Differentiating With Graphic Organizers
Tools to Foster Critical and Creative Thinking
- Patti Drapeau - Education Consultant
'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 more readily understand and retain information. 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.
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.
"What a gift for educators! Drapeau delivers a practical book with a variety of answers for those who seek high levels of achievement for all of their students."
"These organizers can be easily adopted or adapted for all content areas and are simple to use. They will quickly become a part of every teacher's professional repertoire."
"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."
"Brilliantly written. Drapeau is a teacher's teacher. This book is guaranteed to elevate student thinking while addressing the needs of individual learners at all skill levels. It's all here and ready to go, along with sound research for support."
"Drapeau provides a well-researched, authoritative text that takes graphic organizers beyond 'capturing' factual information to structures that enable students to develop their critical and creative thinking skills. Such skills are essential to student success in today’s standards-based school settings."
"Patti Drapeau has created an exciting resource that is incredibly useful to both novice and seasoned educators. She provides very clear and practical strategies for integrating graphic organizers, creative thinking, and critical thinking into classroom practices. I only wish that her book had been available to me as a beginning teacher."