FOLDED GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS SAVE TIME AND PAPER
FOLDABLE VENN DIAGRAM
Who ever said Venn Diagrams had to be round? Rectangular shapes offer more flexibility and more space to write in. A few simple folds and – voilà – you’ve got an easy organizer for comparing and contrasting characters, events and even entire books.
- Fold a piece of paper in half (“hamburger fold”).
- Unfold and fold both edges toward the middle, making a “shutter fold.”
- The outside flaps may be used to label the two elements or stories being compared.
- Open the flaps and you have space on the right and left to identify what makes each element unique, and space in the centre to identify the common features.
FLAP BOOK FUNDAMENTALS
Lift-the-flap books are fun for students from kindergarten to college!
A few folds, a few cuts, and – voila! – you’ve got a graphic organizer that can be used for any type of two-part response.
- Fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise (hot dog fold).
- Then fold it in half crosswise (hamburger fold) twice, so that the paper is folded in
eight.
- Place the paper in front of you with the fold at the top and the opening at the bottom.
- Cut on each top fold line only to the center fold, so that the bottom is one solid piece and the top consists of four flaps.
- The flap book may be used horizontally or vertically.
THIRTEEN PROMPTS FOR TWO-COLUMN FLAP BOOKS
A flap book is just a variation of two-column notes, with one part of the response written on the front of the flap and the other part of the response under the flap. You can two-part flap books in a whole range of ways for writing about reading, such as:
- I read/I wonder
- I read/I think or interpret
- I wonder/I think (or I know)
- Figurative language/What it means
- Tricky words/Meanings
- Key ideas/Supporting details
- Topic Sentences/Supporting details
- Character/Decisions or dilemmas
- What the text says/What I think
- What’s Important/What’s interesting
- What I Knew/What is New
- Opinion/Support or proof
- Prediction/Support
FOUR-SQUARE CHARACTER FOLDABLE
You can make a versatile graphic organizer by simply folding a piece of paper in four. Add another fold or two and it can serve a range of purposes.
1. Fold a piece of paper in half (“hamburger” fold) and in half again (“hot dog” fold) to create four sections.
2. At the point where the two folded edges meet, fold up a small triangle.
3. When unfolded, the paper will have four sections with a diamond in the middle.
4. Fold up another triangle to make an additional section in each quarter.
5. If you’d like, you can fold a narrow strip (about 1 inch or 2.5 cm) across the top and bottom of the page to add headings to each section.
6. Write the character’s name in the centre diamond. Write a character trait in each of the four sections around the diamond. In the four large quarters, write evidence from the text to support the character traits.
Return to STUFF FOR TEACHERS
Return to HIP HOME PAGE