Primary students have many options for graphic organizers ...static.nsta.org/files/sc1503_46.pdf · Primary students have many options for graphic organizers ... or aluminum foil

Primary students have many options for graphic organizers to help develop writing skills in science.

By Kimberly Lott and Sylvia Read

Science and Children46

All writing begins with ideas, but young students often need visual cues to

help them organize their thoughts before beginning to write. For this reason, many elementary teachers use graphic organizers or thinking maps to help students visualize pat-terns and organize their ideas with-in the different genres of writing (see NSTA Connection). Graphic organizers such as thinking maps help students plan their writing and aid in organization. Research has shown that all students ben-efit from using graphic organizers, although some are better suited to particular writing tasks than others (Viscovich et al. 2008).

As students become famil-iar with and comfortable using these organizers, they can easily be adapted for scientific writing. A summary of how these think-ing maps are aligned to Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practices is found in Table 1, p. 48. In this article, we share examples of how these different thinking maps have been used for writing in science from kinder-garten to second grade. We also discuss connections to NGSS core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Bubble MapsBubble maps are used to help stu-dents develop descriptive details in their writing. The students put a word or object in the center and add adjectives that describe the ob-ject in the outside circles. Bubble maps are traditionally used to help students brainstorm a main idea and supporting details, which means they can also be used for writing in science.

For example, bubble maps can help guide and docu-ment student observations of matter and its properties. In a second-grade class, students were given several ob-jects and asked to observe the properties of each object. The students were then shown how to use a bubble map

to document the different types of properties, including color, texture, size, shape, and weight (Figure 1A). After they created their own bubble maps, students then wrote simple sentences to describe properties of matter as their writing lesson. The following day, the students classified the different objects based on their properties. By using the bubble maps from the previous day, the students be-

FIGURE 1.

Structured bubble map: (A) second grade and (B) kindergarten.

A

B

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gan to notice patterns among the objects and that they could be classified based on the different types of prop-erties. This activity is aligned to the NGSS core idea of matter and properties (2-PS1) and the crosscutting con-cept of Patterns. This same activity can be done with kin-dergarten students using a simplified version of this map for students to document the properties of objects (Figure

1B, p. 40). Bubble maps can also be more open-ended. In a month-

long unit, kindergarten students investigated the patterns observed in different types of animals, including reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, and fish. For each type of animal, students visited stations where they directly ob-served the animal, looked at pictures of the animals, or lis-

TABLE 1.

Alignment of thinking maps to ELA Common Core and NGSS science practices in grades K–2.

Thinking Map ELA Common Core NGSS Science Practices

Bubble Writing Standard 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Writing Standard 5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

• Constructing explanations

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Sequencing Writing Standard 3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.


• Planning and carrying out investigations


Cause and Effect Writing Standard 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.



• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Engaging in argument from evidence


Persuasive Writing Writing Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.



• Engaging in argument from evidence



Map It and Then Write It!

tened to the teacher read about the animals from informa-tional text. After their station exploration of the animals, students used a bubble map to write five “fun facts” that

they either observed or learned about their group of animals. After document-ing their five facts, students made their own animal book for that group with each page containing a simple sentence with an illustration from their bubble map. By doing these explorations and documenting it in their books, students started to recognize that patterns exist among different groups of animals.

Flow Map: Sequencing and OrderingSequencing and ordering flow maps are used to help students understand the steps and patterns within complex pro-cesses. These are often used in language arts writing for sequencing the events in a narrative, but they are also used to ex-plain and describe the steps in a proce-dure. Procedural texts typically describe a sequence of actual events, such as the steps in a science investigation. Perfor-mance expectations from the NGSS of-

ten state that students will plan and conduct investigations (NGSS Lead States 2013). Sequence maps help the stu-dents plan their investigations so that they are not simply

just conducting an investigation using steps provided by the teacher.

