Graphic organizers are such an important, versatile support for growing readers and writers.  They break down reading and writing skills in a visual way to make each skill clear, and therefore easier to understand and apply. 

In distance learning, more than ever, students need supports that can work for them in completing reading and writing tasks independently. 

With digital graphic organizers on Google Slides, you can assign students an entire pack of organizers at once to refer to throughout the year, or you can assign students one graphic organizer at a time. 

In the elementary reading classroom, or ELA classroom, I describe below how they can be used for Writing (Prewriting, Revising & Editing) and Reading (Nonfiction, Fiction, Reading Strategies, and Genres).  

DIGITAL WRITING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Just getting started with a piece of writing, and organizing ideas, can be overwhelming for growing writers.  Graphic organizers that break down exactly what students need to do helps students get off to a successful start.  

Students can benefit from graphic organizers not only in prewriting, but also in editing and revising their writing.  

Writing strategies like creating a strong hook, using strong word choice, exploding a moment are so important in revising writing to be the best that it can be.  Graphic organizers make these difficult strategies more accessible to students when writing independently.

They are also helpful in a teacher conference, or peer editing.  The teacher or partner can fill in forms to make it clear to the writer exactly what they need to work on.  

DIGITAL READING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:

Independent reading response in distance learning can be made so much easier for students with digital graphic organizers.  They are so helpful in supporting students of multiple reading levels with practicing the same reading skills.

Graphic organizers are so versatile in that they work for addressing tons of reading skills, whether you are working on fiction specific skills, nonfiction skills, elements of genres, or reading comprehension strategies with any text.

Personally, I like breaking down reading graphic organizers into 4 categories – Reading Comprehension Strategies, Fiction Skills, Nonfiction Skills, and Genres.

1.  Reading Comprehension Strategies:

These are graphic organizers that can be used with ANY book, nonfiction or fiction.  They focus on strategies good readers use to monitor their comprehension and understand the text.  Some strategies include making predictions, visualizing, using background knowledge, asking questions, determining importance, etc.

2. Fiction Skills:

These digital fiction graphic organizers target skills specific to reading literature.  Some fiction skills include identifying story elements, analyzing character, retelling, character point of view, types of conflict, etc.  

3. Nonfiction Skills:

Breaking down nonfiction skills with graphic organizers is such a great way to support students in navigating and comprehending nonfiction.  They are so helpful for independent reading or distance learning, since they break down each skill with visuals. 

4.  Genres: 

Understanding genre is so important in helping students to make connections, and ultimately comprehend, a new book of the same genre.  It helps students learn who they are as readers, and put a label to the types of books they tend to enjoy.  

Digital genre graphic organizers are so helpful in breaking down elements of different genres for students. Read more about ways to teach genres in this blog post.  

Check out the Digital Reading Organizers packs in my TpT Shop!  All graphic organizers are available as digital only, paper only, or a bundle of both paper and digital organizers.  

Each classroom brings students of multiple learning styles and backgrounds.  It is our job to provide opportunities that reach all of the many different learning styles that come to us.  For this reason, it is important that we continually switch up the types of reader response we offer to students.  Below are engaging, hands-on, visual ways to reach students beyond providing reading comprehension questions:

1. STORY MAP STICK-IT! 
Version 1 – Writing:Each story element is given a different color sticky note.  While reading, students (independently, with a partner, or in small groups) stop to record details for a story element on the corresponding colored sticky notes.  They can organize them while reading, or after reading onto their own story maps.  Students can stick multiple on top of each other for each category (i.e. one sticky note for each character under “Characters”).
Tips:
  -Be sure to remind students not to write at the very top of sticky notes if they will be layering them or the top of their writing will be covered.  
  -If you do not want students layering their sticky notes into booklets, another option is to have them use a large piece paper instead of in their notebooks.  They can spread out each sticky note under the appropriate story element.

Version 2 – Mark & Discuss:In this version, students use small colored tabs and place them onto the text where there is text evidence giving the reader insight to a particular story element.  After reading, students discuss each tab that they used to mark the text with a partner.  I have a poster I use to show each story element, but you can definitely keep it simple and just write the color to use for each story element on the board!

