SCIENCE FOR ALL
Making science visible
BY KAITLYN FETTERMAN AND JANEY KOZLOWSKI
D | FIGURE 2: A Wordle of the
ata, statistics, and facts can
all be powerful—but this
doesn’t necessarily mean
that they will be memorable. For
example, if you were given only
one minute to look at a list of
the five worst passwords of the
last several years (Figure 1), you
would probably have a difficult
time remembering the informa-
tion without taking another look
at the list. If you looked at Figure
2 instead, however, you would be
more likely to remember the in-
formation with ease. What is the
difference? Visual organization.
Our students also need ways
to create visual structures for in-
formation they’re learning so that
they can synthesize, organize,
and, eventually, store that infor-
| FIGURE 1: Worst passwords of the last several years
(Storm 2016)
2015 2014
#1 123456 123456
#2 password password
#3 12345678 12345
#4 qwerty 12345678
#5 12345 qwerty
26
mation for the long term. The
most versatile way to provide vi-
sual structures for the science con- worst passwords of the
tent you are delivering is through last several years
the use of graphic organizers.
The passwords that appear the
largest on the page were most
What are graphic
frequently repeated on this list.
organizers?
Graphic organizers are tools that
can “form a powerful visual pic-
ture of information and allow the
mind ‘to see’ undiscovered pat-
terns and relationships between
ideas” (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 2014,
p.14). Graphic organizers
• are usually one-page forms
with blank areas for students
to fill in related ideas and • may be referred to as
information; graphic representations, visual
representations, mind maps, or
•
pictographs;
may be in the form of a chart,
map, or diagram;
2013 2012 2011 • engage learners with a
123456 password password combination of words and
password 123456 123456 printed diagrams;
12345678 12345678 12345678 • provide a visual aid to
qwerty abc123 qwerty facilitate learning and
abc123 qwerty abc123 instruction; and
• may be used in multiple | FIGURE 3: Descriptive patterns organizer
content areas and across
grade levels (Adu-Gyamfi et
al. 2014).

Graphic organizers have been

found to make science content
more accessible because their vi-
sual cues help students process the
information. Additionally, graphic
organizers help students approach
their learning more reflectively
and independently by leading
them to think about how the top-
ics they are learning are interre-
lated. This can lead to a lot of great
discussion between peers because
each student may come up with a
different way of relating the con-
tent, making graphic organizers a
useful way to differentiate instruc-
tion (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 2014).

knowledge can be organized into • Generalization/principle

Which graphic
organizers to use
If you search the internet for
“graphic organizers,” you will
quickly find that there is no short-
age of samples that you could use
in the science classroom. Howev-
er, there are some that will work
better than others, depending on
your needs.
First, it is important to choose
a graphic organizer that best fits
your objectives and your stu-
dents’ learning styles (Condi-
dorio 2010). Although you likely
are aware of your students’ learn-
ing styles, it can be somewhat
difficult to choose a graphic orga-
nizer that matches your learning
objectives. To do this, it is nec-
essary to understand that most
one of six patterns: descriptions,
time sequences, cause/effect re-
lationships, episodes, general-
izations/principles, or concepts.
Although each of these patterns
is important for students to be
able to identify, some apply more
to middle school science content
than others:
• Descriptive patterns are
often used for vocabulary
terms or facts. In the science
classroom, these graphic
organizers might be used to
explore a new concept, such
as cells. A completed version
of this graphic organizer
can be found in Figure 3
(see Online Supplemental
Materials for a blank
template).
patterns organize
information into general
statements with supporting
examples. This pattern
would be great to use when
reviewing content such as
Newton’s laws, such as in
the example in Figure 4. A
completed version of this
graphic organizer can be
found in Figure 4 (see Online
Supplemental Materials for a
blank template).
• Concept patterns are
the most general of all
patterns and can be used
to organize information
around a word or phrases
that represent categories of
people, places, things, and
events. This pattern could

April/May 2017 27
 be used to explore concepts
such as the characteristics
of the five kingdoms. A
completed version of this
graphic organizer can be
found in Figure 5 (see Online
Supplemental Materials for a
blank template).
| FIGURE 4: General/principle patterns organizer
| FIGURE 5: Concept patterns organizer
28
You should use graphic orga-
nizers that visually represent the
same relationships as your con-
tent. For example, a descriptive
pattern organizer visually com-
municates the idea that every-
thing on it is associated through
their properties, thus linking ev-
erything to one common idea. A
generalization/principle pattern
organizer visually communicates
the idea that each defined prin-
ciple has an illustrating example,
which adds further meaning to
that principle. Finally, concept
pattern organizers visually com-
municate the idea that people,
places, things, and events have
similar and different charac-
teristics and can be grouped as
such. When you are looking for
a graphic organizer, ask yourself,
“Does this organizer truly allow
my students the opportunity to
explore how the concepts in this
unit are related?” If the answer to
that question is no, keep looking.
See Resources for websites where
you can download free graphic
organizers to use in the science
classroom.
If you are looking for a way to
elevate learning for your higher-
level students, challenge them
with creating their own graphic
organizer. You’ll be surprised at
the level and quality of their work!
When to use graphic
organizers
Graphic organizers make content
more accessible for students be-
cause these tools are so versatile.
Graphic organizers can be used
before instruction as a way to pre-
view vocabulary or a concept. They
can also be used during instruction
as part of a notetaking activity. You
can also have your students work
on a particular graphic organizer
during instruction as a quick for-
mative assessment. Similarly, they

can be used after instruction as a
way for students to demonstrate
their understanding of the content
they learned.
Bringing it all together
To make information accessible
for students, we need to make it
visual. If it isn’t, your students
will likely not retain it. When
searching for a graphic organizer
the key to unlocking difficult con-
tent for your students. • Storm, D. 2016. Worst, most common
REFERENCES
Adu-Gyamfi, K., R. Barker, C. Berry,
C. Brown, J. Eissing, T. Finley, M.
Flinchbaugh, K. Garner, A. Guidry, J.
Harris, E. Hodge, A. Hutchinson, K.
Jenkins, D. Kester, L. Knight, G. Lewis,
Y. Liu, S. Noles, K. Nunns, R. Passell,
S. Pearce, A. Perkins, J. Phillips, A.
Phillips-Wagoner, C. Ross, E. Sawyer,
L. Smith, J. Smith, S. Steadman, J.
SCIENCE FOR ALL
science learning. Education Masters:
Paper 111.
passwords for the last 5 years.
www.computerworld.com/
article/3024404/security/worst-
most-common-passwords-for-the-
last-5-years.html.
RESOURCES
Graphic organizers—http://thinkport.
org/graphic-organizers.html
Graphic organizers for scientific
content—http://bit.ly/2ilIYyA

to use in the classroom, be sure Swope, T. Thompson, C. Todd, A. Ware,

that it visually depicts the desired
relationships between the content
you want students to understand.
Graphic organizers might just be
S. Williams, K. Zipf. 2014. Organizers: ONLINE SUPPLEMENTAL
advance organizers [and] graphic MATERIALS
organizers. http://bit.ly/2jNDv3y. Blank templates for graphic
Condidorio, K. 2010. The usefulness organizers—www.nsta.org/
of graphic organizers in enhancing scope1704

Kaitlyn Fetterman (kaitlynjfetterman@gmail.com) is a seventh-grade learning support teacher, and Janey Kozlowski
(janeykoz14@gmail.com) is an eighth-grade learning support teacher, both at Arcola Intermediate School in Eagleville,
Pennsylvania.

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