Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities

Concept Mapping is a great organizational tool for you and for your students.

To the left is a concept map that demonstrates the possible uses of concept mapping in the classroom. I used the concept mapping software called, Kidspiration. It is a great program that would also be helpful in teaching literacy. Now, if I enjoyed myself so much, imagine the fun your students would have!

Concept mapping is a useful technique that improves note-taking skills. In my classroom, I might introduce concept mapping as a way for students to better structure their notes. With this more organized structure for note-taking, student learning will have more organization and will be more effective. More organized students make happier (and less stressed!) teachers.
I would also have the students use concept maps when they are beginning the writing process, before their first drafts. It is a great way to brainstorm and get their ideas laid-out in a prearranged way. When I was in school, we called concept maps “spider webs” and we would use them before we started writing anything! They let the child organize their thoughts and start arranging their concept map so that the important ideas can transfer easily into their writing. We could also use concept maps when discussing new concepts in the classroom. We would use the concept map to establish our students’ prior knowledge about the theory and connect those ideas to what we will be learning in the new lesson.
Concept mapping is useful in many situations, but how do we know when they are not necessary and might actually detract from a lesson? To answer that question, imagine a lesson you might teach. In this lesson, do you need to brainstorm with your students prior to beginning the lesson? If not, then there is no real need for a concept map. They may still be used by your students in note form, but it most likely wouldn’t be necessary for you to use it in a broader sense.