Christine Miroff

EPSY-630L 256
Content Area Project

Classrooms today are made up of diverse students with varying learning

styles, skills and experiences. The number of students in classroom has also
increased. The expanded use of technology has changed how students take in
information, process, evaluate and express what they have learned. Many
middle school students are struggling in all content areas because they are not
adequately prepared to meet the demands of reading, writing and the
organizational skills needed to succeed. The use of technology has also had an
impact on attention span. Learners want information fast and easy and to move
on to the next thing. Textbooks, lectures and presentations are no longer the
norm in most classrooms, primarily because of the difficulty in capturing and
maintaining students attention.
The use of various types of visuals has also changed in all content areas
and grade levels as teachers explore visual literacy strategies to accommodate
how students learn.
According to Visual Teaching Alliance and their research, there are several
factors that explain why any type of instruction should incorporate visuals.
Approximately 65% of learners are visual learners. The brain processes visual
information 60,000 faster than written information and studies have shown that
the use of visuals in classroom can improve learning up to 400%.
One visual literacy strategy frequently used across content areas is the
use of graphic organizers. According to Lamb and Callison Graphic organizers

improve performance in reading comprehension and strengthen specific skill

areas. Learners that use graphic organizers are better able to expand and
organize ideas and concepts and see relationships more clearly. There are
numerous types of graphic organizers that can be used to address various levels
of learning and metacognition.
Graphic organizers originated in the 1960s with Ausubels cognitive
learning theory and the use of organizers as a tool to enhance learning by
relating new information to prior knowledge. He believed that learners could
comprehend and retain new material more effectively if they could relate it to
material previously learned thus making it more meaningful. (Ausubel, 1960).
The schema theory (Anderson & Pearson, 1984) further explains how the
human mind is made of cognitive structures, (schemata), prior or background
knowledge, that are used to integrate new knowledge thereby enhancing the
learning process, long term retention of concepts and derive meaning from text.
Graphic organizers are used in all content areas and grade levels as a
visual tool to help learners decipher new material in a meaningful way that will
develop their logical and critical thinking skills. Organizers provide a way for
students to organize and summarize text, classify facts and analyze and
compare content (Pang, 2013).

There are many types of graphic organizers that teachers use depending
on the lesson content, instructional objectives and the learning styles and
intelligences of the students. Graphic organizers utilize four intelligences

1. Verba/Linguistic - key words and phrases

2. Visual/Spatial - information is organized into a visual format.
3. Logical/Mathematical - hierarchy, sequencing, concept development and
cycles.
4. Naturalist - categorizing, classifying, sequencing, comparing and
contrasting.
The four types of graphic organizers (Marchand-Martella, Miller, MacQueen,
1998) are:
1. hierarchical organizers - present main ideas and supporting details.
2. comparative - illustrate similarities and differences among key concepts.
3. sequential - show steps or events.
4. diagrams - depict actual objects and systems in the real world s of science
and social studies.
Graphic organizers are ideal for a second language classroom because
they help provide students with a visual to take information in, process and use.
They are able to make connections to their first language and also see the
similarities and differences in different formats. In doing so, they have a better
understanding of the structure of the language which ultimately enhances their
learning and confidence as they acquire new language skills. I use a wide
variety of organizers to address mainly two skill areas in target language:
reading and writing. Organizers are also very effective tools for vocabulary
development, conjugating verbs and for culture units. In my classroom they are
also used primarily for review and formative assessments. Student work is

easily assessed because as a visual I can see very quickly where students may
be struggling. If for example, I am using an organizer for using pronouns and
conjugating verbs, I can look at their chart and quickly see if a student is having
difficulty with spelling, proper use of pronouns, conjugating the verb or in
translation. I can then go back and reteach or focus on students individually.
The lessons I will outline incorporate several types of organizers.

Flat Notecard Chart I use this organizer when I first introduce subject
pronouns and verbs. Students draw a line down the middle and two lines
across to make six boxes. They write in the verb forms according to the
subject pronoun that is associated with that space. I may also have one
for subject pronouns. The singular subjects are on the left hand side and
the plural subjects on the right side.

Hand-Graphic Organizer is used to help students with subject pronouns

and conjugating verbs. This is a graphic organizer I have used frequently
to review present term verbs and pronouns after introduction. I also use
this as a quick formative assessment. Most importantly, the 7th grade
students enjoy this activity because it requires that they draw, color and

cut. Their hands are put up on a bulletin board so that they have always
have a visual to reference.

Flip Chart Notecard is another type of organizer that students create to

review and practice conjugating verbs and proper use of pronouns. This
is a chart that they can keep in their binders for future use. Students
select 2-3 verbs they have the most difficulty with and create the chart.
Also used as a formative assessment.

Parts of the House - I use this organizer to help students remember

vocabulary for rooms in the house and things in each of the rooms. There

are a lot of words for this unit and this organizer helps the students for all
the activities we do throughout the unit.

Web Organizer - This graphic organizer also helps students break down
vocabulary by category. I have students write a term for a room in each
circle then come up with as many terms as they can remember of things
that can be found in that room.

Lesson Plan #1 - La Casa

La Casa Lesson

Lesson Plan #2 - AR Verbs

AR Verbs Lesson