OLD-Professional Development
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- PD Operations / HELC
- Design, Media, and Online Learning (DMOL)
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Effective Practices
- PL Toolkit
- PL-1 Develops Student Learning Goals
- PL-2 Data-driven instruction
- PL-3 Design Effective Lesson Plans, Units & Assessments
- I-1 Objective Driven Lessons
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I-2 Check for Understanding
- Assess Mastery
- Begin with the End
- Checkpoints
- Chunking Text
- Closure
- Cold Call
- Exit Ticket
- Graphic Organizer
- Guided Practice
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Post It
- Randomizing Responses
- Right is Right
- Running Roster
- Stretch It
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student Conferences
- Student-Generated Questions
- Teach Back
-
I-3 Differentiation
- Chunking Text
- Double Plan
- Exit Ticket
- Flexible Grouping
- Graphic Organizer
- Grappling
- HOT Question
- Independent Practice
- Leveled Text
- Multimedia
- Open-Ended Responses
- Post It
- Product Menus
- Right is Right
- Running Roster
- Stretch It
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student-Generated Questions
- Take a Stand
- Tiered Assignments
- Workstations
- I-4 Higher Level Thinking
-
I-5 Maximizing Instructional Time
- 100 Percent
- Academic Posture
- Call and Response
- Cold Call
- Do Now
- Entry Routine
- Exit Routine
- Job Assignments
- Material Organization
- Non-Verbal Interventions
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Pacing Tools
- Right is Right
- Stretch It
- Strong Voice
- Student Conference
- Teach Back
- Tight Transitions
- Work the Clock
- Workstations
- I-6 Communicating Content/Concepts
- I-7 High Academic Expectations
-
I-8 Student Engagement
- Academic Posture
- Call and Response
- Closure
- Cold Call
- Do Now
- Engage and Connect
- Graphic Organizer
- HOT Question
- Independent Practice
- J-Factor
- Job Assignments
- Leveled Text
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Product Menus
- Randomizing Responses
- Real-World Connections
- Reinforcers
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student-Generated Questions
- Workstations
- Work Hard, Get Smart
- I-9 Classroom Management
- I-10 Classroom Climate
- Literacy Routines
- Academics
- Swivl Pilot Program
- Professional Development
Description
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Graphic Organizers or thinking maps are structured, visual representations that are used to organize information and provide students with a template for capturing ideas during an activity. They allow students to discover patterns and relationships they may have otherwise missed. Graphic Organizers can be teacher- or student-created. There are a variety of templates available, and they can be used across content areas.
- Identify the classroom objective/concept to be taught.
- Identify the key relationships or ideas that should be emphasized within the concept or learning task, such as:
- Compare/Contrast
- Cause and effect
- Generating unique ideas for a project
- Linking background knowledge to a new concept
- Organizing ideas with supporting details
- Select an appropriate graphic organizer to support the learning. Some options include:
- Venn Diagram for compare/contrast
- Fish Bone for main idea and details
- KWL Chart for linking background knowledge
- Model and practice the use of selected graphic organizers with students.
- Provide opportunities for students to practice and utilize the graphic organizer to support their thinking during the lesson.
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Alerts
Completing a graphic organizer should never be the primary objective of the lesson as this is simply a tool to help students understand the objective better.
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Quick Tips
Graphic Organizer is most commonly used to organize text and ideas in reading. They may also be used for math in the form of Problem-Solving Boards.
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Other Strategies
Foldables
Foldables are 3-dimensional graphic organizers. These interactive organizers can be used to reinforce important thinking and communication skills.