Graphic organizers can help students gather their thoughts and customize to their needs. They are easy to make (or find) online and can be adapted for your students.
Sometimes, the sheer volume of information swirling in our minds can feel overwhelming. We just need some help organizing our thoughts — students AND educators, alike.
A visual framework can be a lifeline.
Paper versions of graphic organizers, with their hand-drawn boxes and lines, can do a nice job of that, offering a tangible structure.
But by making them digital?
- They instantly become customizable, malleable to the specific needs of any learner or lesson.
- Multiple people can collaborate on them in real time, adding insights and building upon each other’s ideas from anywhere.
- They can be shared with a simple link, embedded seamlessly in a website for easy access, or downloaded as a convenient image file or PDF file for offline use.
In short, digital graphic organizers often are more versatile, more dynamic, and more accessible than their paper counterparts.
There are many ways to create and share these powerful tools, each with its own set of strengths. Three of our favorite ways, for their user-friendly interfaces and collaborative features, are Google Slides, PowerPoint and Canva.
Google Slides and PowerPoint offer the familiar interface of a presentation tool, making it easy to create structured diagrams and mind maps with simple shapes, text boxes, and connectors. Canva provides a visually rich design platform, with a vast library of graphic organizer templates that are ready to edit and share.
Creating graphic organizer templates with Google Slides
In Google Workspace it’s easy to create and share them with Google Slides . It gives users a blank canvas where they can add text, shapes, lines, etc. When done, they can save their work as image files or PDF files and can add those images to documents, slides and spreadsheets.
Slides can be the virtual page where students can gather and process their ideas.
I’ve created 20 of them (see links below) that can be copied, saved, changed, tweaked or completely redone to fit your needs and your students’ needs. We have added 10 more that were created by the Ditch That Textbook community and shared with us for this post.
It took me about 90 minutes to make 15 of them so that averages out to six minutes each. (Some were more time-consuming than others, and I got faster at making them as I progressed.)
Sharing your Google Slides graphic organizers
Once you’ve created a graphic organizer (or have saved one of mine), there are a few easy ways to get them to your students:
- If you use Google Classroom, create a new assignment and choose the option to deliver a copy of your graphic organizer to each student.
- You can copy the URL (link) to the graphic organizer and deliver it to students via a class website, SeeSaw etc. You can also make a shorter, easier URL to type with URL shorteners like Bitly and TinyURL. (Check your Internet filter to make sure your shortened URLs come through. I’ve found that TinyURL works in most schools’ filters.)
- Using the blue “Share” button, click the “Get shareable link” button and set the document as “Anyone with the link” at the top and “Can view” at the bottom. That way, students won’t be able to change your original copy and will have to make a copy of their own.
- PRO TIP: When you copy a URL (link) to any G Suite file, it probably says “view” or “edit” at the end of it. If you change that word to “copy”, it will force whoever opens that link to make a copy of the file instead of opening your file. That’s another trick to keeping your original version from being altered. (If you assign it through Google Classroom, you won’t need to do this.)
Creating graphic organizer templates with Microsoft PowerPoint
PowerPoint allows you to create versatile templates, including graphic organizers, using its robust set of tools. Here’s how to do it:
Start: Open PowerPoint, choose a blank or themed presentation.
Design:
- Use “Insert” > “Shapes,” “Text Box,” and “Lines” to create your organizer.
- Format elements via right-click or “Shape Format” tab.
- Add optional text placeholders.
- Group multiple elements for easier manipulation.
Save: “File” > “Save As,” select “PowerPoint Template (.pptx),” name your file, and save.
Sharing Your PowerPoint Templates:
- Direct File Sharing: You can share the .pptx file directly via email, a shared drive, or a learning management system (LMS).
- LMS Integration: Many LMS platforms allow you to upload and distribute files, including PowerPoint templates.
- Cloud Storage (OneDrive, SharePoint):
- Upload your .pptx file to OneDrive or SharePoint.
- Share the link to the file with your students.
- You can set permissions to allow students to download a copy, or to work directly on a shared file. Be careful with direct editing of a single shared file, as students can overwrite other student’s work.
Creating and finding graphic organizer templates in Canva
Canva is another tool that be used to design and share graphic organizers that help students visually demonstrate their understanding and organize ideas across various subjects. You can easily find graphic organizer templates by searching for “graphic organizer” in Canva, where they you choose from options like cause-and-effect diagrams or Venn diagrams.
You can also design a custom organizer from scratch using blank templates and graphic elements like shapes and lines. Once the organizer is ready, you can assign it to students, giving them the option to either use a pre-made template or create their own from scratch, fostering creativity and effective learning.
Sharing your Canva graphic organizers
Once you’ve found a template or created a template you like you can choose how you want to get them to your students:
- Customize the template by editing text, adjusting colors and sizes, removing or adding elements, and incorporating graphics or images.
- Share as a Template Link (Students can create a copy):
- Open the design: Navigate to the design you want to share.
- Tap “Share”: Click the “Share” icon from the menu bar above the editor.
- Choose “Template link”: Select “Template link” from the sharing options.
- Create the link: Tap “Create template link”.
- Copy and share: Copy the generated link and share it with your students.
- Download for the graphic organizer for printing:
- Open your design: Open the Canva template you want to print.
- Select “Share”: Click the “Share” button in the top right corner.
- Choose “Download”: Click the “Download” button.
