Read what a teacher says about this activity:
‘I love using mind maps with my learners because it helps me find out what they already know. Mind mapping are also a great way for learners to generate and organise their ideas.’
Stage 1: Prepare
Draw a mind map on the board.
Say: ‘Copy the diagram into your notebook.’
Tip: For lower-level learners just have one set of bubbles. For higher levels have more than one set, i.e. sub-categories.
Stage 2: Introduce
Say: ‘The topic of the lesson today is [say topic]. Write the topic in the centre of your mind map.’
Stage 3: Create
Say: ‘Now write words or ideas connected to the topic in the other circles. You can add as many circles as you want.’
Circulate, monitor and help where necessary.
Stage 4: Share in pairs
Put the learners in pairs and say: ‘Compare your ideas. You can add to your mind map if you want.’
Stage 5: Share with whole class
Display some of the mind maps around the classroom, e.g. in a gallery walk.
After you’ve used mind mapping a few times learners will understand what to do. They won’t need as much support as the first few times they do it. Mind mapping is a useful way of brainstorming ideas and can be used in other subjects and when planning writing.