Brainstorm ideas with teachers and peers, use graphic organizers (e.g., webs, charts, Venn diagrams) independently and/or in group, and use a variety of resources to gather information. 0201.3.3

Links verified on 12/29/2014

1. Character Trading Cards - This tool provides a fun and useful way to explore a character in a book or as a prewriting exercise when creating characters for original stories. Student Interactive from Read/Write/Think
2. Circle Plot Diagram - The tool can be used as a pre-writing graphic organizer for students writing original stories with a circular plot structure (e.g., If You Take a Mouse to School), as well as a post-reading organizer used to explore the text structures in a book. Student Interactive from Read/Write/Think
3. Essay Map - The Essay Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to organize and outline their ideas for an informational, definitional, or descriptive essay. Student Interactive from Read/Write/Think
4. Follow the Clues - a graphic organizer to help your students make predictions about a story (K-2 and 3-5 activities included)
5. Graphic Organizer Links - links to a large number of graphic organizers provided by Vermilion Parish School Board in Abbeville, LA - Second page of links from the same school system
6. Graphic Organizers - from Enchanted Learning
7. Graphic Organizers from Education Place
8. Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers - Three dozen different templates are available at this site. Click on a graphic organizer to download a PDF of it. Once you've downloaded an organizer, type your comments and print it.
9. Index of Graphic Organizers - from Inspiration
10. Instructions on how to use Excel to create a graphic organizer
11. Interactive Graphic Organizers Sampler - This series of thinking tools covers a range of activities. These tools let you actively construct, examine, and modify your ideas. Currently seven of the planned seventeen thinking tools are available; look for the titles in green on the left.
12. Kinds of Concept Maps - examples of four major categories of concept maps [This expired page is from the Internet Archive known as the Wayback Machine.]
13. Story Board - a graphic organizer to help your students make predictions about a story (K-2 and 3-5 activities included)
14. Story Map - The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in pre-writing and post-reading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution. Student Interactive from Read/Write/Think
15. Story Starters - Here's a quick writing activity to try every day. First generate a creative story starter. Pick a format: notebook, letter, newspaper, or postcard. Four levels are available: pick 2nd
16. Text 2 Mind Map - a web application that converts texts to mind maps – Enter a structured list of words or sentences and Text2Mind Map will interpret it and make a mind map out of them that you can print.
17. Tips on Making Your Own Concept Maps - [This expired page is from the Internet Archive known as the Wayback Machine.]
18. Venn Diagram, 2 Circles - This interactive tool allows students to create Venn Diagrams that contain two overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically. Student Interactive from Read/Write/Think