Disorganized Boys
In the New York Times article, “Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success,” the paper addressed the growing educational achievement gap between boys and girls. However, these days it is the girls who are having more success in school. The major premise of the article is that the lack of organizational skills may be holding boys back.
The article quotes Judith Kleinfeld, a psychology professor at the University of Alaska as saying, “The guys just don’t seem to develop the skills that involve organization as early.” The article then goes on to explain how certain $100 per hour tutors are getting these boys organized.
But before you go out and spend $100 per hour on an organization tutor, here are a few links to help you understand the organization of information, as well as how to get your students organized:
1. The Six Traits of Writing: Ideas and Organization
2. How to Get Students Organized: The Student Notebook System
3. Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay
Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay develops organizational skills that both students and teachers can use across the curriculum. It creates a way of thinking about how we organize information. In a sense, it has the skill of outlining built into the program.
Teaching Students How We Organize Information
We spend a great deal of time teaching students how others have organized information. We do this because it helps them learn the information. Put simply, we help students see how the parts create the whole. Here are a few ways that we do this:
• We preview the structure of chapters, sections, books, etc.
• We skim and scan to get an overview.
• We review chapters so that students can see the parts and the whole.
• We connect the current information to what came before and what will come next.
• We create outlines.
• We create timelines.
• We create webs and mind maps.
• We create assignments related to the headings in chapters.
In all of these activities, a main purpose is to help students understand how the information they are learning is organized. Understanding how the information is organized helps students retain the information. In short, it helps students create a filing system in their minds.
With Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay, instead of teaching students how others have organized information, we teach students how to organize their own information. And we do so quickly, easily, and effectively. The result is that learning information and writing about that information becomes two sides of the same coin—finally!
The Organization of Information Across the Curriculum
Much of what we teach and learn across the curriculum deals with the organization of information. Have you ever thought about how much of our school day involves classifying and categorizing information? I’m sure it could be argued that at least half the day involves dealing with the organization of information. Admittedly, we often don’t think of it as having to do with the organization of information; however, if teachers take a closer look and think about it a little differently, they may be surprised.
When we think about how the information we are teaching has been organized, we can better teach that information in an organized manner. This improves our students’ learning of that information.
Of course, there is more to learning than learning how information is organized. In fact, we should place a premium on using information for problem-solving, as well as for learning how to make connections and develop critical thinking skills. Guess what? The organization of information helps in all three of these areas. We organize information so that we can use that information. Organization brings control. Unorganized information is not easy to use. Unorganized information is a lot like trivia. It’s interesting, just not purposeful.
Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay teaches students how to write well-organized essays and reports quickly and easily. However, it is more than a writing program. It teaches students how to organize information using a number of breakthrough patterns.