Sequence maps can be used through-out early elementary grades to guide students in the planning of investiga-tions. For example, in a first-grade classroom, we used a sequence map to guide students in planning an investi-gation of what happens when different objects are put in front of a beam of light (NGSS 1-PS4-4). First, we used a flash-light to show what happens when you place your hand in front of the light. We then showed the students several win-dow “screens” containing clear plastic, wax paper, or aluminum foil. We asked the students, “How could you use these materials to see what happens when you shine a light on them?” Using a sequence map, we wrote the students’ responses on the board: (1) Turn on the flashlight; (2) Shine light through screens; and (3) Look for light. Using the sequence map, students then wrote their investigation

FIGURE 2.

Students completing a light investigation.

FIGURE 3.

Cause and effect map: Kindergarten.

PHOT

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OURT

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OF T

HE A

UTHO

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plans using simple sentences: First, “I turn on my flash-light”; Next, “I shine my flashlight through the screen”; Then, “I look for the light!” After students completed their investigation plans, we gave them the materials, and they worked cooperatively in groups to investigate what happened to the light when objects were placed in front of it (Figure 2, p. 49).

Multiflow Map: Analyzing Cause and EffectMultiflow or cause-and-effect maps are used for ana-lytical writing in which the author conveys how certain conditions or events lead to other conditions or events. They can also be useful for synthesizing and summariz-ing complex ideas, especially in relation to events. Cause and Effect is a crosscutting concept within the NGSS, and cause and effect maps can help students make these connections during scientific investigations (NGSS Lead States 2013).

In some cases, students are studying multiple causes and effects on a single object. For example, a kindergar-

ten teacher gave her students balls, ramps, and blocks to investigate the forces of push and pull (NGSS K-PS2-1). Students spent several minutes “playing” with these items. The teacher facilitated the play by asking students several guiding questions such as: “What happens when the ball rolls on a higher ramp?” “What happens when two balls hit?” After they explored, the teacher gathered the students on the rug and filled in the causes on the map, while the students explained the effects based on their ob-servations. The teacher recorded their responses on the map (Figure 3, p. 49).

In a second-grade classroom, students investigated cause and effect on different objects. They explored changes in matter using simple heat and cold tests on objects (Table 2). At each station, students recorded the cause and effect on the object in their cause and effect map (Figure 4). This map also provided a graphic that helped the students to analyze and interpret the data from their explorations. The students referred to their graphic or-ganizers and incorporated their observations into their writing. For example, one student used two pieces of data from the graphic organizer to support her claim that some

TABLE 2.

Heat and cold tests for exploring changes in matter.

Tests Description

Test 1: Butter at Room Temperature

Students observe a stick of butter (still in the wrapper) right out of the refrigerator. They observe it again after it has been sitting out for an hour.

Test 2: Ice at Room Temperature

Students observe an ice tray with ice right out of the freezer. They observe it again after it has been sitting out for an hour.

Test 3: Cooked Egg Students observe a raw egg. Then the egg is cooked in a microwave for 1 minute. Students then observe the cooked egg.

Test 4: Burned Paper Students observe a piece of paper. As a demonstration, the teacher then burns the paper safely away from the students. The students then observe the ashes. *Please note that fire was a method of adding heat to the paper. This needs to be discussed with the students to avoid the misconception that heat caused the paper to burn.

Test 5: Cooled Egg Students place the cooked egg from Test 3 in the freezer. Students observe the egg again after it has been in the freezer an hour.

Test 6: Butter in Fridge Students place the soft butter from Test 1 back in the refrigerator. Students observe it again after it has been in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Test 7: Water in Freezer Students place the melted ice trays from Test 2 back in the freezer. Students observe them again after it has been in the freezer for 2 hours.

Test 8: Cooled Ashes Students place the ashes from Test 4 in the freezer. Students observe the egg again after it has been in the freezer an hour.



changes in matter are reversible and some are not: “The hard butter became soft and turned hard again in the cold, but the cooked egg did not change back.”

