This can be an especially effective activity to help students see relationships within material they have just read and can be done both individually and in small groups. Students can select their own list of important concepts and terms from a passage and create a mind map that represents their understanding of the relationships. In addition they could add information from their own background to this graphic overview. Students can be assigned a chapter to map for their classmates, and be given the task of presenting the overview to their fellow students to introduce a new reading. Advantages Graphic organizers have been increasingly popular as an effective strategy to use with students.
Students have a visual outline of the major ideas and relationships between important information.
Students see how what they already know fits into the new material they will be studying. Mind maps can be created for use in all content areas and are appropriate for students from elementary to high school levels. Use Both Sides of Your Brain.