Visual thinking guides
This presents three sources of visual thinking guides: Exploratree, Holt Graphic Organizers and LexIcon.
Contents
- 1 Exploratree
- 2 Gamestorming
- 3 Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers
- 3.1 Generating, Identifying, and Organizing Details
- 3.2 Determining Main Idea and Drawing Conclusions
- 3.3 Order and Sequence
- 3.4 Comparison-Contrast and Cause and Effect
- 3.5 Process and Cycle Diagrams
- 3.6 Evaluating and Making Decisions
- 3.7 Persuasive and Supporting a Position
- 3.8 Vocabulary
- 3.9 Miscellaneous organizers
- 4 LexIcon Interactive Graphic Organizers
- 5 Writing Fun Text Organizers
- 6 Alternative uses of graphic organizers
Exploratree[edit]
Exploratree hosts a set of interactive thinking guides. This is a free web resource where you can use the guides, print them, edit them or make your own. You can share them and work on them in groups. It is aimed at schools and students, but has ideas for thinkers of all ages.
Interactive map: Flash (recommended)
Here are some of the overall categories, names of individual diagram type and an indication of their purposes.
Click the thumbnail to see a full-size image. Click the caption under the thumbnail to be taken to Exploratree’s interactive page for that diagram.
Develop ideas[edit]
Lotus blossom[edit]
Create lots of ideas around an issue then turn ideas into actions
Examine ideas[edit]
Investigate evidence and other views then make new ideas
Use the essence[edit]
Get to the heart of the issue then look for new ideas
Possible futures[edit]
Think about the way an issue may develop in the future
Solve problems[edit]
Knowing trees[edit]
Think through a question and identify supporting evidence
Reverse planning[edit]
Work backwards from the ideal future to a realistic present
Is / is not[edit]
Scope a problem by identifying what it is and is not
Complete reversal[edit]
Reverse a problem to stimulate new thinking when stuck
Digging up roots[edit]
Explore a problem by digging down to its roots
Explore[edit]
Futures wheel[edit]
Think through the consequences and knock-on effects
T.A.S.C.[edit]
Helps you think about and communicate any topics, issues or problems
Question things[edit]
Question everything you read, hear and see
Compare and contrast[edit]
Make comparisons between two topics
A day in the life[edit]
Seeing things as they are experienced.
Analyse[edit]
Tracking an enquiry[edit]
This thinking guide will help you to plan your enquiry
Facts or opinions[edit]
Sort out the facts from the opinions about a particular topic
Making meanings[edit]
Establish what you want to know
Scamper[edit]
Substitute, combine, adapt, modify, rearrange
Traffic lights[edit]
What changes would you make? Analyse a particular situation
Different perspectives[edit]
From a different angle[edit]
Examining a topic through a variety of different lenses
Thinking boxes[edit]
Analyse from different perspectives – local to global
Plus, minus, interesting[edit]
Evaluate by identifying pluses, minuses and interesting points
Compass rose[edit]
Examine things from a variety of perspectives
Gamestorming[edit]
Gamestorming presents thinking patterns as games, many of them visual, that will help to make meetings and discussions more fruitful and stimulating.
$ – $100 Test
3 3-12-3 Brainstorm
4 – 4Cs
7 – 7Ps Framework
A – Affinity Map; Air Time Mastermind; Argument map; Atomize
B – Back of the Napkin; Bodystorming; Boundary matrix; Brainwriting; Break; Build The Checklist
C – Card Sort; Communicate This & Stick it here; Context Map; Coriolis Effect; Cover Story
D – Dot Voting; Draw the Problem
E – Elevator Pitch; Empathy Map
F – Fishbowl; Force Field Analysis; Force Field Analysis; Forced Analogy; Forced Ranking
G – Give-And-Take Matrix; Graphic Jam
H – Help Me Understand; Heuristic Ideation Technique; History Map; Homepage Bingo; How-Now-Wow Matrix
I – Ice breaker; Image-ination; Impact & Effort Matrix
L – Low-Tech Social Network
M – Make A World; Mapping Business Models; Mission Impossible; Mood Board
O – Object Brainstorm; Open Space
P – Party Invitations; Pecha Kucha/Ignite; Pie Chart Agenda; Plus/Delta; Post-Up; Poster Session; Pre-Mortem; Pro/Con list
Q – Quaker Conversation
R – Random Inputs
S – Scenario Slider; Show and Tell; Show Me Your Values; Spectrum Mapping; Stakeholder Analysis; Storyboard; SWOT Analysis
T – The 5 Whys; The Anti-Problem; The Blind Side; The Pitch; Trading Cards
V – Value Map; Video Card Family Game; Visual Agenda
W – Welcome To My World; Who/What/When Matrix; WhoDo
Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers[edit]
These are described as interactive, and are in the sense that they are PDF files into which you can store your own text, but the underlying diagrams cannot be changed. Once you’ve downloaded a PDF you can type in your own thoughts and either save it or print it.
Generating, Identifying, and Organizing Details[edit]
Cluster Diagram Teaching notes
Determining Main Idea and Drawing Conclusions[edit]
Main Idea and Details Chart Teaching notes
Main Idea Chart Teaching notes
Determining Main Idea Chart Teaching notes
Drawing Conclusions from Information Chart Teaching notes
Conclusions Chart Teaching notes
Order and Sequence[edit]
Rank Order Chart Teaching notes
Comparison-Contrast and Cause and Effect[edit]
Comparison-Contrast Chart Teaching notes
Cause and Effect Chart Teaching notes
Cause and Effect Chain Teaching notes
Cause and Effect Diagram Teaching notes
Process and Cycle Diagrams[edit]
Process or Cycle Chart Teaching notes
Process or Cycle Diagram Teaching notes
How-To Essay Organizer Teaching notes
Concept/Event Map Teaching notes
Evaluating and Making Decisions[edit]
Evaluation Pyramid Teaching notes
Evaluation Organizer Teaching notes
Positive-Negative Chart Teaching notes
Persuasive and Supporting a Position[edit]
Persuasive Planner Teaching notes
Controversial Issue Teaching notes
Supporting a Position Teaching notes
Fishbone Planner Teaching notes
Vocabulary[edit]
Personal Thesaurus Diagram Teaching notes
Miscellaneous organizers[edit]
All-Purpose Planner Teaching notes
LexIcon Interactive Graphic Organizers[edit]
Writing Fun Text Organizers[edit]
The text organisers at Writing Fun have a limited graphical component, but have been included here because they fit well with the function of others, presented above. Students can use them on line, or download Word files for local use.
They cover writing well-structured:
- Information Reports
- Procedures
- Explanations
- Persuasion (exposition)
- Discussions
- Narratives
- Responses
- Descriptions
and other forms.
Alternative uses of graphic organizers[edit]
Teachers sometimes give underachieving students partially-completed graphic organizers. All the students have to do is finish them.
For free information about the hundreds of visual thinking tools available, visit the Visual Thinking Center |