Match the organizer to the relationship, then copy the layout.
A graphic organizer is a visual layout, such as a chart, a web or a chain of boxes, that sorts ideas into a structure before or after reading or writing. At Chalkbox, we build free worksheet makers and printable templates, and the graphic organizers on this page come as plain-text layouts you can copy, print or sketch on the board.
The relationship between the ideas decides which graphic organizer fits a task. Before you draw anything, ask how the ideas connect: are they alike and different, in order, linked by cause, or grouped under one big idea? Then find your task in the first column below.
| Task | Best Organizer | Boxes to Draw |
|---|---|---|
| Compare and contrast | Venn diagram or T-chart | Two overlapping circles, or two columns with a heading on each |
| Sequence or steps | Flow chart or chain | A row of boxes joined by arrows, one step per box |
| Cause and effect | Cause and effect chart | Cause boxes with arrows pointing to effect boxes |
| Main idea and details | Web or main-idea table | A center box for the main idea, with detail boxes around it |
| Story elements | Story map | Characters, setting, problem, events, solution |
| Writing one paragraph | Hamburger organizer | Topic sentence, three details, closing sentence |
| Vocabulary | Word map | Word, definition, example, picture |
| What I know, want to know and learned | Know, Want to know, Learned (KWL) chart | Three columns headed K, W and L |
The shape of the organizer should match the shape of the text. A chapter explaining why a war started calls for cause and effect boxes, while an article on two animals calls for a Venn diagram. If you are unsure which pattern a passage follows, start with our guide to text structure.
If students cannot fill the center box of a web, practice finding the main idea before handing out the web again. Every detail box on the web supports that one center box.
A Venn diagram suits a comparison where shared traits matter, and a T-chart suits one where students need room to write full sentences. Both handle compare and contrast, so the choice comes down to writing space and the middle column.
| Criterion | Venn Diagram | T-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Shared traits | The overlap in the middle holds them | No shared space unless you add a middle column |
| Room to write | Tight, especially in the overlap | A full column for each side |
| Fits | Single words and short phrases | Sentences and quotes from the text |
| Verdict | Pick it for quick sorting of traits | Pick it when each box needs a sentence |
Draw the Venn middle wide. A small overlap leaves no room to write the shared traits.
Each layout below is plain text you can copy into a document, print, or sketch on the board. Replace every bracket placeholder, such as [Topic], with your own content before students see it.
The three-column version works as a Venn diagram on lined paper, with shared traits in the middle column.
Compare: [Topic A] and [Topic B]
[Topic A] only | Both | [Topic B] only
--------------------+------------------+--------------------
[Trait] | [Shared trait] | [Trait]
[Trait] | [Shared trait] | [Trait]
[Trait] | | [Trait]For a plain T-chart, drop the middle column.
[Topic A] | [Topic B]
-----------------------------+-----------------------------
[Detail or quote] | [Detail or quote]
[Detail or quote] | [Detail or quote]
[Detail or quote] | [Detail or quote]Have students read each row aloud as one sentence: "[Cause], so [effect]." If the sentence sounds wrong, the boxes are in the wrong order.
Topic: [Event or text]
CAUSE EFFECT
[What happened first] ==> [What happened because of it]
[What happened first] ==> [What happened because of it]
[What happened first] ==> [What happened because of it]For a chain where one effect causes the next, write the boxes in a single line: [Cause] ==> [Effect] ==> [Next effect].
A story map holds characters, setting, problem, events and solution in reading order. Students who mix up the problem and the solution can review story elements before filling one in.
Title: [Book or story title]
+------------------------+------------------------+
| Characters | Setting |
| [Who is in the story] | [Where and when] |
+------------------------+------------------------+
| Problem: [What goes wrong] |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Event 1: [First thing that happens] |
| Event 2: [Next thing that happens] |
| Event 3: [Next thing that happens] |
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Solution: [How the problem is solved] |
+-------------------------------------------------+The hamburger organizer plans one paragraph. The top bun is the topic sentence, the filling is three details, and the bottom bun is the closing sentence.
