Bright, advanced or gifted and talented students learn to move from a thesis statement to develop an outline using various learning styles.

Note: This is the fourth in a series of five articles explaining Hands-On Process-Writing. Background on the technique can be found in the first article.

In this article, innovative brain-based ideas will be explored that can help bright, advanced or gifted and talented students gain some fresh perspectives by using higher-order thinking skills and abstract thinking on how to write in multiple styles and genres – including expository essays, narratives, creative, poetry, persuasive, literary analysis, cause and effect and many others.

In the previous article, the students were asked to count the lines between the Ideas to determine which Idea had the most lines attached to it, and then to call this Idea with the most lines attached to it the Important Idea. Following this determination by using their visual and kinesthetic learning styles students should list which remaining Ideas are directly connected or not removed by more than one other Idea to the Important Idea. From that list, rank order the Ideas that have the most lines attached to them on the page from greatest to least. Then, make a short list of the top three from that list. In other words, of the Ideas attached to the Important Idea or not off by more than one, which three have the most connections with the rest of the Ideas on the page?

Once again, if there is a tie, ask the student to decide quickly which ones seem more important. Now students will need to rank order the top three Ideas on the short list. Of these three, which ones are directly connected to the Important Idea? Rank-order these on top of the short list. Finally, of the directly connected Ideas on the short list decide which was drawn physically closest to the Important Idea.

Use this criterion to make your final ranking by putting the closest Idea on top of the short list. Write, “Item 1,” “Item 2,” and “Item 3” next to these Ideas on your short list.

Here is a recap of the steps:

-Count the lines between the Ideas

-If there is a tie, quickly decide which Idea seems more important.

-The Idea with the most lines attached to it becomes the Important Idea

-List which remaining Ideas are directly connected or not removed by more than one other Idea to the Important Idea

-On this list, rank order the Ideas that have the most lines attached to them from greatest to least

-Make a short list of the top three Ideas from that list

-Rank order the top three Ideas on the short list by: Which ones are directly connected to the Important Idea; and, of the directly connected Ideas on the short list, decide which was drawn physically closest to the Important Idea

Step Four: Webbing Success…

Instruct the student to prepare a new sheet of paper. In the middle of the paper draw a three-inch diameter circle. In the middle of the circle copy the Idea from the other page that had the most lines attached to it, the “Important” Idea. This term is now in the center of your web, and is called the “Hub.” (See below)

Draw three more circles around the center Hub at the 2:00, 6:00, and 10:00 positions and draw temporary lines from these circles to the Hub. Copy Items 1, 2, and 3 from the short list into these circles. Finally, draw the lines out from the Items 1, 2, and 3 circles in the same way they appeared in your previous drawing, and copy their attached Ideas from the previous page.

Note: students will eventually erase the three lines connected to the Hub – the lines are here now for the ease of perception.

In other words, add in all of the other Ideas to this new web using the same lines and circles that were connected in Step Three. Finally, erase the original three lines from the Hub to Items One, Two and Three.

While this method works in classrooms across the curriculum, gifted, advanced and talented students will learn the final steps in creating their custom-made thesis statements and discover how to fit everything together in an outline in the final article in the continuing series of Hands-On Process-Writing articles in Suite101.