Graphic+Organizers

===Graphic organizers are used to meet your needs as a teacher and help to focus/direct the students. The best graphic organizers are the ones tailored to the lesson's requirements. You can use the graphic organizers that are provided with Science Kits, but you may need to modify them. Graphic organizers should also reduce any unnecessary "nonlearning clerical" work by the students thus saving class time for instruction and learning.===

Any word processing software will work or even pen/pencil. It does not matter how the graphic organizers are created as long as they work. Graphic organizers created in pen or pencil are just as good as those produced in desktop publishing. I like wordprocessing in that it allows me to include graphics from the internet more easily. There are many types of graphic organizers such as concept grids, Venn diagrams, flowcharts, and mindmaps. My graphic organizers have evolved to be a booklet format.

Booklet graphic organizers are printed double sided so that simply folding them produces the booklet. These booklets are collected by me for grading before being handed back to the students for mounting in their Science Journals. Some graphic organizer booklets may require two Science classes so are stored in the student's Locking Folder. My Booklet Graphic Organizers are meant to allow students to make connections between Science standards and promote higher order thinking in their writing.

Booklet Graphic Organizer includes:

 * Front
 * Title of the Activity/Experiment
 * The Science Standard(s) provided in an understandable context to the students
 * The actual Science Standard(s) and Content Area/Number.
 * Language Objectives incorporated
 * Vocabulary used (and translations to assist ESL students)
 * Rear
 * Directions and Procedures
 * Experimental Data Sheet/Work Area
 * Higher order thinking activity that helps motivate the students
 * Higher order question to be answered when activity has been finished and internalized.


 * Note: Have the students do more than read the front page content with you. Have them personalize it by including additions you provide to help focus the students:**
 * ** Underline sections of the Content Objectives **
 * ** Circle primary Vocabulary. Some of my vocabulary involve two or more word phrases that do not have room to be on the same line on the organizer. I have my students circle these multi-word phrases to solve this problem **.
 * ** Underline sections of Vocabulary Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots and provide a line to record its meaning (herbi in herbivore - plant). Many Science terms have common word parts that can be used by students in Science to understand vocabulary. **
 * ** Provide quick, simple artwork to graphically represent activities to accomplish and/or text sections of the graphic organizer. **