Free Graphic Organizer Printable Templates

Published:
September 5, 2021

Contributor:
Jeannette Tuionetoa

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What are these graphic organizers used across the education world – homeschool and school systems alike? Learn more about graphic organizers and grab these free graphic organizer printable templates for your homeschool students to use.

blue and yellow image with a flow chart and text overlay

What does a graphic organizer mean?

A graphic organizer is an incredibly useful tool that teaches students to gather ideas in an organized way. It is a visual guide to plan and structure ideas in a way that can be a foundation for learning and for studying.

My favorite definition I have found is from the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). The LDA states that an organizer is a great tool that makes pictures of someone’s thoughts. The pictures demonstrate the relationships between facts, concepts, or ideas that guide thinking as we design a map or diagram. 

template organizer printables

What are graphic organizers used for?

Graphic organizers can be used for so many things in your student’s educational journey. They are used to gather and organize ideas in a writing project. Organizers also are used in problem-solving, decision making, studying any subject, planning out research, and brainstorming.

For visual learners, graphic organizers provide a way for them to gather information for complex topics.

Masses of text and information about a new topic can be overwhelming for many students. If they are anything like my son, students can want to give up when there is just too much to learn. Graphic organizers allow students to take the main idea from a subject area and break them up into simpler forms.

So, graphic organizers increase comprehension, gather information in an engaging way, and so much more.

Why are graphic organizers important?

There are clear benefits to using graphic organizers in your homeschool. They build the ability for your students to gather thoughts in a picture to assist in understanding and remembering information.

Did you know, according to the LDA, that students with learning disabilities are usually visual learners and thinkers? Because of this,  it’s best when ideas, concepts, and words can be conveyed or associated with corresponding pictures, charts, maps, and diagrams.

Basically, students with disabilities in learning work best when information (even large amounts of information) is displayed in a way they can see – not just read.

I believe this can be applied to any student’s lesson plan. The graphic organizer can be used either to enhance learning or to review material.

Additionally, for students who have problems focusing, graphic organizers capture information in a way that helps them focus on the specific subject matter in a meaningful way.

Why are graphic organizers important to a reader or writer?

Your students will see graphic organizers are a very useful tool to use in writing and reading assignments.

Graphic organizers can either help students plan their writing assignments as a brainstorming tool, as a concept web, and for mind mapping.

For grammar improvement in writing, students can use graphic organizers to create word webs, learn a part of speech, develop the perfect paragraph for an essay, explore a new vocabulary word, and more.

In reading, your students can use graphic organizers to develop character maps on main characters, complete a sequence chart for story events, and display a story map.

What are the different types of graphic organizers?

Not all graphic organizers are the same. That would be totally boring. There are various types of graphic organizers. Here are a few:

Graphic Organizer Charts:

Pie charts are a type of graphic organizer that shows proportional relationships.

Flow charts are graphic organizers that are more complex and show visual representations of a process or steps.

NOTE: You will find many of these pie charts and flow charts available for your students in a Microsoft Word document.

A K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned) Column Chart has three columns of information titles Know, Want, and Learned. As your students go through various subject matters, they can list the information they know already, want to know, and have learned.

Venn Diagram Graphic Organizers:

This type of graphic organizer consists of two or three circles with subject headings or titles where students gather information. In the circles, students write things that are different and write what topics have in common in the circle overlaps.

Mind Mapping and Concept Mapping Graphic Organizers

Of course, graphic organizers are used to gather and organize information. Students also work through a graphic organizers for brainstorming, visualizing ideas, and planning what students want to write.

In a mind map, students also can solve problems, show relationships, and list process components around a central idea.

Which graphic organizer works best for your family and subjects? There are plenty to choose from below.

Free Graphic Organizer Printable Templates:

Free Reading Comprehension Graphic Organizers and Templates, Volume 1 and Volume 2 – Don’t miss all the reading comprehension units free for Homeschool Giveaways subscribers. Graphic organizers templates are an easy-to-use tool to sharpen reading comprehension skills. Use the printable exercises with any text or story your kids are reading.

50 Free Graphic Organizers – Grab this great tool list of printable graphic organizers for your students for easy use at home. Use these to introduce graphic organizers to younger grades or for older students to use as learning tools.

Various Graphic Organizers – Grab these free graphic organizers to help your students understand a central topic or complex topics. The graphic organizer capture these ideas in visual form.

List of Graphic Organizer Templates – These free graphic organizer templates include pdf files of various graphic organizers with varying topics. The topic organizers include story mapping, sense charts, fact or opinion, compare/contrast Venn Diagrams, sequence of events, and more.

Printable or White Board Graphic Organizers – We use our whiteboard at home for a number of things. If you have a whiteboard at home or just prefer to print out graphic organizers, this reading comprehension freebie is perfect for your homeschool.

Whether your students are learning new topics like writing a paragraph or comparing and contrasting research, graphic organizers paint a picture for comprehension. Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Instant Download: Free Graphic Organizer Templates

Free Graphic Organizer Printable Templates

Need a visual display of information on a specific topic? Need hands-on resources to capture information on a new topic? This Graphic Organizer Printable Pack is perfect for your homeschool.

This free resource is full of graphic organizer templates simple enough for younger students to use. It also has ample room for older students to fill in with information that has learned or need to study in any given subject. Click the link below to grab this free graphic organizers pack for your students. 

Download: Graphic Organizer Pack

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