Purpose
Using Semantic Maps or Clustering techniques help students to connect information to a proposed topic. This helps students to categorize information in relation to the topic as well activate prior knowledge about a subject. This provides the opportunity for students to visualize presented informaiton and enables them to make their own connections based on what is known about the topic.
Procedures
To complete a Semantic Map, the teacher would first need to present students with a topic or key word that will be the focus of the graphic organizer. The students would then think of words, ideas, and pertinent information that relates back to the central topic, which would then be written around the circled word and connected via lines and arrows to show the relationships of the terms. The information can be organized by category or level of detail in the information given.
Example
The example provided below depicts a Semantic Map that could be used in a linguistics lesson focusing. In this particular linguistic examination, all of the information provided relates back to the central theme, syntax.
References: Central High School, 2012; McLaughlin, 2010; Teacher's Blog, 2009