Select a topic, concept, or issue for which you want to map your understanding:
1) Generate a list of ideas and initial thoughts that come to mind when you think about this particular topic/issue.
2) Sort your ideas according to how central or tangential they are. Place central ideas near the center and more tangential ideas toward the outside of the page.
3) Connect your ideas by drawing connecting lines between ideas that have something in common. Explain and write in a short sentence how the ideas are connected.
4) Elaborate on any of the ideas/thoughts you have written so far by adding new ideas that expand, extend, or add to your initial ideas.
*Continue generating, connecting, and elaborating new ideas until you have a good understanding
| Thinking Routine | Description | Key Thinking Tasks | What to Use | Technology Applications |
| Generate-Sort-Connect-Elaborate pg 125-131 |
Helps students create a concept map that activates knowledge of a topic and connects those ideas together. |
Organizing |
Focused Note Taking |
Book Creater |
Generate a list of ideas that come to mind when thinking about a concept. The routine begins with activating prior knowledge and generating a list of ideas/words/phrases that come to mind about a particular topic.
Sort the ideas based on understanding or complexity. More complex ideas should be placed on the outside of the map. Sort larger ideas into subheadings.
Connect ideas that have something in common. Once students have a sense of the main ideas, they should place the words on a concept map. The most central ideas are placed toward the center, while the tangential ideas are placed toward the outside of the paper.
Elaborate by adding new ideas that extend or expand on initial ideas. Students write about how the ideas on how the concepts connect together.