Overview

A concept-mapping activity where students map all the deeper meanings in a text — phrased as questions, statements, or themes and values — with supporting evidence from the text at the outermost level. Best suited for the end of a unit after significant reading, the map encourages students to articulate not just what they see in the text but why they have made that judgement, building from meaning to sub-meaning to textual evidence.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Students write the text title in the centre of the page.
2. Branching out, students identify the key themes, values, or deeper meanings they have found in the text.
3. For each theme or meaning, students add sub-branches with more specific interpretations or related ideas.
4. At the outermost level, students add supporting evidence: key quotes, page references, or specific examples from the text.
5. Students draw links between related meanings across different branches.
6. Share maps and discuss: What meanings did others find that you missed?

Tips

• This is a consolidation activity — students need significant prior engagement with the text to do it well.
• Encourage students to phrase meanings as claims or arguments, not just single-word topics.
• The linking step is where the deepest thinking occurs — push students to explain their links.

More Inferring Activities