So you taught it only yesterday, but today your students remember none of it! As a middle school social studies teacher, I’ve faced this challenge countless times. This year, while teaching 8th-graders, I turned to a research-backed strategy: concept mapping.

Concept mapping is a simple, powerful tool that supports knowledge retention, connection-making and the synthesis of information. Best of all, students can use it independently across subjects.

Concept mapping in action

While recently teaching about the Reconstruction Era, I needed a way to help students synthesize key concepts like the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, landmark Supreme Court cases like Plessy v. Ferguson and Loving v. Virginia, and vocabulary tied to the era’s successes and challenges.

For a warm-up activity, I asked students to draw a circle in their notebooks and write “Reconstruction Era” in the center. I instructed them to connect this big idea to everything they had learned about the topic so far and draw lines to connect these ideas to the big idea. As I walked around the room, I saw students linking terms like “interracial marriage,” “equal protection clause” and “segregation” to the big idea. This exercise quickly showed me where students stood in their understanding and retention.

Next, I created a concept map on the board. Five students contributed connections from their personal maps, which sparked a lively discussion. Students then compared their maps to the map created by the whole class and recorded additional connections on their own maps. In less than 10 minutes, we had reviewed major concepts, reinforced vocabulary through multiple exposures and built connections — all while students actively engaged with the material.

Why it works

Concept mapping encourages metacognition by prompting students to ask themselves, “What do I know about this topic?” It activates prior knowledge and helps build neural connections, linking new learning to what they’ve already learned. In my class, students often refer to earlier concept maps they created for related topics, such as the U.S. Civil War. These repeated exercises support retention, vocabulary acquisition and the construction of a cohesive historical narrative.

Using it in your classroom

A transitional device: Starting a new unit? Use a concept map to activate prior knowledge to connect ideas to the unit’s essential question.

Formative assessments: Use concept maps as exit tickets in which you ask students to connect three to five ideas from the day’s lesson to key concepts or prior learning.

Differentiation: Adjust the level of complexity and cognitive demand by requiring some students to include connections to vocabulary, while others might create more extensive maps with detailed claims and evidence.

Study aid: Concept maps make for great note-taking tools, especially if you ask students to continue to add to the same concept map throughout a unit of study. Students can use the map to study for a test or to review related concepts.

Cultural relevance: To foster deeper engagement with the content, encourage students to incorporate personal or community connections into their concept maps.

Since I started using concept mapping, I’ve seen remarkable growth in my students’ ability to recall, connect and express their learning. It’s a strategy that has transformed my classroom — and it might do the same for yours.

Jay Maqsood, a 2024 Big Apple Award fellow, teaches social studies at Corona Arts and Sciences Academy in Queens.