As an ACTIVITY OPTION, I frequently construct very simple graphic organizers to help your young reader get a basic understanding of how to organize information.

A graphic organizer is a visual aid helping the reader to see the relationships between pieces of information. These visual arrangements help the reader and listener to comprehend and retain more information because the brain doesn’t have to process so much text to understand the information. As the title of this entry says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Graphic organizers help the brain focus on what’s important. There is a lot of thinking involved when deciding what information to place in the graphic organizer. Our target audience (three – seven-year olds) can benefit from early practice with graphic organizers as they learn how to use them and understand them.

Check out Practickle’s board on Graphic Organizers: www.pinterest.com/practickle . You will see examples of very simple graphic organizers that your listener can complete after the reading of any book. Some of these your child can complete, after a discussion with you about the graphic organizer. Some will require you to write your child’s ideas in the appropriate spaces.

Using Graphic Organizers is a Reading Comprehension Best Practice. There is research dating from the 80’s supporting the use of simple graphic organizers to help strengthen comprehension whatever the age of the reader.

Save these Practickle graphic organizers. They will serve as unique memories of the times that you have spent reading the Practickle way!