These graphic organizers will be useful for lecture or notes review. They are a great study aid or for use in preparation for a paper or essay. The use of these will help you to distill the important information from your lecture or notes.
Advanced Topic Note Taking
Topic Note-Taking Forms
These forms make taking notes on social studies, science, videos, lectures, or any textbook much easier. Some of the forms have space for drawing pictures or ‘doodling’ notes. Doodles help you visualize and remember what you have heard or read. Be sure to mark important information with a star or asterisk. Using colored pencils or markers also helps retain information.
If you are taking notes from a whole chapter of a textbook, use multiple copies of the forms and staple them together. Continue over multiple forms or sections if you run out of space.
Goal Planning
Set Your Goals
One of the first things you need to do when you are on the journey to improve your writing or study skills is to set goals. When you have a plan, it makes it much easier to succeed. This graphic organizer will help you visualize the steps you need to take to accomplish a goal.
Think of climbing a mountain. To get to the top of the mountain (the goal), you have some steps to take. You may run into a few boulders along the way, but you can hike around them and still get up the mountain! If you need help, you can refer to your “map” (the numbered steps in the template), or ask a friend or teacher for help.
Advanced Book Report
For more advanced book reports, a more in-depth analysis may be required. Look to these graphic organizers to help simplify and clarify a ‘more complicated’ book report.
Monthly Planner
Monthly Plan
How Do You Currently Spend Your Time? Start mapping how you have used your time over the past month from a more general, birds- eye view. There are two different monthly calendars to choose from. The rest have free-flowing sections that can be used for the same activity across multiple days. The second has defined slots for different activities for each time frame. After you have mapped your previous month to visualize how you have been currently using your time, make a plan for the current month. For each month, map the next month at the end of the current, so that you will have a fresh start and know what you need to do the first of the next month.
Narrative/Sequential Paragraph
In the United States, we write paragraphs in a basic format. First, we tell you, the reader, what we are going to tell you (main idea or thesis). Then, we provide details that support the main idea. Finally, we restate what we told you (concluding or ‘wrap up’ statement).
Tip
Good writers use a variety of types of sentences in their paragraphs.
Narrative/Sequence Paragraph
This type of paragraph is a group of sentences that specify an order of events, using words like first, next, then, after that, and finally.
Descriptive Paragraph
In the United States, we write paragraphs in a basic format. First, we tell you, the reader, what we are going to tell you (main idea or thesis). Then, we provide details that support the main idea. Finally, we restate what we told you (concluding or ‘wrap up’ statement).
Tip
Good writers use a variety of types of sentences in their paragraphs.
Descriptive Paragraph
This type of paragraph is a group of sentences that work together to describe something specifically. Our descriptive paragraph form gives you the formula to do this easily.
Basic American Paragraph
In the United States, we write paragraphs in a basic format. First we tell you, the reader, what we are going to tell you (main idea or thesis). Then, we provide details that support the main idea. Finally, we restate what we told you (concluding or ‘wrap up’ statement).
TIP
Good writers use a variety of types of sentences in their paragraphs.
Basic American Paragraph
This type of paragraph is a group of sentences that work together to support an idea. It includes a topic sentence, detail sentences and a concluding sentence.
Compare and Contrast
Compare and Contrast
Use these graphic organizers to compare and contrast subjects or topics. Write two items or topics of the same category on the topic line. List the parts that are similar in the center of the overlapping circles and the parts that are different in the outside areas directly under their topic.
Types of topics that are great to compare and contrast include:
- Plants
- Books and Stories
- Animals
- Items you want to purchase
- Places you want to visit
Business Letter Writing
Writing a Business Letter
Here are some Graphic Organizers to help with formal business letter writing. These formats are widely accepted as the standard.
Changing the Business Letter to a Friendly Letter:
If you are writing a friendly letter, you do not need to include a company address. For the friendly letter, use the second Business Letter form (without the business address, and you also do not need to type your name under your signature). In the friendly letter, you may also indent the first line of the body of the letter.