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How I Teach Writing & the Beauty of Flee Maps!

December 29, 2014 By fancyfreein4th

This year we only get 2 weeks off for Winter Break…I know, I know! I should be happy that I get an entire t-w-o weeks off but I am used to three weeks off! I feel like this year’s break has been stacked with activity after activity- and while I am enjoying these activities… I would love a second to just BE STILL! Today we had a wonderful day just being a family of four and hanging out! It. was. lovely.

While the kiddos napped I was able to post a product that one of my loyal TpT patrons asked me to create.  Our district uses Thinking Maps and I incorporate them into every subject that I teach. I especially enjoy using them in writing.  We always start out with a circle map which defines our topic in context and allows them to get all of the ideas out of their head and onto the paper.

 I often have the students brainstorm on their own, then share 1 or 2 of their ideas with their elbow buddy and finally I crate a class circle map to create a massive list of ideas- which is especially helpful for hesitant writers.

After they are done brainstorming and have a good grasp on the writing prompt at hand and which genre we are focusing on we move onto the Beautiful Flee Map!  A Flee Map is a hybrid of a Tree Map, which classifies and groups things, and a Flow Map, which sequences and orders events.

This is what it looks like and what goes in each box.  It can be used for a 3 or 5 paragraph assignment.  The students do not need to write in complete sentence on this.  Bullet points and notes are fine. This serves as a map or plan that organizes all of their ideas and the things that they must cover in each section before they compose their first draft.

This map is a completely blank one but my students still need a lot of guidance as they organize their ideas.  To help them focus and include everything they need to I have create thought starters for the various genres that we cover over the school year.
Included
in this set are
11 mind maps:
-1
circle map- good for any prewriting activity- whole group or individual
-2
cause effect maps: flow map and Flee Map
-1
persuasive writing Flee Map
-2
Character Trait Analysis Maps- 1 tree and 1 flee map

-2
Theme Analysis Flee maps-
For 3 themes
or for 1 Theme
-1
Compare & Contrast Flee Map
-1
Narrative Writing Flee Map
-1
Blank Flee map with no support for the student, great for assessment purposes to see if they can do it on their own after the sheltered approach.  

I use Flee maps for all writing, even in content writing and research reports.  It is a cohesive way that they are comfortable with and they feel supported with the structure and format.

You can grab this *on sale now*, at my TpT store!  Find it here and check my Facebook Page for a giveaway!

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Filed Under: flee map, genre writing, graphic organizers, thinking maps, Uncategorized, writing 2 Comments

Comments

  1. Brandi says

    December 30, 2014 at 3:05 am

    I love using Flee maps for writing!

    Brandi
    Swinging for Success

    Reply
  2. Ali says

    December 30, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    I'm sold! Buying it now. I've been using flee maps for years, but I really like how you set this up! Nicely done, Layla. : )

    Ali
    Teaching Powered by Caffeine

    Reply

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