Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers can help language learners and their teachers to organize ideas and information for a writing or speaking assignment or to express comprehension of a reading or listening exercise. Graphic organizers help to make learning more personalized and learner centered (Yang, 2006). They help to scaffold information and concepts for easier organization and comprehension.  For example, if a student needed to write about his or her family, a graphic organizer could help the student to record information in an organized way that could then be used as a scaffold for writing paragraphs describing different family members. They can be used to compare and contrast cultural concepts.

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have several graphic organizers that could be used as a pre-writing or speaking tool or as a way to organize notes when reading. An online site that I like to use as a graphic organizer or mindmap is www.bubbl.us . It has a free version is easy to use.  It starts with a parent bubble that can be filled with information and sibling or child bubbles can be added as needed. It allows users to choose from a variety of colors and bubbles can be moved around the screen to suite the user.  

Reference:

Chang, Y. (2006). Visual Organizers as Scaffolds in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Online Submission. Retrieved from EbscoHost.