Describe+Maps

 When using the describe map, students describe the characteristics, features, or attributes of the central idea. ||  || ==How to use a Describe Map ==  Ask students to describe the central topic (its parts, its appearance, etc). To improve the students' outcomes give them clues about the characteristics in the form of words (sentence starters or questions) or visuals. ||  || ==Why use a Describe Map? == To enable students to explain aspects of the topic in detail. The describe map is an important lead in to the classify and compare and contrast maps, because students must be able to describe one thing before they can group it or compare it to other things. ||  ||  A Year 1 description of a doll that belongs to  their teacher. The teacher gave the students  visuals to help them identify different  characteristics. Each student in the class  took a photo of the doll and used Kidpix to  label the dolls features. ||  ||
 * ==What is a Describe Map? ==
 * **Junior Syndicate - Student Exemplars** ||  || **Middle Syndicate - Student Exemplars** ||   || **Senior Syndicate - Student Exemplars ** ||   ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We are learning to describe a toy. ||  || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We are learning to describe a hero. ||   || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We are learning to describe space. ||   ||
 * [[image:doll_-_jade.png width="192" height="254" align="center"]]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> A Year 2 and 3 class are learning to describe the actions and qualities of a hero they know personally. This student used the words kind, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> caring, loving and good role models <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> to describe why her parents are heroes. ||  ||

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A Year 6 student's description of space. ||  || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The students also described an older doll. The <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> two dolls will be used to teach the Compare and Contrast map later in the unit. ||  || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students in the Middle Syndicate wrote cinquains to describe some of the dinosaurs they had been learning about. ||  ||   ||   ||
 * [[image:doll_-_stephanie.png width="187" height="265" align="center"]]
 * [[image:Junior_Describe.jpg width="255" height="191" align="center"]]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A Year 2 class used a Describe map to label the characteristics of a rugby ball. ||  || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Click here to see more examples of describe maps. ||  ||   ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Students in Year 2 used the describe map to describe meat eating dinosaurs. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">The Year 2 students then used the describe map to look at plant eating dinosaurs. The students now have the knowledge to compare meat eating and plant eating dinosaurs. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * [[image:Meat_Eaters.jpg width="320" height="240" align="center"]]
 * [[image:Plant_Eaters.jpg align="center"]]