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Students will:
- Engage in collaborative discussions with peers
- Use basic questioning strategies
- Share ideas using grade-appropriate language
- Practice turn-taking in conversations

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Students will:
- Contribute meaningful responses in discussions
- Ask and answer questions to clarify understanding
- Build on others' ideas
- Express opinions with supporting evidence

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Students will:
- Engage in sustained dialogue on academic topics
- Support ideas with textual evidence
- Ask probing questions
- Build constructive discussions using academic language

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Students work in pairs to discuss a picture prompt. Partner A describes what they see, Partner B asks a question about it. Switch roles.

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Learn and discuss vocabulary through TPR (Total Physical Response) songs. Create a Padlet wall where students can record themselves singing and explaining new words.

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19 TPR Songs for your classroom + Bonus | Teaching English in China

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Students form inner and outer circles. Present a topic, students discuss with partner, rotate to new partner every 2 minutes.

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This discussion technique gives students the opportunity to respond to questions and/or discuss information with a variety of peers in a structured manner. Students form two concentric circles and exchange information with a partner until the teacher signals the outer circle to move in one direction, giving each student a new peer to talk to.

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Students listen to a digital story and use sentence frames to discuss in small groups. Create response videos to share on class Padlet.

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Supporting English Language Learners With Digital Storytelling

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Students prepare and engage in structured debates using academic language frames. Topics related to current events or literature.

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In order to get the best out of these topics, there are a few things you should consider before presenting them to your class.

English level

If you think debating in your native language is tough, try doing it in a foreign language. These debates have been specifically chosen for English language learners who are at least intermediate level to advanced. If you're looking for something to challenge your lower intermediate students, and want to give this a go, try coming up with a vocabulary list of words that would be helpful for your students to know in order to participate in the debate. Lacking vocabulary is the biggest sticking point when it comes to participation, or lack thereof, in ESL debates.

Subject

While making this list, I tried to think about topics that most students around the world have heard about and can offer his or her opinion on. However, this will not be the case for every topic. For your convenience, I have linked out to articles that discuss the issue, should you wish to introduce it to your students before they debate.

Structure

I have structured each of these questions to yield a yes/no answer. However, to make your debates more engaging, I'd suggest coming up with more detailed sides of the debate. Doing this will also help your students come up with more elaborate answers.

For example, if you have the question "Should terminally ill patients have a right to end their life?" you might want to pose two sides of the argument to your class. So one argument would be "Doctors should have the right to assist terminally ill patients in their death." The other side of the argument would be "People should die naturally, without interference or help."

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100 ESL Debate Topics That Will Get Your Students Fired Up - Teach English Abroad

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Get a list of modern-day topics guaranteed to spice up your lesson.

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Jigsaw activity where students become experts on a topic and teach others. Use collaborative note-taking strategies.

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Duration: 20-30 minutes Type: Partners/Small Groups
What You Will Need for the Jigsaw Teaching Strategy

1. Concept or Text That Can Be Broken Up Into Sections

2. Clear Instructions for Independent Group Work

3. Sentence Stems for Guiding Responses

Overview of the Jigsaw Teaching Strategy

In this activity, you split up a concept or text into different sections. Students split up into small groups. Each group tackles a particular section of the concept or text. After becoming 'experts' on the content their group was assigned, the groups all reorganize into new groups where each group has at least one 'expert' on each section of the concept or text. The 'experts' take turns teaching everyone else in the group on their particular section. The students consolidate the information from each expert into a whole picture, much like putting together the different pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Jigsaw Teaching Strategy

1. Split up a concept or a text into different meaningful parts. The number of parts is flexible, but this activity works particularly well when the number of parts equals the number of groups you can create with your students.

2. Split the students up into groups.

3. I always recommend smaller groups of 2-3 if possible since it requires each student to participate more and fewer students are sitting around waiting.

4. Assign each group a part from your concept or text.

5. The group reads, studies, discusses their part as needed to become 'experts' on that section.

6. It's particularly helpful to have students take notes, define key words, draw illustrations, etc.

7. The members of each group should practice explaining their part of the concept or text with the other members of their group to make sure they can explain it clearly using any notes, definitions or illustrations they've created.

8. Sentence stems are a helpful tool to guide students in a well-formed academic response.

9. After all of the members of a group have become 'experts,' the groups all separate and reorganize in such a way that each group has at least one 'expert' on each section or part of the concept or text you're working on.

10. The new members of each group take turns going around explaining their part or section of the concept or text to the other members of the group using sentence stems, notes, definitions, and illustrations.

11. Each member takes notes and consolidates the information into a whole picture of the concept or text, much like putting together the different pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

12. After completing this process, students can then complete a writing assignment on the concept or text incorporating all of the information they've learned.

Benefits of the Jigsaw Teaching Strategy

This is a great way to break up long difficult texts for English learners. They get some great reading practice but aren't required to read the entire passage in order to get an understanding of all the content.

This activity requires all students to practice their academic speaking.

This works as an informal assessment of your students' abilities since you can easily walk around the room and check-in to see how each student is getting along and whether more or fewer scaffolds are needed.

The student-centered nature of the activity means students are more motivated and engaged and more students are proactively involved at the same time rather than sitting around waiting.

Teaching is an incredible way for students to learn and better retain new information and sharpen their critical thinking and communication skills.

Have you tried this activity? How did it go? Leave your comments below!

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Amazing ELL Teaching Strategy - Jigsaw Method | Kid-Inspired Classroom

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The Jigsaw Method is an awesome strategy to get more done in less time when helping English learners access grade-level content.