• Pink – Character (This text evidence gives information that gives you a deep look into a character.)
• Orange – Setting (This text evidence describes the setting.)
• Yellow – Plot/Key Event (This event is important to understanding the story.)
• Blue – Problem (This text evidence describes the problem.)
• Green – Solution (This text evidence shows steps towards the solution.)

2. FICTION GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:Graphic organizers are so versatile and provide a great visual support for growing readers.  They work for anything from analyzing character traits to breaking down a fiction summary.  Be sure to snag 4 free graphic organizers from the fiction graphic organizers pack in my TpT shop.  They include:

• Setting: Visualize It!
• Character Mind Takeover: “In_________’s Shoes”
• Analyze a Character: Traits, Actions, Motivations & Feelings
• Dialogue: Making Character Inferences

3. FICTION READING CRAFTS: 
Graphic organizers are super helpful go-tos, but they don’t always continually engage hands on learners.  Reading comprehension crafts are one interactive way students can visually see each fiction reading strategy and skill broken down. This, of course, will help students towards the ultimate goal of improving their reading comprehension of literature.
  

4. S.W.B.S.T. SUMMARY:

The S.W.B.S.T. summary provides students with a simple framework to guide their thinking when summarizing fiction texts.  You can display an anchor chart that describes each part of the summary in student-friendly terms.  Then. have students record their own summaries in either in a pre-made graphic organizer or their own organizers in their notebooks.

SOMEBODY: Be sure to let students know that this could be more than one character.
WANTED: What the character’s motivation? 
BUT: What is the conflict, or problem, that the character(s) face
SO: How did they solve this problem?
THEN: How did the story end?

5. FICTION BOOKMARKS:
Fiction bookmarks are such a helpful reference tool that also helps students to set a purpose for their reading.  They encourage students to really focus and master one fiction reading skill at a time (describing character traits, analyzing internal vs. external traits, making inferences, plot, point of view, etc.).  These double-sided fiction bookmarks have a mini reference poster on the front side, and the back side provides space for students to either fill in information directly onto the bookmark or re-use with sticky notes.  

Asking questions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, but for struggling readers, this skill can be just the opposite.  Asking questions of varying depths is arguably the most important reading comprehension strategy we should teach and practice often with our students.  

 

WHY IS ASKING QUESTIONS AN IMPORTANT READING STRATEGY?

Asking questions helps students to:

• Set a purpose before reading and have a clear focus for diving into a text.
• Activate background knowledge before reading.
• Monitor their own comprehension and clarify any misunderstandings while reading.
• Make predictions before, during and after reading.
• Analyze and question the author through an internal dialogue with the author.
• Pave the road to use even more reading strategies that improve comprehension.  For example, asking questions during reading can help students draw conclusions, make inferences, or continually make predictions.
• See that one source might not have all the answers.  This helps them to realize that learning about a topic in depth can be a more complex process than just reading piece of text.  

Below are 5 ways teachers can practice the asking questions strategy with their growing readers.

1. TEACHER THINK ALOUD:
When reading aloud any piece of text, teachers can use a think aloud technique to model how good readers continually ask themselves questions before, during, and after reading.  This technique can be thoughtfully planned ahead before implementing, but is also effective to demonstrate often with any piece of text read aloud in class.

2. PICTURE WALK & RECORD:
Either use pictures from the text, or find relevant photographs on the topic, to use for students to generate questions.  This helps students set a purpose for reading with authentic questions.  It allows them to hear and learn from their peers as well, creating a collaborative and free space for learning to take place.  

3. STICKY NOTES/MARGINS:
Before, during, and after reading, encourage students to generate their own questions.  They can record their questions in the margins on a printed text, or on sticky notes.

Teachers can also have students place these questions onto a collaborative anchor chart.  They can be left as is, or sorted through a class discussion into specific categories, such as:

• “Thin”, factual questions vs. “Thick”, inferential questions.
• The 4 QAR categories (see more on this strategy below): In the Text (Right There, Think & Search) vs. In My Head (Author & Me, On My Own)

One way students can record their own thinking on sticky notes is using these reading strategy bookmarks. The front side is a reference for the reading strategy and the backside is where students record their thinking.

4. INDEPENDENT READING RESPONSE:
Offering multiple ways that students use reading strategies independently can keep students engaged and help reach the many types of learners in a classroom.  Besides the sticky-notes strategy above, graphic organizers can be a very powerful tool for students to use while reading fiction or nonfiction.  

