Task Specific Graphic Organizers

to Improve Reading Comprehension

Mary Barrett

Mayo High School

1420 SE 11th Ave.

Rochester, MN 55904

Tree Map Showing Types of Visual Tools

Name: Date: Hour:

NOVEL NOTES

TITLE

Chapter: Pages:

Setting Changes:

Add or clarify from discussion:

Main Character(s):

Main Event(s):

Chapter: Pages:

Setting Changes:

Add or clarify from discussion:

Main Character(s):

Main Event(s):

Shakespeare Study GuideName:

Act: Scene(s): Date: Hour:

Plot Summary:

Plotline Points:

(These are major actions which move the rising action toward the climax, or events which exemplify the falling action and resolution.)

Reading Notes: Lecture Notes

Character Development -

Themes -

Other -

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

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Word DiaryName Hour Dates: to

Date / Unfamiliar Word / Context: Sentence in which you found the word / Guess
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Your grade depends on the following: 1) The word is spelled correctly; 2) the word is used in the sentence in which you found it; 3) the word is highlighted or underlined within the sentence; 4) your handwriting is legible; and 5) your guess makes sense when it is substituted for the new word in the context of the sentence.

Your Word Diary is due after each 10 diary entries. Thanks!Due Date:

Character GuideName: Date: Hour:

NAME: / IDENTIFY / GOAL / IMPORTANT ACTIONS / PERSONALITY TRAITS / WHAT HAPPENS TO:

ELECTION OF 1912

Compare/Contrast Graphic Organizer

Name: Date: Hour:

ROOSEVELT / TAFT / WILSON / DEBS
SIMILARITIES
DIFFERENCES
ROOSEVELT / TAFT / WILSON / DEBS
Political Party
Ideas for US
Elected?

Minnesota History C/C Graphic Organizer

Red Wing, Hawley, Hibbing, and West St. PaulName:

DIFFERENCES

Red Wing / Hawley / IN REGARD TO / Hibbing / West St. Paul
land, river / farm land / RESOURCES / ore, timber / river trade
DECLINE
REDEVELOPMENT
CURRENT STATUS

Meet the Hero (Protagonist)Name: Date: Hour:

Meet the Villain (Antagonist)Name: Date: Hour:

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

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STORY MAPPING

Your Name: Date: Hour:

Title of story being mapped:

Fill in each section of the story map with complete sentences and ideas about the literary elements contained in the above story.

SETTING

Describe the time, place, and situation of the story.

CHARACTERS

The Good Guy:The Bad Guy:

Protagonist name: / Antagonist Name
Appearance: / Appearance:
Personality: / Personality
Goal: / Goal:

PROBLEM

Exciting Force: What is it? What caused it?

PLOT: What are the major events, crises, and complications?

CLIMAX

What is the climax of the story?

How is the problem solved?

THEME: What is the author’s main idea or message?

BIOGRAPHY MAP

Name: Date: Hour:

Plotline

Name: Date: Hour:

Story Title: Author:

Climax/Resolution

Introduction

Characters: New Vocabulary:

(Main)

(Minor)

Setting:

Time:

Place:

Adding Fractions

Directions: Complete the flowchart to show the steps in adding fractions.

The Four-Square + Method

This four-square method can be used to solve any mathematical problem in science.

GIVEN

Read the problem carefully.
What information is known?
Identify key words
Calculate . . .
Determine . . .
Find . . .
What is . . .
Identify operations that will help you solve the problem.

/ UNKNOWN

Organize the Data
What are you looking for?

Collect Data
Create Tables
Draw Diagrams

What don’t you know?

Assign variables to unknowns

EQUATION

Write the equation
Show the relationship between what you know and what you don’t know.

This is a verbal model and contains no numbers. / SOLUTION

Write the equation.
Substitute numbers and their units into the equation.
Solve the problem.
Clearly indicate your answer.
INCLUDE labels.

Don’t guess; use GUES+!
Four-Square + Method

Name: Date: Hour:

GIVEN / UNKNOWN
EQUATION / SOLUTION

Four-Square + Method

Name: Date: Hour:

Problem: On my bike, I can average 20 km/hour. I travel one complete lap around the Silver Lake bike path in 15 minutes. (That’s ¼ of an hour.) How far is one trip around the lake?

