Graphic organizers are visual tools that help students organize and structure information. They can be used across content areas and benefit all learners. Teachers should select graphic organizers that match their learning objectives and have students complete them to demonstrate their understanding, identify gaps in knowledge, and assess their learning. When implemented effectively throughout a lesson, graphic organizers can improve student engagement, strengthen the learning process, and increase test scores.

1. USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
Abstract:
Graphic organizers are instruments of
representation, illustration and modeling of
information. In the educational practice they are used
for building, and systematization of
knowledge. Graphic organizers are instruments that
addressed mostly visual learning style, but
their use is beneficial to all learners. In this paper we
illustrate the use of graphic organizers in the
intercultural education. We present a set of graphic
organizers used in the scientific literature and
then we describe teaching activities that are based on
the use of graphic organizers.

2. What are graphic organizers?
• Graphic organizers are representations,
pictures or models used for processing
visual information.
• They facilitate understanding of
knowledge when there is a large amount
of information to work with, in a given
limited time.

3. Why use graphic organizers?
Graphic organizers are very
versatile instructional tools that
can easily be used to optimize
content-based lessons.

4. It can be used effectively in many different instructional
settings, but they are particularly powerful when
integrated into CBI activities, because they can, for
example:
• provide the necessary scaffolding that is so critical in CBI,
especially for learners with lower levels of language
proficiency and/or learning difficulties
• help students to notice and understand the link between
the content they are studying and the specific vocabulary
and language structures needed to communicate about
that content
• engage students in more active learning and,
consequently, increase students’ motivation
• support cooperative learning activities

5. In essence, the functions of graphic
organizers in the learning process are:
• Clarifying knowledge and reasoning.
-the function of graphic organizers is to explain
the relations between concepts.
• Strengthening the learning process.
-Filling in a graphic organizer is a complex
process which
requires taking the decision on which graphic
organizer is the most suitable for the given type of
knowledge and cognitive processes.

6. • Integrationing the new knowledge in the prior
knowledge system.
This association of the new knowledge with the
previous knowledge leads to a superior learning process.
• Identificating the conceptual errors (and
missconceptions).
Filling in a graphic organizer shows
the teacher and the student the conceptual and
perceptual errors.

7. What do teachers need to think about
to prepare and use graphic organizers?
• Step 1: Plan a lesson activity
-Create a lesson activity that lends itself well to
the use of a graphic organizer.
• Step 2: Identify a graphic organizer
-Select a graphic organizer that matches the
underlying purpose of the lesson activity
• Step 3: Open the template
-After the appropriate graphic organizer is
identified, follow the link to the template section where
you will find a list of graphic organizers that can be
modified and printed.

8. • Step 4: Review the model
-To familiarize yourself with the selected graphic
organizer, read through the information provided—the
purpose, thinking skills targeted, tips on how to use it
(with example provided), and the list of possible
language implications, that is, some of the possible
language structures that may be targeted with the
selected graphic organizer.
• Step 5: Complete teacher Planning Sheet
-After clicking on the "create your own" link, you
will be directed to the “Teacher Planning Sheet”
template where you will need to insert the necessary
information in the target language or English in the
fields indicated by grey dotted lines.

9. • Step 6: Check student handout & Print
-When you have completed the "Teacher
Planning Sheet", check the information on the
student handout and verify that all is accurate
and appears as you would like.
• Step 7: Save your changes
-It is now possible to save the changes you
add into the templates, just "save" when you are
finished. This new Acrobat feature should also
allow you to re-open and make additional
changes.

10. Do graphic organizers raise test-scores?
• Graphic organizers can contribute to increasing
both classroom and achievement test scores.
• Naturally, the degree to which test scores are
impacted by graphic organizers is relative to the
degree to which they are effectively used and
become an integral part of the on- going
instruction.

11. Who benefits from graphic organizers --aren’t they for
visual learners?
While it is true that some people seem to prefer visual
presentations of information and others prefer auditory formats,
viewing the learning process in this manner is a gross over-simplification
of how information is actually processed and
understood. In reality, the nature and complexity of the
information being communicated, innate memory capacity, the
quality of elaboration the learner applies when processing the
information, and the existing background knowledge of the
learner dictates the subsequent success of learning far more than
one’s intellectual aptitude for processing information via different
presentation modes.

12. When should graphic organizers be used?
If you think of your content instruction as having a
beginning, middle, and end, graphic
organizers can be used during any of these
segments. For example, they can be used to
facilitate students’ activation of background
knowledge and to create anticipation for future
learning at the beginning of a unit or even a specific
lesson. They can be used as the new content is
being explored. They can also be effective ways to
facilitate review of previously taught materials.

13. Can graphic organizers be used to
assess students?
Graphic organizers can be a very powerful tool
for assessing students’ (a) knowledge of the
content (e.g., social studies, science), (b)
thinking skills such as the ability to structure
information, and
(c) some habits of the mind such as creativ ity,
and commitment to quality.

14. Thank you!!!
By:
Dranreb N. Fracisco