When we assist students in planning a project or outlining a piece of writing, it becomes apparent pretty fast that what works for some doesn’t work for others. That’s partly why we sometimes hear groans from our students when we require a traditional outline for a project. As adults, we understand the importance of planning, or pre-writing. We know that strategic planning is an essential skill that falls under our Self-Direction capacity. But our students sometimes prefer to “wing it” and just dive right in.

Some of you may have explored alternatives to outlining that suit a variety of learning needs, like concept or mind mapping software Kidspiration or its adult counterpart, Inspiration. But this software can be expensive and too much to manage. I’ve recently been exploring a web-based mind mapping tool called Lucidchart that integrates really nicely with Google Drive and requires zero setup or management. A mind map is a type of graphic organizer that is a creative and logical way to map out one’s ideas, whether it’s for a writing project for school, to flesh out a business plan, or to plan a unit of study for your students. It’s essentially an outline that incorporates the way our brains think into its own structure. You can learn more about why mind mapping is such an effective strategy from its supposed inventor, Tony Buzan, here. Check out the video below to see how you and your students can get started with Lucidchart in Google Drive. For step-by-step instructions, go here.