Word Webs

Word Webs are collaborative versions of a concept map. A central word, phrase, or question placed on a shared writing space serves as the stimulus. Students generate a list of related ideas and then organise them in a graphic, identifying relationships by drawing lines of arrows to represent the connections. This technique helps students analyse a complex concept by breaking it down into component parts and clarifying the relationships. It is also an effective starting point, helping students relate new information to prior knowledge or guiding groups to uncover current understanding of the associations between parts. Word Webs help students organise facts and principles into meaningful conceptual networks and to represent visually complex relationships that are difficult to understand from words alone.

1. Describe and demonstrate the process to students.

2. Form teams and distribute paper and markers.

3. Present the central concept that students will graph.

4. Ask student teams to brainstorm, writing a list of terms and phrases that express core concepts and supporting details.

5. Have students sketch out a diagram starting with the central idea and adding primary, secondary, and even tertiary associations.

6. Suggest that students determine the ways in which the items are related, drawing lines or arrows to show the connections.

7. Ask students to add new ideas and relationships as they construct the web.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Iv79YNLCg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAL_ywuPMk0

• http://www.nea.org/tools/word-webs.html
• http://files.realspellers.org/PetesFolder/Articles/Round_Table_Word_Webs_Draft2.pdf
• http://blogs.scholastic.com/ell/2007/07/welcome-student.html