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Graphic organisers Eliminating words, focusing on connections For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned. Benjamin FRANKLIN
Why all the fuss about graphic organisers? Graphic organisers are a highly recommended teaching tool in Science classes, yet many teachers don’t exploit them to the maximum. Unlike many rigid teaching tools that have only one application, graphic organisers are very flexible. Their applications are innumerable! Simple graphic organisers can be used even with very young learners. Here are some of the benefits graphic organisers can bring to your CLIL classes. ➜ Help learners think clearly,
especially visual learners A picture is worth a thousand words. When you can clearly visualise something it’s almost like being able to touch it physically. This transforms learning into a personal experience.
➜ Allow lots of information
to be stored in a reduced space Graphic organisers compress information and allow us to represent huge amounts of data in a limited space. Moreover, it’s like having a view from the top. If you are looking down from a mountain onto a vast landscape, you will see all its features much better than if you were standing on the ground. ➜ Connect the four language skills
If you are wondering how to integrate listening, speaking and reading skills in your CLIL classes, graphic organisers are the answer. They expose your students to vocabulary and structures in both written and oral form.
➜ Encourage students to think
about information When speaking, students often reproduce what they have learned by heart. When writing, they sometimes just copy and paste. Graphic organisers help avoid these traps as they force students to organise their thoughts and go beyond the obvious.
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