Outline or bubble map? Which is better?

Adults can have strong feelings about the best way to teach kids to write. A surprising number of us wax poetic for hours about the joy of sentence diagramming, while an equal number are driven to drink by the memory. Some adults believe outlines are the only way to organize thoughts in the pre-writing stage, but others are fine with outlining or bubble maps. (And a shocking number don’t make a habit of organizing their thoughts before they write.) Why? Well, writing instruction has never been standardized in the United States the way that reading, math, science, and history often are—largely because we don’t have a strong shared understanding of what writing is and why it’s valuable.

June Writers sees writing as your brain and heart on paper. We learn the mechanics of writing conventions and the physical stamina to operate a pencil or type on a keyboard in order to create a dialogue with our own minds and the world around us. We take in content, mine and organize our thoughts, put it on paper, and then further reflect on and question what’s on the paper to help us refine what we think and feel. Ideally, we write and read enough that the practice becomes an ongoing, iterative process that strengthens our brains in general and understanding of a given subject in particular, as well as the world around us. Writing binds us just a little closer together as humans.

So, what does the research say about the best way to teach kids to write? Well, not much, unfortunately. The Institute of Education Sciences runs the What Works Clearinghouse, which is the leading U.S. source for the evaluation of research on education strategies. Here’s what they say.

The reality is that there isn’t much research for the IES to evaluate compared to many other academic subjects, and so their recommendations are very broad. Again, this paucity of research is probably impacted by the lack of consensus about what writing is and what we should expect from younger children. Is it only mechanics? Mechanics and a certain level of evidence of complex thought? If the latter, do we have ways to standardize evaluation for young kids the way that testing companies have done for high schoolers (and is that system a good model)? Writing can be complex and subtle, and a well-written essay can just as easily communicate a rich thought—or not.

So, outlines or bubble charts?

In Level 2 of our program, June Writers teaches kids to create bubble webs as part of the pre-writing process leading up to their first paragraphs. We do this not because we believe that bubble webs (we call them webs instead of charts because of the emphasis on the idea connections) are better than outlines when it comes to organizing thoughts in the pre-writing stage, but because it’s a tool for helping kids develop the habit of thinking deeply as part of their writing process. Consider these two versions of the same student paragraph, both mechanically sound:

Version 1

Robots are the greatest invention of all time for three reasons. First, they look really cool and are fun to build. This is why I built one over spring break last year. Second, robots don’t expect me to make conversation. I like that they say beep and boop. Finally, robots can make tight wheelies on a dime. Sometimes I use my robot at dinner to ignore my family. For these reasons, robots are the greatest invention of all time.

This paragraph is the kind of text that most kids learn to write at school, with varying degrees of finesse. There is an argument sentence, three supporting claims, and two pieces of supporting details. The child who wrote this paragraph thought one layer deep: Robots are the greatest invention of all time —> my three reasons.

Now consider this second version of the same paragraph, also student work.

Version 2

Robots are the greatest invention of all time. Everyone knows robots look really cool and are fun to build. I built a robot by myself over spring break last year, and when I brought it in for the science fair last week, even the mean kids at school told me they thought it looked cool. That made me feel better, though the conversation got kind of awkward at that point; I never know what to say to those kids. Robots, at least, don’t expect me to make conversation. We can just chill together and be all beep boop, crash. I love how my robot moves on the floor and can do tight wheelies on a dime. Sometimes during dinner, I sneak my robot into the hall behind where my parents are sitting and use the joystick in my pocket to watch it dance instead of listening to my parents and sister fight. Last night my parents wanted to talk to me about puberty, and you can be sure I was happy to have my robot on hand. How did kids live without robots? They’re the greatest invention of all time for avoiding people while still looking cool.

When you ask kids what the difference is between these two paragraphs, they’ll first observe that the second one is longer. Then someone will point out that there are also more supporting details in the second text. But it’s the rare kid who points out that the second version of the paragraph also explains the connections among the various supporting details and claims. The author went another layer deep: Robots are the greatest invention of all time —> my three reasons —> how these claims and facts are related to each other and build on each other (the author is uncomfortable talking to other people and robots give them options for handling this concern). Note that the last difference between these two paragraphs is that one relies heavily on connection words and phrases to make it a coherent paragraph, and the other doesn’t. This last point matters because kids who are only taught how to write like the first version of this paragraph are far more likely to struggle to scale up to longer-form texts or adapt to other writing situations. Connecting words and phrases mask the lack of comfort with the intellectual (and, sometimes, emotional) work of writing.

June Writers teaches bubble webs in Level 2 to help kids get used to taking that extra step deeper into their brains and write paragraphs similar to Version 2. We want them to develop the mental habit of multi-layered analysis, even for ordinary texts. Outlines are great for organizing already well-considered ideas, and we expect most kids to transition to using them instead of bubble webs once they’re used to looking for that extra layer (or two!) of connections in their pre-writing process, however brief. But for now, we use bubble webs because it’s visually easier to show whether or not kids have made any connections.

So, outlines or bubble charts? Both. We’re not here for the fight. We’re here for teaching kids how to write with the full power of their brain.