Homeschool Helps

Teaching Tips & Links by Thematic Unit

Today is Tuesday, February 09th, 2010

Graphic Organizers

Steps to Fold & Cut a Perfect Star

We needed a star for a lapbook we are working on in our homeschool.
I found this method you fold and cut a perfect star with one snip of the scissors. We really enjoyed learning how to do this.
It took four tries to get a star from the instructions. Once I watched the video it [...]

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Graphic Organizers Overview

Graphic organizers are useful tools for gathering details about the items that you are comparing and contrasting.Venn Diagrams help you think about where the characteristics of the items being compared and contrasted fit. The Compare and Contrast Chart is more like a listing tool, where you can brainstorm a list of ways that the items are alike and different.

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Free Printable Graphic Organizers

Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities and diagrams in a Flash! No signup, no passwords, no charge!

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Mindmapping

Mindmapping is a nonlinear activity that generates ideas, images and feelings around a stimulus word. As students cluster, their thoughts tumble out, enlarging their word bank for writing and often enabling them to see patterns in their ideas.

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Contrast and Compare Organizers

A comparison is a systematic strategy for analyzing and evaluating the similarities of two or more things. (A contrast is simply a comparison that emphasizes differences rather than similarities.) An effective comparison attempts to demonstrate one of three general purposes: Two things thought to be different are actually similar. Two things thought to be similar [...]

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Storyboards and Flowcharts

A storyboard (or flowchart) is a graphic, sequential depiction of a narrative. A timeline is a form of storyboarding. It helps you to think visually about the sequence of scenes. It develops defining and analyzing processes while building a step-by-step picture of the process for analysis, discussion, or communication purposes Storyboards can be a simple [...]

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Venn Diagrams

The Venn Diagram is made up of two or more overlapping circles. It is often used in mathematics to show relationships between sets. In language arts instruction, Venn Diagrams are useful for examining similarities and differences in characters, stories, poems, etc.

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