Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers are discussed in chapter 6. Graphic Organizers are extremely helpful tools for both students and teachers. As a student, I always loved filling in bubble maps and creating maps for the bubble map fairs that the school would host. Graphic Organizers provide a creative way to take notes that are a much more reader friendly way of studying. For teachers they can be a good way to asses for a student's depth of understanding. However, one thing i remember from school is that the bubble map was overly used. Bubble maps are awesome for description, but I swear I never laid eyes on a flow map until junior high. There are DOUBLE (gasp, i know right?!?) bubble maps that can be used for comparison. Flow charts for chains of events, tree charts for classification, etc. The possibilities are endless! I must admit, until today when I was reading through chapter 6, I had never even seen of a story grammar chart. It's the mother of all maps. Im not even sure i could follow that map as a senior in college. But i cant wait to use it on some unsuspecting students! Another thing mentioned in chapter 6 is that graphic organizers are just another tool in the belt. You wouldnt use a screwdriver on a nail, and in the same way graphic organizers, as wonderful as they are, cannot be used universally in any given situation. Teachers need to use them purposefully as they would any other strategy. They must be used properly to be effective. According to a survey, "82 % (of teachers) recommended that graphic organizers like concept maps should be used frequently, only 59% admitted that they used them often." The surveyors suggest that the difference may fall in that teachers percieve that graphic organizers are difficult to prepare in advance. Graphic Organizers seem pretty simple to me, but if this is the case, how can more teachers be convinced to use graphic organizers in their class?