Graphic organizers provide conceptual frames for students to collect ideas and categorize information. Within those frames, students can find relationships and make connections—a process that requires, yet develops, critical thinking.
Graphic organizers are tools for thinking, observing, reflecting, planning, exploring, and discovering. Graphic organizers can help students organize:
- information they gather from listening, reading, and researching.
- thoughts they generate while listening and improvising.
- techniques they want to use in their singing and playing.
- ideas they want to incorporate into their composing and arranging.
Students are most likely using graphic organizers in other areas of their schoolwork. As they use these thinking tools across the curriculum, they will learn to recognize patterns, models, recurring relationships and observable connections among concepts and processes.
As you implement these materials in your teaching, keep in mind that the graphic organizers on this site are samples and examples. Students will go even farther with their thinking processes when they make up their own webs, charts, and diagrams based on what works for them.
Download and print out graphic organizers for your students. The Suggested Teaching Plans may be used to help incorporate the graphic organizers into your lesson plans.
In order to download, view, and print these graphic organizers, you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
 Block Organizer Grade 2: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Sheep in the
Meadow" uses a 16-Block Organizer as a Beat Map to identify
musical elements in a set number of beats.
Grade 6: Suggested Teaching Plan for "One Dime Blues"
uses a 16-Block Organizer as a Measure Map to chart a chord
progression.
Column Chart Grade 4: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Brooklyn Jugs"
uses a 2-Column Chart to identify found sounds that
substitute for specific instruments.
Comparison Chart Grade 3: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Circle
’Round the Zero" and "Jingle at the Window"
uses a Comparison Chart to compare two songs.
Grade 5: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Amazing Grace"
uses a Comparison Chart to list and compare musical
elements.
Grade 6: Suggested Teaching Plan for Unit 3, "Gotta Dance!"
uses a Comparison Chart to list and compare elements of
dance and dance music.
Flow Chart Grade 6: Suggested Teaching Plan for "The Trout"
uses a FlowChart to sequence the events of a song.
KWL Chart Grade 2: Suggested Teaching Plan for Unit 2,
"Our Musical World"uses a KWL Chart to explore students’
understanding of music from around the world.
Rectangular Prism Grade 3: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Great Big House"
uses a Rectangular Prism to identify rhythm patterns
in a song.
Transposition Wheel Grade 5: Suggested Teaching Plan for "Arirang" uses a
Transposition Wheel to understand pitch relationships
within a key and between keys.
Venn Diagram Grade 2: Suggested Teaching Plan for found sounds
uses a Venn Diagram to compare musical elements.
Web Grade 3: Suggested Teaching Plan for Lesson 6,
"A Matter of Style"uses a Web to explore the musical
style of salsa music. |
