50+ Ways to Use Concept Mapping in the Classroom

When students are constantly absorbing new information, it can feel like their brain is being tied into all kinds of knots. Concept mapping serves as a tool to neatly unravel these knots, offering a clear, visual organization of information and fostering a deeper understanding of complex topics.

As Tim and Moby explain in this BrainPOP topic, concept mapping can be used for everything from taking notes and doing research to planning out projects and making connections between ideas. They mirror how our brains store information, allowing our focus to go from remembering facts to critically thinking about them.

So, it’s no surprise that concept mapping is an invaluable tool in the classroom—for students and teachers alike! Here are 50+ ways you can incorporate concept mapping into your daily routine, starting today.

Concept Mapping In the Classroom

1. Assess student comprehension

2. Present difficult material in a step-by-step manner

3. Introduce a new concept

4. Identify similarities and differences between ideas and concepts

5. Help students make meaningful connections between the main idea and details

6. Assist cooperative groups in defining projects and dividing job responsibilities

7. Create flow charts for behavior plans for either the classroom or a specific student

8. Identify similarities between different units

9. Create a vocabulary organizer to record the new words they’ve learned

10. Identify when students don’t understand information and where the breakdown is in their comprehension

11. Add more depth in a compare/contrast lesson, for example, identifying the important variables by color-coding or other visual element, and then deciding if the variable is the same or different in the two objects of study

12. Show relationships between ideas or concepts

13. Assist students in organizing information (like a KWL chart! Download below.)

14. Provide a framework for note-taking

15. Create instructions for games

16. Create picture charts that students can follow if they are communication impaired

17. Help students study for a test

18. Create a classroom organization chart with associated responsibilities

19. Design a how-to or step-by-step guide for learning new software and web tools

20. Develop a course or workshop

21. Document job responsibilities

22. Plan a website, blog post, or presentation

23. Create cause/effect/solution diagrams to resolve social issues within the classroom

24. Provide a skeleton map and have students fill in the information 

KWL_2024.pdf

Download PDF • 101KB

Concept Mapping In Lessons

1. Plot summaries

2. Book design elements

3. Illustration of the digestive system

4. Procedures to follow during an emergency drill such as a fire or storm drill

5. Lab procedure explanation

6. Presentation of lab conclusions and highlighting important concepts (especially prior to completing a written explanation)

7. Local government diagram

8. Detailed processes map (how to add polynomials etc.)

9. Storyboards for presentations

10. Historical cause and effect

11. Organizer that shows the English word on one side and the foreign language word equivalent on the other side with pictures as hints

12. When studying a poem: in the center concept, list the name of the poem and the connecting lines contain phrases from the poem: the subconcept explains the words in the phrase and the literary technique used such as personification

13. Cycles (recycle, weather, etc.)

14. Food chain construction

15. Map of where items are stored in desk, trapper, or locker

16. Library orientation

17. Character descriptions

18. Plot movement and how action leads to the climax

19. To teach Math algorithms (especially division)

20. Math-problem solving (great because it is non-linear)

Concept Mapping with Faculty and Staff

1. Illustrate school’s goals

2. Plan for Parent-Teacher Organization

3. Explain staff responsibilities on committees

4. Illustrate instructional goals with links to testing expectations

5. Show what each grade will be teaching and how units fit into the larger picture of curriculum for the whole school

6. Show integration of different topics across the curriculum for a unit, lesson, or long-range plan

7. Personal and/or professional goals

Concept Mapping with Students' Families and the Community

1. Concept maps to send home to parents to help explain a unit so they can help their children study/review

2. Open House/Back to School night presentations

3. Explanations of the year’s curriculum goals

Concept mapping is an incredible tool for both teachers and students to use in the classroom. How will you map?

Jordan Bremus-Wyles is the Sr. Manager, Content & Social Media Strategy at BrainPOP, with a Bachelor's in English and Journalism. She is a youth advocate and mom of two. Jordan's favorite BrainPOP character is Tim.