GIVEN
t = 0.25 hour
s = 20 km/hr. / UNKNOWN
Distance
( or d )
EQUATION
d = sxt
or
distance = speed x time / SOLUTION
d = 20 km/hr. x 0.25 hr.
= 5 KM.

Thanks to Peggy Kahlstorf Edwards at John Marshall High School for these GUES+ pages!

Social Studies Note-Taking Graphic Organizer

Name: Date: Hour:

Chapter: Pages:

Take notes on the chapter you were assigned to read. In your own words, write information that answers the questions WHO, WHERE, WHEN, WHAT, and WHY. Finally, summarize the chapter in a sentence or two.

WHO? Important People: / WHERE? Important Places: / WHEN? Important Dates:
WHAT? List the most important events of this chapter:
WHY? Give reasons (yours or the authors) to explain why events happened.
SUMMARY: Write one or two sentences that summarize the main idea of the entire chapter.

Four Kinds of Cause/Effect

Name: Hour: Date:

1.Single Cause/ Multiple Effect

Effect

EffectEffect

Effect

2. Multiple Causes/Single Effect

Cause

CauseCause

Cause

Four Kinds of Cause/Effect

3.Chain Link Cause/Effect

Cause

E/C

4.Multiple Causes/Multiple Effects

Usually it takes several causes before you begin to see any effects in this multiple cause and effect pattern.

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

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Topical Paragraph Note Taking Grid

Title:

Name: Date: Hour:

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

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Sequence Chart

Title: Author:

Name: Date: Hour:

Forms of Energy: Science Compare/Contrast

Name: Date: Hour:

Solar / Nuclear / Hydroelectric / Fossil Fuels
Similarities:
Solar / Nuclear / Hydroelectric / Fossil Fuels

Write a brief summary of the key concepts of this chapter on renewable and non-renewable fuels.

Atoms Family:Cooperative Group Activity for the Periodic Table

Description:An approach for teaching students about the periodic table and for generating questions and discussion about the periodic table.

Purpose:To show students that elements are arranged in the periodic table in a certain patterns, and to show that elements in the same family have similar properties.

Example:This could be a group activity in which each student will research an element. The student will then give the results of this research to other members of his/her group and receive information from other group members in the "family." The student will then find other members of the class who have done research on his/her atom's "neighbors" and share information with others.

SEE NEXT TWO PAGES FOR WORKSHEETS THAT GO ALONG WITH THIS ACTIVITY.

Atoms Family

Individual Worksheet: Atom and his family

Name: Date: Hour:

You should choose one element to research. Find unique information about your element and fill in that information on the chart below.

Here is my family:Here is information about each element in my family:

Individual Worksheet: Atom and his neighbors

Page 2

Now seek out other people in the class who have information about your atom's "neighbors." Fill in the chart below with information about those "neighbors" on the periodic chart.

These are my neighbors:

My own little atom.

Now, in the space below, write a paragraph explaining the relationships among elements located in the same family on the periodic chart.

Graphic Organizer for Five-Step Problem Solving

Persuasive Patterns: Article Overview Grid for Critical Reading

Name:Date: Hour:

Article Title: / Date of Article:
Author: / Topic: / Pattern:
Author's Credentials:
Prior Knowledge/Background Info:
Source Evaluation:
Intro ¶’s: / Pivot:
Pattern Part:↓ / Key Word Notes: (MI/FIRES):
Abstract:
Red Flags (Loaded words/bias, errors in logic of argument/fallacies, incomplete data, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.

PAL BEG CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Name:Date:Hour:

Topic: / Red Flag /

Key Words/ Phrases

Source Data / What is the title?
Who is the publisher?
When was it published?
Who is the author?
Purpose / What is the author’s purpose?
Who is the intended audience?
Does the type of article shape or limit the topic? Explain.
Briefly restate the author’s premise(s).
Briefly restate the author’s conclusion(s).
Authority / INTERNAL
Is the author qualified to write on this topic? Explain.
What, if any, are the author’s affiliations?
Could this show bias?
What sources/experts does the author quote? Are the sources believable?
EXTERNAL
Is the publication trust-worthy? Explain.
Is the information current? Is it important that it is current? Explain.
Critical Analysis
Page 2 / Red Flag / Title/Author
Logic / What fallacies, if any, are present in the article?
Quote from the article and name the fallacy.
Are you aware of any points the author has selected or omitted?
Bias / List any subjective words and/or emotional language the author used in this article.
Is the author neutral, moderately biased, or extremely biased?
Explain.
Evidence / What FIRES, if any,
does the author include? List them here.
Are they documented?
What non-facts, if any, are included? List recommendations, opinions, etc.
Does the evidence pass the RET test? Is it the RIGHT KIND, ENOUGH, & TRUE? Explain.
Gain / Might the author or organization have anything to gain from taking this position?

