Free Graphic Organizers for Educators.

Graphic organizers are visual representations of knowledge, concepts or ideas. School teachers use them to enhance recall, provide motivation, create interest, assist in organizing thoughts, clarify interest and to promote understanding in general. There are all kinds of graphic organizers, we've listed just a few different types below.

1.) Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity.

2.) Ishikawa diagrams (also called fishbone diagrams or cause-and-effect diagrams) are diagrams that show the causes of a certain event. Common uses of the Ishikawa diagram are product design and quality defect prevention, to identify potential factors causing an overall effect. Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation. Causes are usually grouped into major categories to identify these sources of variation. The categories typically include:

• People: Anyone involved with the process
• Methods: How the process is performed and the specific requirements for doing it, such as policies, procedures, rules, regulations and laws
• Machines: Any equipment, computers, tools etc. required to accomplish the job
• Materials: Raw materials, parts, pens, paper, etc. used to produce the final product
• Measurements: Data generated from the process that are used to evaluate its quality
• Environment: The conditions, such as location, time, temperature, and culture in which the process operates

3.) A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships among concepts. They are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. Concepts, usually represented as boxes or circles, are connected with labeled arrows in a downward-branching hierarchical structure. The relationship between concepts can be articulated in linking phrases such as "gives rise to", "results in", "is required by," or "contributes to". The technique for visualizing these relationships among different concepts is called "Concept mapping".

4.) A KWL table, or KWL chart, is a graphical organizer designed to help in learning. The letters KWL are an acronym for "what we know", what we want to know, and "what we learned". A KWL table is typically divided into three columns titled Know, Want and Learned. The table comes in various different forms as some have modified it to include or exclude information. It may be useful in research projects and to organize information to help study for tests.

5.) A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

 The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid recall of existing memories.
By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to planning and organizational tasks. Though the branches of a mindmap represent hierarchical tree structures, their radial arrangement disrupts the prioritizing of concepts typically associated with hierarchies presented with more linear visual cues. This orientation towards brainstorming encourages users to enumerate and connect concepts without a tendency to begin within a particular conceptual framework.
The mind map can be contrasted with the similar idea of concept mapping. The former is based on radial hierarchies and tree structures denoting relationships with a central governing concept, whereas concept maps are based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns.

6.) Venn diagrams or set diagrams are diagrams that show all hypothetically possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets (groups of things). Venn diagrams were conceived around 1880 by John Venn. They are used in many fields, including set theory, probability, logic, statistics, and computer science.

7.) A flowchart is a common type of diagram, that represents an algorithm or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting these with arrows. Flowcharts are used in analyzing, designing, documenting or managing a process or program in various fields.

Links to Best Free Graphic Organizers.

• Freeology - Free Printable Graphic Organizers
• Graphic Organizers at the Education Place
• Graphic Organizers - Free Presentations, Free Inter-actives for Kids, Free Printouts
• Print graphic organizers from edHelper.com
• Education Oasis has graphic organizers too.
• Download free graphic organizers at busyteacherscafe.com
• Holt Graphic Organizer Teaching Notes

The Bill Rice Ranch for The Deaf.

      The Bill Rice Ranch is a Christian Summer Camp in Murfreesboro Tennessee that was founded by Bill Rice to provide a place for preaching the gospel to teens, especially the deaf.
      Bill and Cathy Rice founded the Bill Rice Ranch in 1953 as a ministry to deaf individuals. They became concerned with the deaf when their daughter contracted meningitis and was left deaf from this disease. They soon realized that many people across America were deaf, and had been ignored by Christians. The Bill Rice Ranch was born as a ministry to these people.
      Today, The Ranch runs all summer long providing preaching and activities for the hundreds of teens and children who attend there every week. While the Ranch has grown beyond a ministry to the deaf, they are still its core focus. The deaf attend free, and the Ranch is very attentive to their needs.
      While the Bill Rice Ranch continued to grow, because of its location, the ministry was limited to people on the East Coast. This changed however in 1988 when West Branch opened in Flagstaff, Arizona. As an extension of the Bill Rice Ranch, it has allowed many people from the western United States to be blessed by the ministry of the Bill Rice Ranch.
      Initially Flagstaff served well as a location for a new summer camp, however because of its proximity to the city, West Branch was unable to accommodate the growing number of teens coming to the camp every summer. In December 1997, the Ranch acquired approximately 150 acres (0.61 km2) of land in Williams, Arizona. The land in Flagstaff was sold in September 2004, and West Branch is meeting in rental locations until building is complete in the new location.

• Bill Rice Ranch
  

Colorful Cornicopia Clip Art