Brainstorming & Organization

The article below from UNC Chapel Hill, discusses different types of brainstorming that can be done. One of the strategies I found the most interesting, was the cube-it strategy. You give your brainstorming 6 approaches as if it is a six-sided cube.

Brainstorming – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel HillWhat this handout is about This handout discusses techniques that will help you start writing a paper and continue writing through the challenges of the revising process. Brainstorming can help you choose a topic, develop an approach to a topic, … Continued

Heart Map

Have students write or draw pictures of things they enjoy or are meaningful to them. This can be used to brainstorm topics, or it can be used to brainstorm what they know about a particular topic.

Graphic organizers are a great way to help students map out their ideas to develop their writing pieces. Some examples we use in class are listed below.

Power House Graphic Organizer- A

This graphic organizer helps students develop a single paragraph.

Students start by creating a topic sentence in the roof (number 1). Then they come up with 3 ideas they want to write about. These ideas go in the number 2 boxes. In the boxes numbered 3, they "tell me more" about their idea from box two that is above. In the basement they write their conclusion sentence.

Power House Graphic Organizer- B

This graphic organizer helps students develop 5 paragraphs.

Students start by creating an intro paragraph in the roof (number 1). Then they come up with 3 ideas they want to write about. These ideas go in the number 2 boxes. In the boxes numbered 3, they "tell me more" about their idea from box two that is above. In the basement they write their conclusion paragraph.

Inspiration Maps

This is an app that allows you to create your own graphic organizers. It provides some templates or you can start from scratch to fit your needs. You can export your graphic organizer to print, save to photos or email to someone. By using this app on an iPad, it allows for differentiation, such as the use of dictation.