Concept Mapping Assignment

During week 6, the class was introduced to Concept Mapping.  I really enjoyed this activity.  We learned how to create a concept map for a lesson or an activity that we would use in a classroom.  There were certain criteria that had to be met; I created my concept map on geography.  I love geography so this was an easy and fun assignment for me.  My lesson is about teaching students about the United States.  My lesson includes learning about the states, bodies of water (the two main oceans), volcanoes, the two mountain ranges, and major cities.  The concept map required five topic areas with at least two subtopics in each.  I will list them below:

Major Cities: Populations & Urbanization

States: Capitals & State Flags

Mountain Ranges: Rocky Mountains & Smokey Mountains

Volcanoes: Mount Shasta & Mauna Loa and Kilauea

One of the subtopics had to have its own sub-topics.  I chose to add more subtopics to the bodies of water because there is a lot of material to cover when teaching bodies of water in the United States.

Bodies of Water: Location, Salt vs. Fresh: 2 Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and The Great Lakes

I really enjoyed the part of the assignment when we got to be creative!  The bubbles and links in the diagram had to be different colors and shapes (which made it fun).

This program is a great way to keep a person on track when they are teaching a unit.  I will definitely be using Concept Mapping in my future classroom.  If I have a map with the while teaching a lesson there is no way that I would forget something.  The great thing about Concept Mapping is it only takes an hour or so to create a great map!  The link is provided below:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxsaBtml2NN1ZDJjNzRhYTctNmU3Zi00OTU2LTk1MjgtZWZjZTg0ZWY1MzI4&hl=en

NETS met:

The Concept Map Assignment met three different standards.  The first standard was 1a because the concept map promotes, supports, models creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.  The concept map is a great tool that helps guide a lesson.  The next standard that was met was 2a because it is designed to promote student learning.  It is creative and it adapts to the lesson and acts as a guide.  NETS standard 3d was met because it modeled and facilitated effective use of emerging digital tools to locate and use informational resources to support learning.