Before students returned from the break, all teachers attended a training on Thinking Maps. Thinking Maps are visual tools designed to help students organize and structure their thinking. There are eight maps, and each is designed to develop skills such as cause and effect, sequencing, classifying, and comparing and contrasting. You can learn more about Thinking Maps here.
So far, students have learned to use the circle map, bubble map, and double bubble map. The circle map is used for defining, the bubble map for describing, and the double bubble for comparing and contrasting.
Here are some examples of student bubble maps. We used the bubble map to describe Martin Luther King, Jr.
I'm very excited about this new strategy for helping students visually represent their thinking. Our entire school is implementing Thinking Maps, so as students continue on to the next grade level, using the maps will become second nature to them. We're looking forward to seeing improvements in students' reading, writing, and problem solving abilities.
So when you see these little drawings coming home, just know your child has been thinking :) .
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