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- Observation checklist for participation
- Picture-based speaking rubric
- Simple self-assessment using emoji faces
- Recording of partner conversations

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- Discussion rubric
- Peer feedback forms
- Written reflection responses
- Academic vocabulary usage tracker

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- Academic discussion rubric
- Self-evaluation of participation
- Written argument assessment
- Recorded presentation analysis

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Draw and share: Students draw their favorite part of the discussion and share with a partner

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3-2-1 Exit Ticket:
3 things learned
2 questions you still have
1 thing you want to practice more

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Digital reflection: Post a short video or written reflection on class Padlet answering: 'How did today's discussion help you understand the topic better?'

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Practice conversation with family member using picture cards provided. Draw and label what you talked about.

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Browse conversation cards for esl resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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Interview a family member about the discussion topic. Record key points using provided graphic organizer.

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Prepare evidence-based responses for next class discussion. Create a mind map of main points and supporting details.

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The Best Free Mind Mapping Software

Here's a shortlist of the best free mind mapping software:

Mind mapping for projects isn't about pictures and drawings, it's about visualizing your ideas and building them out into tangible outputs and solutions. When used properly, a mind map will help you identify the scope of a project, its limitations, resources required, and even potential bottlenecks. This is a big part of bringing your team together during the planning phase of a project and creating alignment for your path forward.

Using a free mind mapping software helps your team get on the same page and plan their projects - without breaking the bank. Find my top picks reviewed and outlined in this article!

What is free mind mapping software?

Mind mapping software is a program with tools that facilitate the creation of mind maps on a digital and usually collaborative workspace. It's used by project managers and various types of teams to brainstorm ideas and outline concepts and workflows. Many mind mapping software is available for free with a free plan or trial.

Overview Of The 10 Best Free Mind Mapping Software

Read detailed descriptions of each tool, including what makes them great. Feel free to read how I picked the tools on this list at any time.

The 10 Best Free Mind Mapping Software Comparison Chart

Here is a table where you can find all the tools we just covered in the overviews.

Other Options

Here are a few more that didn't make the top list but are worth your consideration.

How I picked the best free mind mapping software

To decide which tools to feature in this list, I evaluated and compared the details for a number of popular mind mapping tools. I weighed a variety of key factors and functions that I describe below.

Key Features

Here are the top features I looked for in the free mind mapping apps I tested:

1. A mind map maker: This could be a whiteboard or a drag-and-drop interface with various lines, nodes, fonts, and other graphic elements to build your mind map.

2. Storage and access: Most tools allow you to export your mind maps as a PDF or PNG files, or to a cloud storage solution like dropbox or Google Drive.

3. Collaboration features: Tools that facilitate real-time collaboration and help team members run brainstorming sessions, like note-taking.

4. Presentation mode: Ideally, these platforms will allow you to present your online mind map either on a web-based video platform or to an in-person audience.

5. Extras: Many tools offer apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Some also have handy features like keyboard shortcuts.

Usability

Since this is a collaboration tool that's based on visual elements, like multimedia objects, it needs to be intuitive and user-friendly. Having a simple user interface where every element to build the mind map is easy to find is important for its use and overall user experience.

Templates

Since the mind map is not a common deliverable for our client, we need to get through it as fast as possible, and that's where templates come into play. I looked at the available templates, the option of creating your own, or even sharing with the community. Many software has ready-made flowcharts, concept maps, and even org charts and Gantt charts.

Security

The information that we put into these maps can sometimes be sensitive. Therefore, I looked into the security features that the software has to keep private diagrams secure and protect user data. I will disclose if the security features are available in the free plans or if they are exclusive to higher-tier options.

Integrations

Most of the software have cross-platform integrations to connect with popular task management and project management software. Many also connect with communication tools like Slack or social media messengers. I've also noted whether a software is open-source or has plugins or an API you can use to build custom integrations with.

Pricing

Of course, all of the software on this list can be used for free - whether that's through a completely free plan or with a free trial. But I've also included pricing information for each platform's paid plans so you know what to expect for an upgrade. Paid plans might include extra features like unlimited mind maps, unlimited users, or extra cloud storage capacity.

Free Mind Mapping Software FAQs

I've answered some common questions about mind mapping and the online tools that you can use for it.

Mind mapping is a way to visually represent concepts. It's a tool that you can use for project planning, brainstorming ideas, or taking a central idea and expanding on it. It's a practice that started in Aristotle's times, but it was popularized by Tony Buzan in the 70s as a brainstorming tool.

There are different mind mapping techniques for different use cases. These can be useful for brainstorming, task mapping, or running a gap or SWOT analysis.

There are many benefits to mind mapping, especially for project managers. Among these are:

Effective problem solving

Increased productivity

Improved communication skills

Greater information recall

Enhanced learning and creativity

Complex idea simplification

Improved presentations

Improved critical thinking

Yes! Microsoft has software that, just like Microsoft Project, is a classic and known by most project managers. This software is called Microsoft Visio and can be purchased as an online solution based on a monthly subscription or a perpetual license.

Most of the tools on this list have a free version where you can make at least one mind map for free. However, if you do not want to download software or register for a free trial, you can try using the diagramming tools on Google Slides and Powerpoint.

What's Next?

If you have never engaged in mind mapping before, read our guide on how to do a mind map and the purpose of mind mapping. You can also read how mind mapping supercharges project management. Finally, if you are a member of our community, you can download this template!
Related tool lists:
Speaking of project management... if you want to stay updated with the latest and greatest content, workshops, and PM reflections, subscribe to the Insider Membership Newsletter. New content in your inbox every week!

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10 Best Free Mind Mapping Software In 2023

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Discover the best free mind mapping software, how they compare to paid solutions, their features, integrations, and more.