Teaching Tips

Our school division has been really big on Thinking Maps, and they are absolutely wonderful!  I have seen a big increase in how students think about what they read and learn.  But in the lower grades, they are still learning how to draw the maps, which can be time consuming.  I want them to begin to be more independent, so I came up with some strategies to help them out.

My group of second graders read a book from Reading A-Z called Whose Eggs Are These?  It included a "web", but that is not an official thinking map.  I wanted the students to create a tree map, so we used the web with pictures, filled in, and then cut it out.  We then glued them into a tree map.  Here was the original and the finished product.

They loved this and had a good time making it.  My first graders read a book from Reading A-Z called Make a Tree Friend.  It too had a great web that would make a truly cute tree map.  Here is what we did.

This made it so much easier to make the tree map, and I think they may understand the concept a little better.  I love finding ways to make things in different ways, and this was a no brainer.  So, just remember that there are always ways to help your students learn in different ways!  This is just the beginning!

Tomorrow, I get to go on a field trip with our third graders to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest.  This is one of my favorite places to go because it is constantly changing!  I will take pictures and post tomorrow!  I just so enjoy going outside since I don't get to anymore!

Until tomorrow!
Andrea