Persuasive Writing: Engaging in Argument From EvidencePersuasive or opinion writing is another genre of writing that the NGSS introduces during early elementary years. Teachers often use graphic organizers to assist students in writing opinion pieces in which students list their opinion, reasons, and conclusions. In science, this type of writing is called Engaging in Argument From Evidence, and similar graphic organizers can be used with students to help them construct explanations that include a claim, evidence, and

reasoning (see “Putting Ideas on Paper,” p. 32).Back in the second-grade classroom, students were

later asked, “Are changes in matter reversible?” The stu-dents completed a thinking map using their cause-and- effect maps as evidence to support their claim that changes are either reversible or not reversible (Figure 5, p. 52). Stu-dents then used this thinking map to write an explanation for why some changes are reversible or are not reversible (Figure 6, p. 52). Students used the thinking map to re-mind them of the evidence and used this to write claim statements. This activity is aligned with the NGSS perfor-mance expectation 2-PS1-4 and also the crosscutting con-cepts Patterns, Cause and Effect, and Energy and Matter.

Assessment and ConclusionGraphic organizers provide visual displays that make learning easier for young students. Because they contain verbal and nonverbal cues, information becomes easier to remember and recall. Graphic organizers can also pro-vide links to students’ prior knowledge when learning new knowledge (Lorenz, Green, and Brown 2009).

Students are already using graphic organizers or think-ing maps to help meet their ELA Common Core require-ments, and with slight modifications, these same thinking maps can be used to document what students are learning in science during the early elementary grades. Kindergart-

FIGURE 4.

Cause and effect map: second grade.

Writing and ScienceThe practices within the Next Generation Science Standards outline specific behaviors in which students should engage (NRC 2012). Communicating information has an obvious connection to writing, but writing can also develop and strengthen other scientific practices. For example, students construct scientific explanations by making observations and then developing inferences from their interactions with the natural world. Once these explanations are formed mentally, students can document these explanations through writing, which solidifies their scientific understandings. Writing to learn has significant evidence in the research on writing (Chen, Hand, and McDowell 2013). Also, the English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core standards are asking teachers to support students’ learning of higher-level writing in three main areas: persuasive, informational, and narrative writing. Writing about science is largely informational, but when students make arguments from evidence that they have observed, they are writing in the persuasive mode.

November 2015 51


NSTA ConnectionDownload sample Thinking Maps at www.nsta.org/SC1511.

ners are writing about the patterns they observed in the dif-ferent animal groups: “Birds have feathers” or “Fish have

gills.” From these statements, teachers can easily assess students’ knowledge of animals. Through sequence writing, first graders have demonstrated that they can not only investigate but also plan an investigation of light. By using the claims-evidence-reasoning map, second-grade students can document their scientific knowledge of changes in matter using claims, evidence, and rea-soning in their writing. In language arts, for example, first-grade students should be able to “supply a reason for the opin-ion” or “add details to strengthen writ-ing,” which is what graphic organizers help them to do. Therefore, using think-ing maps to scaffold writing in science allows teachers to effectively integrate science and language arts, which ulti-mately increases student performance in both areas. ■

Kimberly Lott ([email protected]) is an associate professor of sci-ence education, and Sylvia Read is an associate professor of language arts

and literacy, both at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

ReferencesChen, Y., B. Hand, and L. McDowell. 2013. The effects of writing-

to-learn activities on elementary students’ conceptual understanding: Learning about force and motion through writing to older peers. Science Education 97 (5): 745–771.

Lorenz, B., T. Green, and A. Brown. 2009. Using multimedia graphic organizer software in the prewriting activities of primary school students: What are the benefits? Computers In The Schools 26 (2): 115–129.

National Research Council (NRC). 2012. A framework for K–12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-sciencestandards

Viscovich, S., R. Eschenauer, R. Sinatra, and T.M. Beasley. 2008. Connecting critical thinking, organizational structures and report writing. Journal Of School Connections 1 (1): 63–86.

FIGURE 5.

Claim-evidence-reasoning map.

FIGURE 6.

Explanation writing.


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Primary students have many options for graphic organizers ...static.nsta.org/files/sc1503_46.pdf · Primary students have many options for graphic organizers ... or aluminum foil