Multiple Representations: Graphic Organizer
Overview
Visualizing how ideas fit together helps students construct meaning and strengthen recall. Graphic organizers outsource the memory demands of a task by mimicking the brain's mental schema, supporting students' cognitive development and, in turn, their problem-solving skills.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch how this third grade teacher models using a graphic organizer to solve a word problem. By integrating the mnemonic device "UPS" with a graphic organizer, students are prompted to strategically think and explain their mathematical reasoning.
Design It into Your Product
Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.
Products like Creately provide graphic organizer templates and diagramming tools. With colorful, dynamic, and editable graphic organizers, learners and teachers can customize their work to meet their needs.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Visual Learning Tools Strategies
Dot cards build number sense and promote early math skills, particularly Spatial Skills and Non-symbolic Number knowledge.
Visual representations help students understand what a number represents as well as recognize relationships between numbers.
Providing visuals to introduce, support, or review instruction activates more cognitive processes to support learning.
