Using graphic organizers as while-reading tasks

Betsy Parrish is a professor in ESL/EFL teacher education at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. She has worked as an ESL/EFL teacher, teacher educator, writer, and consultant in the US, France, Russia, Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam. Her research interests include academic and career readiness, pronunciation instruction, adult ESL learner success, and language teacher development.

In her previous article, Addressing 21^st Century Skills from the Start, Betsy provided a rationale for embedding practice with 21^st century skills (e.g. effective communication and collaboration, critical thinking, and using informational texts) at all levels of English language instruction. In this post, she shares how using graphic organizers in reading lessons promotes many 21^st century skills, including graphic literacy, critical thinking, and more.

Many materials (published or online curricula) provide a reading passage with pre-reading questions and then a set of comprehension questions. Well-designed questions prompt analysis of the text and encourage learners to make inferences as opposed to simply supplying factual information from the text. Another essential element of working with written texts is to recognize the genre of the text and how the information is organized. A great way to do that is with graphic organizers.

Using graphic organizers as while-reading tasks

Graphic organizers have been used widely as pre-writing and pre-viewing activities, but let’s see the benefits of using them while learners read:

• Provide a visual representation of a text’s structure (a timeline portrays a chronology; a flow chart depicts a process)
• Present information in multiple formats (graphic or text)
• Give learners practice with note-taking
• Prompt selective reading
• Provide a scaffold for critical thinking (analyzing relationships between ideas, categorizing information)

Let’s look at a sample beginning-level reading lesson. The same steps could be used with any text that shows a chronology (e.g. a narrative, an historical account) at any level, beginning to advanced.

Pre-reading- preview and predict

Students look at a photo of President Barack Obama and work with a partner in small groups to complete a K-W-L chart.

• Using a K-W-L chart allows students to explore their prior knowledge about a topic.
• The accompanying visual provides a prompt for sharing what they already know and would like to learn.

Reading Task 1: Read to confirm predictions

• Next, learners read the supplied passage one time to check their predictions (K) and to see if they can find answers to any of their questions (W).
• The K column directs student reading; students may read more selectively, looking only for information to confirm predictions.
• The W column helps personalize the reading task, which can lead to higher levels of engagement.

Reading Task 2: Scan for specific information

Learners read the text again and fill in this graphic organizer:

In doing so, learners now practice these reading strategies that also represent 21^st century skills needed for success in today’s world.
Recognize the structure of a text: The timeline signals to the reader that this is a chronology.
Transfer information to other contexts: Reading and filling in the timeline demonstrates that there is a connection between the text and a visual representation.
Interpret information presented in variety of forms: Transferring information from a text to a visual representation gives direct practice in interpreting information in a variety of forms.

Reading Task 3: Now learners can go back to the text again for a close read using questions such as these:

• True or False: President Obama started a family right after getting married.
• True or False: He met Michelle when he was still a student.
• True or False: He and Michelle started a family before he worked in state politics.
• True or False: President Obama’s election made history in the United States.

Learners return to the K-W-L chart to review the first two columns and then to note anything else they learned. Have students do online research regarding any unanswered questions and report what they found to others in class the next day.

There are many types of graphic organizers so it is key that you choose one that fits the text type you are teaching. Here are just a few examples of the types of graphic organizers I have used with different reading texts.  Notice that the graphic organizers match the text type.

Example 1

Text used:
A short narrative of how an adult immigrant’s life has changed.
Linear string can be used with:

• short narratives
• historical account
• biographies

Sample graphic organizer:
Linear string

Example 2

Text used:
A reading about four theories on the science of happiness and studies on happiness boosters.
This type of chart can be used with any text sharing results of research.

Sample graphic organizer:
Cause-effect chart

Example 3

Text used:
Any reading that makes an argument for or against an issue; benefits or drawbacks; pros and cons.
Sample graphic organizer:
T-Chart

For sites with ready-made graphic organizers, try TeacherVision.

Reference

Sample reading lesson from Parrish, B. (Forthcoming) Teaching Adult English Language Learners: A Practical Introduction. Cambridge University Press.