Below are three very good interactive graphic organizers students can use in their writing projects. These tools will particularly help students develop detailed outlines and organize their ideas and thoughts to facilitate the writing process. These graphic organizers are created by the folks in Readwritethink and are completely free. They do not require any software download or registration and are very easy and simple to use. Students will definitely love working on them. For more educational interactive tools to use with your students in class, check out this page.
1- Essay Map
This is an excellent interactive graphic organizer that allows students to create detailed outlines for their writing projects. The outline consists of four main sections: introductory statement, main ideas, supporting ideas, and a concluding section. Once the map is created, students can then save, email or print it out.
2- Graphic Map
‘The Graphic Map is a great tool from ReadWriteThink to help students with their writing and reading activities. Using this graphic organizer, students will be able to represent high and low points related to particular items such as: the number of the chapter in a book they have read, the date a particular event happened, the scene in a play students have read or watched, or any other item. Any item selected can be rated using criteria such as : high/medium/low, smileys, or through digits. Students can also write a concise description of the topic and add a picture to illustrate their entries.’
3- Compare and Contrast Map
This is another great interactive graphic organizer to help students develop outlines for three different types of comparison essays namely: whole-to-whole, similarities-to-differences, or point-to-point. Additionally, ‘The tool offers multiple ways to navigate information including a graphic on the right that allows students to move around the map without having to work in a linear fashion. The finished map can be saved, e-mailed, or printed.’
