Differentiating With Graphic Organizers: Tools to Foster Critical and Creative Thinking

"Graphic organizers, differentiated instruction, and creative and critical thinking—three topics on the frontline of teaching today, all together in one well-crafted text. This exciting book will not stay on the bookshelf; teachers will try the sample lessons and use and modify the graphic organizers to improve their practice and the achievement of their students."
—Karen Shible, Reading Specialist
Meachem Elementary School, Syracuse, NY

Use graphic organizers to challenge students, make learning exciting, and raise academic achievement!

Graphic organizers have proven to be successful tools for helping students develop their critical and creative thinking skills. This research-based resource shows how graphic organizers can improve teaching practices, help differentiate instruction in the classroom, and raise learning outcomes for all students, including English language learners and students with learning disabilities.

The author presents graphic organizers for nine types of thinking processes based on Bloom′s taxonomy and offers examples of how to apply the graphic organizers in different subject areas and grade levels. This hands-on guide demonstrates how teachers can:

• Promote the critical thinking processes of assuming, inferring, analyzing, prioritizing, and judging
• Encourage the creative thinking processes of brainstorming, connecting, creating, and elaborating
• Modify graphic organizers or create their own to meet individual learning needs

With assessment rubrics for providing quality feedback included, Differentiating With Graphic Organizers addresses ways to promote and build students′ creative reasoning, communication, and problem-solving skills and make the learning process a success.