RAPT Notes SheetName:

Subject: DATE: Page:

R = Read the paragraph/Listen to the lecture.

A = Ask questions.

•What's it about? (Topic/Table of Contents)

•What is the author/lecturer saying about the topic? (MI/FIRES)

P =Put it in your own words using SKRAWL2

T = Test yourself

TOPIC/Table of Contents
(What's it about?) / MI/FIRES (Facts, Incidents, Reasons, Examples/Evidence, Statistics)
(What is the author/lecturer saying about the topic?)

Subject: Date: Page:

TOPIC/Table of Contents
(What's it about?) / MI/FIRES (Facts, Incidents, Reasons, Examples/Evidence, Statistics)
(What is the author/lecturer saying about the topic?)

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

These materials may be duplicated for non-profit, educational use.

Evaluating an Art WorkFrom Colin Atkinson – Lincoln High School – Lake City, Minnesota

Name: Date: Hour:

Part 1: Describing what you see using your senses and aesthetic perceptions:

Part 2 - Analyze relationships / Analyze the evidence.

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

These materials may be duplicated for non-profit, educational use.

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

These materials may be duplicated for non-profit, educational use.

Criteria from theories of art

A theory of art states how people should think about and judge art. Art theories are developed by philosophers about art called "aestheticians." Most aestheticians agree that there are four main theories about art:

1.Art as imitation: some experts say that art is a way to represent or interpret what you see. Accuracy and honesty in art are highly valued.

a.First impression: Does the work look real?

b.Design: Do the proportions of parts, colors and other elements seem to be natural or lifelike? Is the work planned around patterns, rhythms, forms we see in nature or the human-made environment?

c.Subject/Theme: Does the subject or theme seem to be based on an event or something the artist observed? Is the subject or theme more realistic than as it is honestly shown?

D.Materials: Can you see some of the natural qualities or materials?

E.Function or Decorative Art: Can you identify the use or function of the art looking just at the design?

2.ART AS FORMAL ORDER: Some theories are based on a respect for logical order and idealized forms in art. A work of art might be judged good if it met all the criteria listed.

A.First Impression: Is the work beautiful or harmonious?

B.Design: Is the work unified by a kind of invented or mathematical order?

C.Subject/Theme: Does the subject or theme seem to be idealized or have a spiritual quality? Is the work more abstract than realistic?

D. Materials: Does it look as though the artist used extreme care using materials and finishing the work?

E.Functional or Decorative Art: Is the artwork elegant, refined, or dignified? Does the design of the work seem to be just as important or more important than the practical use of the object?

3.ART AS EXPRESSION: Some theories of art are based on a respect for strong human feelings and originality. Standards for judging art include:

A.First Impression: Does the work express definite feeling?

B.Design: Are the proportions or parts, color, and other elements unexpected or exaggerated? Is the total design dramatic or original? Does it give you a definite feeling?

C.Subject/Theme: Is the subject or theme unique, dreamlike or fantastic? Does the subject or theme seem to come from the artist's desire to communicate a strong feeling (the great joys, sorrow or problems of people)?

D. Materials: Is the use of materials original or unexpected? Are the materials and techniques an important part of the mood or feeling of the work?

E.Functional or Decorative Art: Does the work have an unusual function or combine several functions?

4.ART AS FUNCTION: The art has a message about a religious, political, social, economical, radical or other idea.

A.First Impression: Does the work have an important message or function?

B.Design: Are the proportions, colors and other elements planned to help you understand the message of the work?

C.Subject/Theme: Is the subject or theme related to the life of a particular cultural group?

D. Materials: Do the materials and techniques help you understand the message in the artwork?

E.Functional or Decorative Art: Does the work have an important purpose?

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

These materials may be duplicated for non-profit, educational use.

Test Taking Map

Name: Hour:

Test Taking Unit Map

Name: Hour:

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

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Name: Date: Hour:

Word Scroll

What it is…What it isn’t…

Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension1

These materials may be duplicated for non-profit, educational use.