Idea Organization

Below are some recommended strategies to support the organization of ideas.

Please review these techniques to identify what may be the next best step!

• To help students organize their ideas, consider starting each writing assignments with time to first brainstorm ideas and then sequence them. Younger students could be provided with prompts or questions that help them organize their thoughts before starting on the task. Older students could be asked to fill out graphic organizers, develop an outline, write ideas down on post-it notes or in a word document, and then sequence and organize these ideas before starting the task.

• Consider highlighting the main points at the start of each lesson and clarifying what the student is expected to learn from the reading/or assignment. For instance, to outline the big picture and the essential information, (a) give the student a brief summary, (b) take a book walk, or (c) provide questions the student would be expected to answer after completing the reading or task.

Many Google Chrome extensions and apps have been developed to support organization. These could be found in the Chrome web store or App store. If you are suggesting that a student use one of these tools, make sure that you explicitly teach the student and/or caregiver how to use the feature. Depending on the student’s needs, these may be helpful:

• Google Keep by Google (electronic note taking, reminder/list, allows user to save information from websites and integrates notes into Google Docs)

• Evernote by Evernote (collects notes from screenshots, handwritten/typed notes, and bookmarks)

• WorkFlowy (good for creating outlines, brainstorming, and organizing information)