Graphic Organizers for Every Subject: Venn Diagrams, KWL Charts and More

What Graphic Organizers Are For

Most organizers do one of four jobs. Choose the organizer by the kind of thinking you want, not by the subject:

• Comparing. Venn diagrams and T-charts show how two or three things are alike and different.
• Sequencing. Sequence charts and story maps put events, steps or stages in order.
• Connecting ideas. Cause-and-effect charts, main idea and details, and concept webs show how ideas relate.
• Vocabulary and planning. Frayer models dig into one word, KWL charts plan an inquiry, and 4-square organizers plan a paragraph.

Venn Diagrams and T-Charts for Comparing

Venn diagram

Use a Venn diagram when two or three things share some features but not others:

1. Label each circle with one topic.
2. List features of the first topic, then the second.
3. Move anything that is true of both into the middle.
4. Sum it up in a sentence: “Both ___, but only ___.”

Compare two versions of a fairy tale in reading, frogs and toads in science, or two of the original colonies in social studies. In math, sort the numbers 1 to 30 into multiples of 3 and multiples of 4; the overlap holds the common multiples. Switch to 3 circles when students are ready to compare three characters or biomes.

T-chart

A T-chart is two lists side by side: fact and opinion, needs and wants, or the default Pros and Cons. In math, rename the columns “Even” and “Odd” for a fast sort. Change either column in the Headings fields.

KWL and KWHL Charts for Starting a Unit

A KWL chart builds a unit around students’ own questions, which makes it a natural start to a science or social studies unit.

1. K: What I Know. Students list what they think they know. Accept every idea; you’ll check them later.
2. W: What I Want to Know. Students write questions. Push for real questions, not “I want to know about volcanoes.”
3. L: What I Learned. Students record new learning and fix any K-column ideas that turned out to be wrong.

Choose the KWHL option to add an H: How I Will Find Out column, where students name a source such as a book, an experiment or an interview. In math, a KWL at the start of a fractions unit quickly shows who already knows halves and fourths.

Story Maps and Main Idea & Details for Reading

Story map

The story map has boxes for Characters, Setting and Problem, three events labeled Beginning, Middle and End, and a Solution. Fill it during or right after reading:

1. Fill in the characters and setting together.
2. Name the problem in one sentence.
3. Add one key event each for the beginning, middle and end.
4. Explain how the problem is solved.

A finished story map is a ready-made outline for retelling or writing a summary. In social studies, it also fits a biography or a historical narrative.

Main idea & details

This organizer puts one main idea at the top with 3 or 4 detail boxes below. Use it with nonfiction, like a science article on the water cycle or a textbook section on why a war began. Have students find the details first, then ask, “What do these have in common?” That answer is usually the main idea.

Sequence Charts and Cause & Effect

Sequence chart

The sequence chart comes with 4, 5 or 6 boxes. The 4-box version is headed First, Next, Then and Last, so a finished chart turns easily into a paragraph. Students write one step or event per box:

• Reading: the main events of a chapter, in order.
• Science: the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle or the steps of an experiment.
• Social studies: the events leading up to a turning point in history.
• Math: the steps for solving a multi-step word problem, written in words.

Cause & effect

The Cause & Effect template has a Cause column and an Effect column with 2, 3 or 4 rows. Have students read each row as a sentence: “Because ___, ___.” Try causes of erosion in science, a new law and how it changed daily life in social studies, or a character’s choice and what followed in reading.

Frayer Model, 4-Square Writing and Concept Webs

Frayer model

The Frayer model puts a word in the center oval with four boxes around it: Definition, Characteristics, Examples and Non-examples. The non-examples box is where understanding shows: explaining why a circle is not a polygon takes more than copying a definition.

• Math: polygon, prime number or equation.
• Science: mammal, mixture or predator.
• Social studies: democracy, citizen or natural resource.
• Reading: a rich word from a read-aloud, such as “reluctant.”

For more ways to practice new words, see vocabulary practice activities.

4-square writing

The 4-Square Writing template plans a paragraph: a Topic Sentence in the center box, Reason 1, Reason 2 and Reason 3 in three corners, and a Conclusion in the fourth. Students jot a few words in each box, then turn each into a sentence. Rename the headings to fit the task, such as “Detail 1” for an informative paragraph.

Concept web

A concept web puts a main topic in the center bubble with 4 to 8 bubbles around it. Use it to brainstorm before writing or to connect a unit’s vocabulary. In social studies, put a region in the center and its climate, landforms and resources around it.

Model One Together, Then Differentiate

From the board to independent practice

Students fill organizers well when they have watched one being filled first:

1. Model. Fill one organizer on the board and think aloud about why each idea goes where it does.
2. Fill one together. Use a new text or topic and let students suggest what goes in each box.
3. Partners. Pairs fill a blank copy while you circulate.
4. On their own. Students complete their own, with the class model nearby.

When the class model is done, set PDF pages to Both to print a blank page followed by the version with your text, which prints in blue. Hand out the blank copy and keep the filled one for reference.

Differentiate the same organizer

• Partly filled version. Type a few boxes in Fill on screen, such as the characters and setting of a story map, then set PDF pages to With your text so students complete the rest.
• Lines or open space. Choose Wide lines for young writers, Lines for most students and Blank for drawing, sketching or labeling.
• Fewer boxes. Start with 3 details instead of 4, or 4 sequence boxes instead of 6.
• Starters in the headings. Change a heading to a sentence starter like “The problem is…” for students who need help getting started.
• Draw, then label. Emerging writers and multilingual learners can sketch in the boxes and add a word or two. For partner work, see random groups and seating charts.

Pair Graphic Organizers with Other Tools

These free tools fit before and after an organizer.

Find key words with a word cloud

Turn an organizer into a fill-in-the-blank summary

Practice sequencing with sentence scramble

Find more in literacy tools and printables.

Frequently asked questions