Concept Mapping in the classroom

We discussed concept mapping in our Teaching Science class and I decided to give it a whirl in my own classroom. I didn't use it for Science, but for Math. My students are getting confused with the words SUM(answer to addition problem), DIFFERENCE(answer to a subtraction problem), PRODUCT(answer to a multiplication problem), and QUOTIENT(answer to a division problem), so I decided to do a color coded concept map on the board to try and help them see what each word means and what it doesn't mean. We worked on it together as different students gave ideas about what each word means, what it doesn't mean, the symbols we use for each word, and key words in a word problem that tell us to do this operation. It was a great activity that I believe helped the students understand each word. After, students were correcting a test where many had missed a problem asking them to Estimate the product of two numbers. They were each able to successfully correct their mistakes. I am excited to use concept mapping more next year as we dive into many concepts in Math and Science.