Thinking Routines / Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate
Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate
Concept mapping done properly. Empty their heads onto the board first, then group it, then join it up — because the sorting is where the thinking actually happens.
Opens on the whiteboard to model with the class · no sign-up · printing is optional
The sheet it prints — optional
What is the Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate thinking routine?
Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate is a concept mapping routine in four moves. A class generates every idea it can about a topic, sorts them by how central they are, connects the ones that relate, and then elaborates on the most important connection.
How do you run Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate with a class?
Take words fast and without filtering for three minutes. Then stop and sort: which of these are at the heart of the topic and which are details? Join the related ones, saying the relationship out loud. Finish by taking one connection apart properly.
Why not just make a mind map?
A mind map records what a class already thinks. This routine makes them rearrange it. The sort and connect steps force decisions about importance and relationship that a mind map lets you avoid, which is why the same words produce a better lesson.
Do not let them write on the connecting lines until they have said the relationship out loud, or you get thirty lines all labelled 'linked'. I ask for a verb — causes, prevents, needs, follows — and refuse the line until somebody produces one. It slows the lesson down and it is the only reason the map ends up meaning anything. Year 5 upwards can do this unaided; below that I scribe the verbs myself.
Which subjects does concept mapping suit?
Any topic with enough parts that the relationships matter.
- Geography — rivers, settlements, climate, trade.
- Science — food chains, the water cycle, forces in a system.
- History — causes and consequences of one event.
- Revision — a whole unit, mapped from memory before a test.
What usually goes wrong with concept mapping?
Lines with nothing written on them. A class will happily join twenty pairs of ideas and label every line 'linked', which records nothing. Ask for a verb — causes, prevents, needs, follows — and refuse the connection until somebody supplies one.
Which year groups is Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate for?
Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate suits Year 4 upwards, grade 3 in the US. Younger children can generate and sort but find the connect step abstract. With Years 2 and 3, stop after sorting and ask which group has the most in it and why.
What do you do with it afterwards?
Keep the map and rebuild it from memory at the end of the topic. Comparing the two versions shows the class how their sense of what is central shifted, which is far more interesting than being told they have learned something. The labelled lines are also strong revision material.
How often should you use concept mapping?
Twice per topic — once near the start and once at the end, from memory. Any more and the sorting stops being a decision. It is a twenty-five minute activity, so plan it as the lesson rather than trying to squeeze it into a starter.
How many ideas should the class generate?
Thirty or so, in about three minutes. Fewer than twenty and the sorting step has nothing to work with; many more and the board becomes unreadable. Speed matters more than quality here — the filtering is supposed to happen in the sort, not while they are thinking.
| Year group | US grade | What to change | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 4–5 | Grades 3–4 | Generate and sort only. Scribe the groups. | 15 min |
| Year 6 | Grade 5 | All four. Insist on a verb on every line. | 25 min |
| Year 7 and up | Grade 6+ | Independent maps, then compare which ideas ended up central. | 30 min |
Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate compared with Think, Puzzle, Explore
Both open a topic. Think, Puzzle, Explore produces questions; this one produces structure. Use Think, Puzzle, Explore when you want a class curious, and this one when you want them to see how the parts of a topic hang together.
Free · no sign-up to run it · printing is optional
Where this routine comes from: the Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate thinking routine was developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sage Teachers is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Project Zero. The prompts and the wording on this page are our own.