( TOP BUN ) Topic sentence: [Main idea of the paragraph]
[ FILLING ] Detail 1: [Reason, fact or example]
[ FILLING ] Detail 2: [Reason, fact or example]
[ FILLING ] Detail 3: [Reason, fact or example]
( BOTTOM BUN ) Closing sentence: [Main idea in new words]Students write one full sentence per line, then copy the five lines in order. That copy is the first draft.
Fill the K and W columns before reading and the L column after. Any question in the W column that the text never answers becomes a research question for the next lesson.
Topic: [Topic]
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| K: What I Know | W: What I Want | L: What I Learned |
| | to Know | |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| [Fact] | [Question] | [Answer or fact] |
| [Fact] | [Question] | [Answer or fact] |
| [Fact] | [Question] | [Answer or fact] |
+--------------------+--------------------+--------------------+A word map gives one vocabulary word four boxes: the word, a definition, an example sentence and a picture. If you already have a word-and-definition list, the vocabulary worksheet generator turns it into matching and fill-in-the-blank templates for the same words.
+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| Word | Definition |
| [Word] | [Meaning in my words] |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+
| Example | Picture |
| [Sentence using it] | [Quick sketch] |
+--------------------------+--------------------------+Teach a new graphic organizer in four steps, moving from your model on the board to students working on their own.
The same organizer does a different job depending on when students fill it in.
Younger students need fewer boxes and more pictures, and older students can use the same layouts for notes and essay plans. These bands are a starting point and a judgment call, so adjust them to the class in front of you.
You can draw a graphic organizer by hand from one of the layouts above. A ruler and a blank sheet cover every type on this page.
Chalkbox does not have a dedicated graphic organizer generator. The closest tool is the blank grid on our blank worksheet templates page, one of six blank print-ready templates you print from the browser and fill in by hand. Rule the grid into three columns for a KWL chart, or block off rows for a story map.
To reuse a sheet, slide the printed page into a clear sheet protector and have students write on it with dry-erase markers. Wipe it clean and the same organizer is ready for the next text. Start with a few boxes and add more only when students fill those with ease.
A graphic organizer is the wrong tool when it adds a step a student no longer needs. If a student already plans and writes a clear paragraph without the hamburger, let them draft right away and check the paragraph against the hamburger parts afterward.
Some tasks have their own frame.
As a judgment call, drop the organizer once a class fills the same one quickly and correctly a few times in a row. At that point, have students sketch their own layout from memory.
Pick the one relationship students struggle with most this week, copy its layout from the graphic organizers above, and hand it out tomorrow.
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Graphic organizers are visual layouts, such as charts, webs and chains of boxes, that sort ideas into a structure before or after reading or writing. Each one shows a single relationship between ideas, such as likeness and difference, order, or cause.
The common types are the Venn diagram or T-chart for compare and contrast, the flow chart or chain for sequence, the cause and effect chart, the main-idea web, the story map, the hamburger paragraph organizer, the word map and the Know, Want to know, Learned (KWL) chart. Pick the one whose shape matches how the ideas in the task connect.
A graphic organizer for writing is a layout that plans a piece before drafting, and the hamburger organizer handles a single paragraph. Its top bun holds the topic sentence, the filling holds three details, and the bottom bun holds the closing sentence.
They can, and how much depends on the class, the task and whether students use the finished organizer for something. This page does not cite research on their effect. Judge it by the work: if the paragraphs or summaries students write from an organizer are clearer than the ones they write without it, keep using it.
Draw it by hand: name the relationship, sketch the boxes from the table on this page, and label each box with a short heading or question. For a cleaner sheet, print the blank grid from the Chalkbox blank worksheet templates page and rule it into columns or rows. Chalkbox does not have a dedicated graphic organizer generator.
Yes. Students in grades 6 to 12 can use the same layouts for note-taking, essay planning and unit review. A T-chart can hold claims on one side and evidence on the other, a cause and effect chart can track a chain of historical events, and a web can map a unit before a test.