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Mind Mapping to Organize an Essay

Details

Main Website:

https://coggle.it/

Activity Website:

https://coggle.it/

Additional Websites:

Canva
Padlet
Popplet

Tech Product/Equipment:

Computer and projector, Mobile devices for students, Computer

Activity Description

Students will be able to create a digital mind map to organize a traditional 4-5 paragraph academic essay on any topic.

Preparation

Check the website to ensure it is not blocked at your site.
Read through the lesson plan.
Print and make copies of any handouts.

How-To

There are a myriad of mind-mapping apps out there, like Popplet, Canva, and Padlet. A user-friendly one that has free access is Coggle.it.

Students can sign up for a free Coggle account using their personal or school emails. You're allowed up to 3 private boards and an unlimited amount of public boards with a free account. Since students will most likely be creating mind-maps that don't have sensitive information, the free account should accommodate most lesson needs.

Coggle is very user friendly and not too complex. There is a page on the Coggle website with easy-to-understand step-by-step instructions on how to make basic mind maps. Here's the link:

Coggle Mind Map Tutorials

Coggle boards can be shared to enable collaboration by groups of students. To do this, click on the plus sign next to your personal icon.Students can add their collaborators' emails (or the teacher can create a board and do this for the students).

The boards can also be downloaded in a variety of forms once they are finished. Note: Coggle includes a watermark on all downloads with the free version.

Teacher Tips

It's best to try this out yourself before teaching the lesson. Although the tools are very user friendly, it would help to get familiar with them first so you can help your students if necessary.

More Ways

Advanced students can import images into their mind maps. Coggle also has a shortcut system to speed up the process of creating branches in the mind map. See the tutorial page for more info.

Program Areas

ABE: Adult Basic Education
ESL: English as a Second Language
ASE: High School Equivalency Preparation
ASE: High School Diploma

Levels

Intermediate High
Advanced
All Levels

View Lesson Plan

Warm-up

Engagement

Reading annotation: Give students an essay that has been written in a traditional 5 paragraph structure: an introductory paragraph with a topic sentence; 3 supporting paragraphs that begin with a sub-topic sentence which supports the topic; and a concluding paragraph which restates the topic and expands the ideas or calls for solutions.

You can always ask ChatGPT to generate one approprate for your ESL level.

To familiarize your students with this essay structure, have students annotate the following:

The topic sentence
The 3 sub-topic sentences
Any supporting sentences that explain, give details about, or show results of the sub-topic sentences.

If this is the first time doing this, you may want to have another essay available to use as a model before the students do the exercise.

Introduction

Engagement

Students will be able to organize ideas for a 4-5 paragraph essay by mind-mapping the topic sentence and the 3 supporting paragraphs.

Presentation

Engagement Enhancement

Ask the students to help you to choose a topic sentence to use for an essay. For example, "Climate change is dangerous for the planet." Explain that you'll be brainstorming ideas for an essay by organizing the ideas onto a mind map.

Project the Coggle website and show students how to sign in with their student or personal account. Open your account.

Type the topic sentence in the middle bubble or text box.

Ask the students to give a general reason, example, or result of the topic sentence. For example, "Rising temperatures are causing more fires" or "Climate change creates more dangerous weather". For each subtopic, create a strand outward from the middle topic sentence and type in those sub-topics into the text boxes. (Look at the photo at the intro to this lesson plan to see an example.)

Once you have 3 subtopics, explain that you're going to do the same thing for each sub-topic, but this time, you want more specific reasons, examples, or results. For examples, for "Climate change creates more dangerous weather", the students might say, "There are bigger hurricanes that do more damage", "Floods occur more often", and "Tornados are larger and more destructive". For each of the supporting sentences, create strands out from the sub-topic text box. (Again, see the photo example.)

Repeat this step until you have 3 sub-topics with 3-4 supporting sentences each.

Practice

Engagement Enhancement

Students will make a mind map using Coggle (or one of the other apps listed in this lesson plan).

You can decide how students will do this: individually, in pairs, or in groups. You can let the students choose how to be grouped if you'd like. (Note: There's a note on sharing the board for collaboration in the 'How-to' section of this lesson plan.)

Evaluation

Engagement Enhancement Extension

Students can share their finished mind maps with each other, upload them onto your LMS, project them in front of the class, or a bunch of different ways. (See the 'How-to' section.)

Their peers, the teacher, or both can evaluate the strands. Are the sub-topics related to the topic sentence? Do the supporting sentences support the sub-topics? Etc.

Application

Engagement Enhancement Extension

After the mind maps are finished, show the students how to place the ideas into a 5-paragraph structure.

The introductory paragraph could begin with the topic sentence and give some background information on the topic, like "I'm worried that my children will grow up in a world that will not sustain life."

Each of the 3 paragraphs in the main body will begin with one of the 3 sub-topics and contain the supporting sentences.

Finally, the concluding paragraph could include some ideas about how to fix the problem, the results of the main idea of the essay, or final thoughts on the topic.

You can post the essays on the walls in class or on your LMS and have a gallery walk so everyone can read them.

Here's an example of an essay written using the mind map picture above:

View Standards

Writing
- CCR Anchor 1 - Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
Language
- CCR Anchor 1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.