Graphic Organizers in General

A graphic organizer is a diagram or illustration of a written or oral statement. Examples include matrices, hierarchies, and continua. The goal in using graphic organizers is to organize ideas and examine relationships. In doing so, people engage more of their core thinking skills and process information more intensely, improving long-term recall. Although there are many different graphic organizers, they can be grouped into three main types.

Graphic organizers may be grouped or classified as representing sequential information, a single main concept, or multiple concepts. Different types within each classification can be used to represent simple or more complex information. Figure 1 is a matirx graphic organizer depicting classes and types of graphic organizers.

FIGURE 1
Classes and Types of Graphic Organizers

Sequential Graphic Organizers

FIGURE 2
Timeline

Flowcharts represent information that is also serial, but there are discrete steps, or steps that must be completed in order.	FIGURE 3 Flowchart
FIGURE 4 Cyclical Chart	When each step in a flowchart depends on the previous one and when the last step is connected to the first step, then a cyclical organizer is best.
A hierarchy is like a flowchart, except each subordinate step may have more than one branch.	FIGURE 5 Hierarchy

Single Main Concept Graphic Organizers

A continuum looks like a timeline; however, it is not serial. Instead, continua represent the range of possibilities represented by a concept. They are well suited for material that contains many gradations between two extremes. Figure 6 represents a sample continuum.

FIGURE 6
Continuum

Figure 7a
Simple Argumentation Structure

FIGURE 7b
Complex Argumentation Structure

Spider maps (and the similar fishbone maps) are well suited to diagramming a central concept surrounded by related information. This may consist of an object and its attributes or a primary concept with arms and legs for each major supporting idea. A branch from each leg for details of each idea may be included. Another example consists of a central proposition with supporting material, quotes, data, and examples, each on its own leg. Figure 8 represents a typical spider map.

FIGURE 8 Spider Map

Multiple Concept Graphic Organizers

Venn diagrams, familiar constructs for portraying set theory in mathematics, can be applied to other disciplines as well. They can be used in the same way as in mathematics–for demonstrating the ways in which two or more sets of data coincide. They effectively depict similarities and differences between groups. Figure 9 represents a simple, two-group Venn diagram.

FIGURE 9 Venn diagram

The graphic organizer able to demonstrate perhaps the widest range of complexity is the matrix. Matrices are constructs of rows and columns. They can span a range from simple, one-column 1xn matrices to unlimited nxn matrices. They can be used to compare and contrast two items, or they can be used to list objects cross-referenced with the attributes of each object. Figure 10 represents a 3x4 matrix.

FIGURE 10
3X4 Matrix