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Effective Concept Mapping for Students

Concept maps are a visual tool that allows students to organize ideas related to a topic. Students brainstorm key words, phrases or concepts and arrange them on a map connected to the main topic or question. This helps students break down topics into more specific sub-topics and see connections between ideas. Teachers can have students create individual concept maps to demonstrate their understanding, or work together in groups to build a shared map. Concept maps can be used before, during or after a unit to facilitate comprehension and assessment.

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149 views2 pages

Effective Concept Mapping for Students

Concept maps are a visual tool that allows students to organize ideas related to a topic. Students brainstorm key words, phrases or concepts and arrange them on a map connected to the main topic or question. This helps students break down topics into more specific sub-topics and see connections between ideas. Teachers can have students create individual concept maps to demonstrate their understanding, or work together in groups to build a shared map. Concept maps can be used before, during or after a unit to facilitate comprehension and assessment.

Uploaded by

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Concept Maps

A concept map is a tool that teachers can teach their students how to use to better organize and
visualize their ideas. When given a topic, students will brainstorm ideas, phrases, or words that
they believe is associated with the content. These ideas, phrases, or words will they be organized
visually in a way that the student will be able to refer to their concept map throughout a unit.
This is a great way to help students break down their main idea into topics that are more specific.

How to use
1. Identify the Concept

Select a question or come up with a topic in which you would like your students to be able to
delve deep into. It is a good idea to choose a question or topic that is complex and can be viewed
from different angles.

2. Creating the Concept Map

Students need to first come up with a list of ideas, phrases, or words that describe the concept
they are exploring. The students will write the topic of question in the middle of their page and
will organize their list of ideas, phrases, or words in a way that they student is able to visualize
the connection between their information and their topic or question. This can be done by
drawing arrows or lines from the concept to the ideas and the students can even write a
description of how the two are connected.

3. Presentation of Concept Maps

When the students complete their concept maps, then have the students share them with their
classmates. This allows the students to share their ideas while also gaining ideas and feedback
from their peers throughout the process.

When to use
● When reading text to organize ideas
● Prior to unit in order to access prior knowledge
● Use as a closing task to that students are able to fully wrap their heads around the content
● When students need to synthesize information that they just learned
● Use to assess the students’ understanding of the content

Variations
Mind Map

Very similar to a concept map, but can include illustrations, pictures, and diagrams to show their
connections between the topic and their ideas. The students will create their mind map
completely from scratch without using any pre-prepared diagrams.

Class/Group Concept Maps

Students can work in groups or with the entire class to create a concept map about the given
question or topic. This creates collaboration with their peers, giving them the opportunity to
share ideas and connect their individual ideas together. A teacher can also have students
complete their concept maps independently, having the students come together later to create a
class concept map from at least one idea from each student.

Character Map

Can be used to organize words, phrases, or ideas about a fictional or historical figure. This is a
great way to organize what the character is thinking, feeling, saying, and doing. This helps the
reader connect to the character to better understand their reading.

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