Below is also an example of an asking questions reading comprehension strategy craft.  It is similar to a traditional graphic organizer, but the format reaches hands-on learners.  

5. QAR STRATEGY:
Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) is a research-based strategy developed by literacy and reading expert, Taffy Rafael.  Its purpose is to help students become active and strategic readers.  Students learn the different types of questions that they can either ask themselves as they read, or be asked by a teacher/on an assessment.  This helps students become more comfortable with locating necessary information to answer any question that they have or that has been posed to them.

QAR breaks down questions into 4 categories:
In the Text:
1. Right There
2. Think & Search

In My Head:
1. Author & Me
2. On My Own

Understanding question-answer relationships teaches students what types of thinking is required to answer different levels and types of questions. With QAR, students practice generating and answering questions that can be found directly in the text, interacting with the text, or independent of the text.  While reading independently or in small groups, students can record their questions for each category on sticky notes.  These could be used for a class anchor chart, or for their own record (such as using the interactive reading strategies bookmarks seen below).

They can also independently record their QAR questions directly into reader’s notebooks, or into a graphic organizer like the ones seen below (traditional or lift the flap).

 

Using prior knowledge is an essential strategy for reading comprehension.  The more knowledge students have on a topic, the easier it will be for them to understand, and make connections to, new texts.  Prior knowledge is also part of the building blocks for more difficult reading strategies, such as making inferences.

Below are 8 ways you can teach and practice the using background knowledge reading strategy in your classroom

1. COLLABORATIVE CLASS VISUAL:
Having group/class discussions along with some kind of recording visual is a great way to access background knowledge before reading.  You can switch up your visuals, as a basic KWL chart can only be engaging so many times.  One great way to build background knowledge is to first draw a shape that represents what you are learning about on an anchor chart or on the white board.  For example, when reading a book about ants, I would draw an ant with 3 large body parts.  Each student gets a post it to record what they already know about ants in the first segment, questions they have in the second segment, and what they learn in third segment.  I would then have some students share their post-its and then quickly go through any non-repeats we might have as part of a class discussion.  

Another, even simpler, way to do this is to just have students fill in their background knowledge on the entire picture.  After reading, we could go back to this visual with new information.  I might place a post it on each of the legs of the ant with questions we have or new pieces of information that we learn.  

2.  BUILD ON SMALLER TOPICS WITHIN ONE BROAD TOPIC:
To continue building background knowledge in students, I find it effective to stick to texts on one broad topic.  For example, after reading a text on ants I would focus on another insect.  Bees would be the next insect I would read about as they have similarities to ants in how they work in a colony, etc.  This helps students continue to build more knowledge and vocabulary, as well as make deeper connections.  

3. CLASS GALLERY WALK:
This works especially well for a larger unit.  The teacher chooses different sub-topics to write on chart paper along the wall.  For example, if you were preparing for an insects unit you could write body parts, types of insects, fireflies, bees, etc.  Each student gets to walk around with a marker (or pencil) and fill in information they already know about these sub-topics.  A more organized way to do this is to have students rotate to each chart in groups of 3-4 students.  They can choose one group member to write on the chart while discussing. You can also build off of this gallery walk throughout the unit or at the end, placing the charts back up on the walls for students to add information.

4. PICTURE WALK:
This simple activity works for texts that include visuals, such as photos or illustrations.  As you reveal each page of a picture book, discuss background knowledge, student connections, and predictions they have as to what is happening or what the book is about.

5. DISPLAY STRATEGY VISUALS:
Reading strategy posters are such an important reference to have on the walls of a classroom filled with growing readers.  One example of how to display these can be seen in the reading strategies word wall below.  One strategy can be highlighted at a time in a larger anchor chart.

All of the information found in the anchor chart is also on a background knowledge bookmark that readers use independently.  The back of the bookmark has a place for students to record how they use the strategy on sticky notes.  

6. PROVIDE REALIA OR VISUALS & DISCUSS:
I especially like to do this with text heavy articles or books.  I will find images about a topic and place them on a PowerPoint Presentation, but you could also print out visuals to discuss.  This is especially helpful for ELLs.   

Providing visuals and realia also lends itself to having students ask questions, so you could record questions that come up during the discussion.  This helps set authentic purpose for reading, and you can refer back to the questions during and after reading. 