- Select “PDF Print”: Choose “PDF Print” from the file type dropdown.
- Optional: Crop Marks and Bleed: If you need crop marks and bleed for professional printing, tick the corresponding options.
- Download: Click “Download” again to save the print-ready PDF to your computer.
Google Slides and PowerPoint graphic organizers
Click the button to make a copy of any of these templates. Then, edit and adapt them for your own use.
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence. Use this graphic organizer to plan a video.
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence. Use this graphic organizer to plan a video.
Lots of Pixar movies (and other movies, too) follow this structure. It’s part of the original 22 storytelling rules of storytelling by Emma Coats. Anyone can use this story structure to effortlessly create a narrative.
H/T to Tony Vincent from LearningInHand.com. He described this activity during the Ditch Summit, my free online conference for educators.
This template will help your students broaden their vocabulary and understand the nuanced differences between words.
There’s something that just clicks with our brains and lists. We love a good list, and we love to know exactly how many things are on those lists and why!
Lets students write similarities and differences on a topic.
Lets students list: what I know, what I want to know, what I have learned.
Lets students plot dates and events over a specified time period.
Lets students identify criteria, explain whether it was successful and why, and provide evidence.
Lets students identify actions that caused other actions and their effects.
Lets students list the advantages and disadvantages of a topic.
Lets students branch ideas out from the main topic into subtopics.
Lets students display the linear relationship among several things.
Lets students list important information about a character, like what the character says and what the student thinks of the character.
Lets students list main points and evidence, details and location.
Lets students show how a plot builds, climaxes and resolves. (Submitted by Stephanie Avera)
Lets students identify synonyms, antonyms and related words to a specific word.
Lets students make connections to other words from a specific vocabulary term.
Provides a framework for a thorough understanding of new words.
Helps students organize essays by breaking down parts of the essay in different sections. (submitted by Melissa Rasmus of Chippeway Falls Area USD in Wisconsin)
Students examine the pluses, minuses and interesting things associated with a topic, idea or decision. (Submitted by Rhett Oldham of St. Genevieve R-II School District in Missouri)
A very visual way to prepare students for writing essays. (Submitted by Amy Nolan, Twitter: @mrsnolanator)
Students do a brain dump after listening to an episode. (Submitted by Andrea Clutts, Twitter: @acluttsSVHS)
Students find synonyms to a vocabulary word and organize them by “richness”. (Submitted by Jennifer Eggert, Twitter: @mrseggert13)
Students put tiles of information in order to demonstrate understanding. (Submitted by Justin Malin, Twitter: @justinrmalin)
Students compare events (like immigration) from the past and from current times. (Submitted by Katie Nicholson, Insta: @inthenicofhines)
Students drag tiles in order to show the names and phases of the moon. (Submitted by Katie Von Berg, Twitter: @wadein2science)
Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then (Submitted by Melissa Shields, Twitter: @MrsM_Shields)
Click on the button below for the entire folder of all of the graphic organizers in one shared Google Drive folder!
Canva graphic organizers
Canva offers a diverse collection of graphic organizer templates tailored for classroom use like reading response, scientific method, essay writing, and vocabulary development. Teachers can easily customize these templates to visually engage students and reinforce key concepts. The designs can be downloaded as a pdf and printed or exported as a PowerPoint file.
A graphic organizer that helps student work through the process of the scientific method. Created by Mrs. Hanham’s Class.
A design challenges asks students to come up with a creative solution to a problem. Instead of just memorizing facts, they have to think like designers or engineers. Walk students through the steps of planning and carrying out a design challenge with this graphic organizer. Created by Sylph Creatives.
Need some design challenge ideas? Check out the Design Squad from PBS Kids.
This life cycle graphic organizer can easily be adapted for any process that includes steps. Steps can be deleted or added as needed. Created by Canva Creative Studio.
Let’s learn multiplication
Help students learn math facts in a fun and engaging way with this graphic organizer. Can be adapted for addition, subtraction or division too! Created by Read More.
Help students learn how to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words with this simple graphic organizer. Created by Carlee Guzman.
Encourage students to learn vocabulary by pairing each word with its definition and a visual representation of the word. Drawing it out will help promoting deeper understanding and retention.
Created by Carlee Guzman.
This “Paragraph Writing” graphic organizer guides students through the process of constructing a well-structured paragraph by providing spaces for an introduction, three supporting details, and a conclusion. Created by The Classroom Publication.
Guide students through the process of structuring an informative essay by prompting them to define a research question, formulate a thesis statement, develop a supporting point, and provide corresponding evidence. Created by KMACKNTEACH ELA Resources.
This graphic organizer guides students through each section from the introduction and thesis statement to supporting claims, counterarguments, and a conclusion. Created by Canva Creative Studio.
Help students structure their research on a person by prompting them to fill in key information such as early life, accomplishments, and a famous quote, alongside a space for a picture. Created by Carla Paulo.
This pack of 11 different reading response graphic organizers provides a variety of tools to help students analyze and understand texts, covering key elements like story structure, central message, character traits, cause and effect, and author’s purpose. Created by Educate Creatively.
Search all of Canva’s graphic organizers
Check out all of the graphic organizers that Canva has to offer in their graphic organizer database. Watch the video below to learn how to design your own graphic organizers in Canva.
Question: What other graphic organizers would be useful to create? Can you share a link to a graphic organizer you’ve created so others can use it, too? Leave a comment below!
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