … It’s lingo, jargon, best practices.  Name it what we will.  But do our students get it?  That’s the question.  A few years ago, I asked myself that question.  After many a reflective moment and a few probing questions to students, I determined that my students saw so many different planning and thinking tools that they couldn’t keep them straight in their heads, much less apply them effectively and independently.  And so began my obsession with limiting the number of organizers I use with my students!

Flow maps are a favorite in our class — we use them to show the order of events.  They’re used in Social Studies, Reading Workshop — you name the subject, chances are that we use a flow map.  Students know that the flow map is the tool we use to show sequence of events.  Boxes with arrows.  At first, students didn’t know what to do with the flow map; however, after modeling and doing flow maps together (see the partially and completed Jamestown flow maps below), students quickly got the hang of it.

Partial Jamestown Flow Map

Completed Jamestown Flow Map

For each flow map, we briefly describe the event and then sketch a picture that will help us remember that event.  I scaffold the flow maps for language by providing some text already in their flow map, while other students summarize the text on their own and complete the flow map annotation independently.

This morning, we used a flow map during a poetry lesson.  While reading and analyzing My Mother Saw a Dancing Bear by Charles Causley, we sketched the movie scenes of the poem that we visualized in our heads.

Poem Flow Map

Flow maps work for my students because they are an easy to remember structure that students can quickly (after modeling and practicing) apply to most any sequential group of events.  Thanks to Jaana (a follower) who suggested in a comment on this post that I share the charts I use with students, I decided to share my flow maps!   Often, we’ll do a shared write of a chart paper flow map that is then posted in the room as a reminder throughout a unit (e.g. Jamestown Flow Map above).

I’ve attached a sample Word document flow map (the Pilgrim and Puritan map) that you can download and rework for your needs.  Also stay tuned for more posts on the other thinking tools that I use with my students.  Have you tried the game I shared in this post?  Get it and try it out…it’s student-tested and a winner!

Pilgrim Puritan Flow Map Word .doc

Happy mid-week, my friends!

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