7. FRONTLOAD WITH LOWER LEVELED TEXTS:
Along the same lines providing visuals, reading a picture book or text with a lower readability on a topic we are going to read a more difficult book on can be extremely beneficial in building background knowledge.  Frontloading, or pre-teaching, information in guided reading groups can prepare students for reading a more challenging text in a whole class setting. This is also a very helpful strategy for reading with ELLs.  

8. INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:
Beyond supporting students in accessing their prior knowledge on a topic, students then need to practice engaging in this strategy completely on their own.  Graphic organizers are helpful for students to take ownership of their individual thinking and learning.   

Another idea for a way that students can practice showing their thinking and visually see the importance of building background knowledge are through these background knowledge crafts.

Reading nonfiction texts can be overwhelming for students, especially when it comes to a topic they are unfamiliar with at a reading a level that is even slightly above theirs.  With a push to read more and more nonfiction from lower grade levels, it is important that we set our students up for success with nonfiction reading.  

Below are 3 strategies to teach and practice with our students in order to make them strong, independent nonfiction readers.  

1. TEACH & PRACTICE NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES

Text features can be found in just about every nonfiction text you read, so it is something that you can easily review all year long.  

When introducing text features, I first go through a chart of different text features and visuals of each with my students.  

I like to choose a nonfiction book that is very text feature heavy that is on a topic that students are already familiar with. I model doing a picture walk focusing on browsing for text features.  We use a text features “read and record” graphic organizer to check off which text features we have found in that book and how each one is helpful to our reading comprehension of the main body of text.  

To practice text features, I have students do a text feature gallery walk of numbered nonfiction texts.  I spread out the number of students to books and let students walk around with their nonfiction text features checklists.  You can have the titles pre-written in for them, or just have them write the titles as they do the gallery walk.  Then, they check off each text feature they see.  This allows them to practice this with about 20 books – depending on the number of students in your class.  I like to have my students do this independently, but this could easily be an activity done in partners.

Throughout the year, I look for ways to apply this knowledge in new nonfiction texts that we read. I find if we are reading a nonfiction text that does not have any headings, subheadings, captions, glossary, etc. that this offers a great opportunity for students to apply their text feature knowledge.  Students can create their own text features, writing their own headings/subheadings, drawing and labeling a diagram, writing a caption, and so on.  I also keep text features puzzles available for early finishers or for a reading center. You can read more ways I teach nonfiction text features here.

2. TEACH & PRACTICE NONFICTION TEXT STRUCTURE
Text structure is how the text is organized by the author. When students are aware of the structure of the text they are reading, it is easier for them to navigate the text and make predictions about the text, therefore increasing their comprehension.  

When introducing a specific text structure, I like to begin with a poster that gives an explanation, clue words, a visual graphic, and an example.  I have students help me to flag the key words or phrases in the example.  I will then put up a new passage or paragraph that shows that text structure.  I like to go through and highlight the signal words, or “clue words”, with the students.  

Then, I have students diagram the text structure of the book with me.  We create a visual graphic organizer for each type of text structure.

Lastly, students independently diagram their own nonfiction text structure.  This is something I will repeat with the whole class, or in guided reading groups throughout the year.  The nonfiction text structure poster stays up all year in my classroom as a reference.

3. TEACH & PRACTICE READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES
Teaching and practicing reading comprehension strategies throughout the year with both fiction AND nonfiction texts is crucial for fostering independent comprehension.  I follow the 7 Keys to Comprehension (Susan Zimmerman) in my classroom.  The 7 strategies included are:

1. Visualize
2. Use Background Knowledge
3. Make Inferences & Predictions
4. Ask Questions
5. Determine Importance
6. Synthesize Information
7. Monitor Comprehension

I like to teach one strategy at a time, while continuing to build on each strategy that has been introduced throughout the school year.  I have posters up with a visual and brief description of each strategy. 
Graphic organizers are a huge part of how I teach and practice these reading comprehension strategies with my students.  They are great supports for all learners and they are so versatile in how they are used.  I use them whole class and in small groups until students are comfortable with them, and then eventually students are able to use them completely independently.  I love that they allow students freedom to organize their thoughts in their own words and in their own unique way.

The resources pictured can be found in my TpT shop! Click on the covers below to check them out!