staceyharding.blog-city.com

Concept Mapping

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posted Sunday, 20 April 2008

There are a lot more options than I thought there would be with that software!  I personally find it quite useful, being someone who sometimes needs a little extra help getting organized.  It has always bothered me when I run out of space on a piece of paper, thereby making my thoughts as disorganized graphically as they are in my mind.  I had to rearrange quite a few times while making my concept map using this software since I didn't use one of their templates, but I am happy with my end result.  I could have probably spent hours uploading more pictures to represent my ideas, but I was able to find suitable clip art.  I get overwhelmed when graphic organizers in textbooks or teacher's guides are littered with words so I loved the idea of having the pictures speak for me.  Since we are always looking for ways of incorporating EL's in the classroom, what a great way of doing so!  Before a particular unit or assignment, we could even find pictures that they might be interested in using as a way of expressing their ideas.  For example, if the students had to make a graphic organizer of content-area vocabulary, we might provide a folder of related pictures or terms, and let them choose the ones that they want to use.  They might also be encouraged to use the internet to find other pictures to incorporate.  Google has search engines in many languages that are geared toward web pages in other countries, possibly helping EL's relate their prior concept and linguistic knowledge to the concepts being studied.

 

 Click here to check out my concept map.   


comments (4)


1. katemrob left...
Monday, 21 April 2008 9:19 am

Stacey, I really love your concept map! It is very creative and I really like how you used pictures to match your statements. I think my favorite was "adapting as necessary" with the tree frog. Very cool. After seeing yours, I wish I had made my statements more concise and added more pictures. Great job.


2. Terry Smith left...
Saturday, 10 May 2008 8:05 am

Hi Stacey,

I like the use of so many pictures - great for attracting attention with kids/students of any age. Your map shows a butterfly symmetry of thought the way it spans in two directions giving information about you. You show a seed thought of success and go after it along the lines of global focus, reading, adaptation, imagination, and good humor. I do have one question - how does the baby convey open-mindedness? -- Terry


3. peter2964 left...
Tuesday, 17 June 2008 3:09 pm

Wow Stacey, very cool idea to use pictures to "speak for you". Your right this would be a great way to help EL students to express how they feel, especially at the younger grades. I really liked all of your statements and I think it is great that you were thinking about the student as you were creating your map. Nice job.


4. jackrich25 left...
Friday, 20 June 2008 8:37 pm

Stacey,

Like everyone else (but myself), you chose to complete a concept map about your future goals and aspiration. Great! I loved reading your map after, I clicked the zoom button. HA! HA! I also enjoyed the picture connections you made added to your thoughts. If you had to complete a 30 second talk about why you choose to become a teacher, your map could be used as a resource. Lastly, I like the fact that you ALWAYS try to make connections with English Language Learners, now I am beginning to understand your passion.