Instructional Strategy

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Visual Concept Mapping

Grade:

K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Type:

Organize Thinking

/ Acquire Vocabulary

20-30

Minutes

When:

Before, during, and after reading

Materials:

Colored pencils or markers, Visual Concept Mapping handout, white paper, whiteboard or display or chart paper, writing utensils

Description

The Visual Concept Mapping strategy helps students understand content by creating visual diagrams that connect key ideas. Students use drawings, labels, and symbols to show relationships between concepts, creating personalized visual representations of their understanding. By engaging with information through drawing, writing, and discussion, students process complex academic content more effectively. This multimodal approach supports learning by allowing students to organize and express their knowledge visually while building academic vocabulary and conceptual connections.

Procedure

Prepare for the Activity: Consider grouping multilingual language learners strategically and provide the Visual Concept Mapping handout as well as white paper and colored pencils or markers at the beginning of the task. Select a simple, concrete concept for your first implementation (e.g., types of weather). Gather materials, including example diagrams, word cards, and visual aids.

Present a key concept or term from a content area, lesson, or unit of study. Before starting, spend a few minutes activating prior knowledge by asking students to share what they know about the concept in any language they feel comfortable using, and encourage students to draw personal connections. Say: ”Before we begin, let’s think about what we already know. For example, if we’re discussing weather, I might say, ‘I know that sometimes the sun shines, and other times it rains. What do you know about different types of weather?’”

Using the blank Visual Concept Mapping handout, or a large sheet of chart paper visible to all students, model how to create a central image or key term representing the main concept (e.g., types of weather). Think aloud, saying, “I’m going to start by drawing a circle in the center because our topic is weather. I’ll write the word weather inside it. This helps us focus on our big idea.” Demonstrate this process by thinking aloud while drawing and labeling, explicitly showing how visual elements can represent concrete and abstract ideas. For example: “Hmm, I know that weather can change. Maybe I should add pictures of the sun, clouds, and raindrops around my central word so we can see some different types of weather.”

Guide students to add branching details using pictures, symbols, and/or labels. Start with two or three simple branches (e.g., sunny → sun drawing + word; rainy → cloud/rain drawing + word). Model: “Now, let’s add more details. If I think about sunny weather, I picture a bright yellow sun. So, I’ll draw a small sun and write the word sunny next to it. What else can we add?” Model this process a few more times, emphasizing the sequence of sketching ideas before adding words. “I’ll do another one—rainy. I think of raindrops and maybe an umbrella. Let me draw that and add the word rainy beside it.”

Using the same theme, model how to create connection lines showing relationships between different images and words (e.g., the words sunny, hot, and summer connect to show warm weather patterns). Think aloud: “Now, I want to show that some weather types are related. I see that sunny and hot often go together. So, I’ll draw a line connecting them. I’ll also add summer because it’s often sunny and hot in the summer. See how this helps us organize our ideas?” Pause to make explicit connections using think-aloud phrases such as:

“I’m drawing a line between rainy and cloudy because rainy days usually have a lot of clouds. They are connected because you don’t usually have rain without clouds.”

“I’ll connect snowy to cold because snow happens when it’s really cold outside. This connects because snow needs freezing temperatures to form.”

“Sunny weather is like warm weather, so I’ll use the same color to connect those ideas.”

“I want to show that fall is in between hot and cold, so I’ll place it in the middle and use an orange line to show how it transitions between summer and winter.”

“Let’s look at wind. Wind can happen in different types of weather, like storms or breezy days, so I’ll connect it to both rainy and sunny with dotted lines to show it affects both.”

Demonstrate various types of connecting lines (e.g., different colors for varying categories or thick lines for direct connections), and explain how these visual elements show thinking patterns. “I’m using a blue line for cool weather and a red line for warm weather—this makes it easier to see the patterns.”

Have students refer to the Visual Concept Mapping handout and instruct them to create their own diagrams. Give students work time, checking in periodically to ensure understanding and provide support. Encourage them by saying: “As you work, think about the connections you notice. If you’re not sure, ask yourself, ‘Does this type of weather feel similar to another? Would it make sense to connect them?’”

Display or create a word wall or anchor chart with relevant vocabulary supported by visual aids. Organize it simply, with six to eight key terms and corresponding visuals. Think aloud: “Let’s add these words to our word wall. When we see the word cloudy, we’ll put a picture of clouds next to it. This helps us remember words by connecting them to images.”

Divide the class into pairs and encourage students to present their Visual Concept Mapping diagrams using provided sentence frames. Structure the sharing process to include specific questions about why students chose certain visual elements and how their language choices reflect their understanding of the concepts. Provide a model: “When I explain my map, I might say, ‘I chose to draw a sun here because sunny weather is usually bright and warm. I connected it to summer because it’s often sunny in summer.’ Now, it’s your turn to share—what did you draw and why?”

Differentiation

Discussion Circles: Facilitate deep content understanding through structured bilingual discussions, where students process complex concepts using informal and academic language. Encourage students to share their cultural and linguistic knowledge to enrich understanding.

Reference Tools: Provide dictionaries, academic vocabulary lists, and digital tools to assist students in generating Visual Concept Mapping diagrams and labeling images. Include subject-specific vocabulary lists that highlight key terms and concepts for deeper understanding.

Visual Thinking Extension: Challenge students to create more sophisticated diagrams by incorporating metaphors, analogies, and symbolic representations that demonstrate abstract relationships between ideas. Have them justify their creative choices and explain how their visual elements deepen understanding of the core concepts.

Multilingual Learning Support

Beginning Proficiency: Scaffold the task by first building students’ background knowledge about the assigned concept through guided think-alouds, readings, and discussions. Offer vocabulary support by pre-teaching key words and displaying word banks with visual aids in both English and students’ home languages. Provide structured sentence frames that support students in their brainstorming process (e.g., “I think about…when…” or “I used these symbols/pictures…because…”). Additionally, provide bilingual word banks and home language resources to help students connect prior knowledge with new vocabulary while creating their diagrams. This builds students’ vocabulary and supports their language fluency.

Intermediate Proficiency: Promote the development of more complex Visual Concept Mapping diagrams by encouraging students to color-code different types of information. Further, have them sort and classify key concepts while providing discussion frames (e.g., “These words relate to the key concept because…” or “These ideas represent…”). This more complex approach promotes a critical-thinking process in students’ home languages and in English.

Advanced Proficiency: Encourage students to generate words and support their ideas with specific evidence (e.g., drawing from personal experiences or from academic content). Encourage students to clarify and generate different categories for the visual diagrams and provide them with discussion frames (e.g., “These words compare…” or “These words symbolize…because…”). Have students explain conceptual relationships using English and their home languages, demonstrating how their linguistic repertoire enhances their analysis. This sophisticated approach encourages students to support their ideas with specific examples and affords them the opportunity to solidify their language development.

Variations

Multiple Modalities Approach: Offer students choice in how they create their Visual Concept Mapping diagrams:

Traditional visual maps with paper and markers for visual-spatial learners

Digital mapping tools with audio recording capability for auditory learners

Small-group collaboration with physical movement and arrangement of concept cards for kinesthetic and interpersonal learners

Individual quiet workspace with structured templates for intrapersonal learners

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