Another reason it is so useful is that it helps you organise your thoughts.

You are going to use a piece of text from the McDonald’s website to help you learn how to create a mind map. You may well have come across the text before. • In this lesson, you are going to learn: • why mind mapping is a useful tool; • and the methods by which you mind map.

Your brain remembers and stores images and colours much better than it remembers and stores words. Just to prove it, name the companies/brands/ religions/countries/organisations who you would associate with the images below:

Advertising companies, religions and all manner of organisations have understood the power of using colours and images for years. Those are the things that stick in your mind. So, if you want to memorise things, mind mapping is an exceptionally useful tool.

Another reason it is so useful is that it helps you organise your thoughts. On the following slide is a graphic showing the Scotland squad from the World Cup Qualifiers in 2012. It has been organised in terms of the position the players play in. What other ways could it be organised?

IN WHAT OTHER WAYS COULD THE INFORMATION BELOW BE ORGANISED? Leagues they play in? Shirt numbers? How good they are? Teams they play for? Anything else?

So, if you needed to re-order your information a normal set of notes could be messy. But wait…

On the next slide is a mind map all about Shakespeare's life. The wonderful thing about it is that it contains so much information in such a small space. It is also is well organised and easy to read, as it uses images and colours effectively. Your teacher will show you the mind map for a very short amount of time. How much information can you remember from the mind map in that short time?

How many facts can you remember about Shakespeare from the mind map? Write down as many facts as you can remember. If you are struggling, try recalling colours or images – that may well help. So, do you think that organising ideas in a mind map might be helpful? Is the information easier to access?

So, how do you go about producing a Mind Map?

A mind map is a bit like a tree: it contains branches and twigs. Your subject goes in the centre of the mind map, the branches come off that and the twigs off those branches. Each branch contains an aspect of the topic you are researching. Meat Eaters Very fond of fish Food Can be poisoned by chocolate. Cats

Click on the image below to watch a short video which explains how that works.

So, you can use a mind map to group different pieces of information together. Think carefully about what your branches should be and then the twigs should be easy to develop. You can also add more branches at any point you like, with “mucking up” your notes. Below is a link to a video showing the beginnings of a mind map on the history of punk music, based on some research on Wikipedia and Google, which might further help you understand the process of mind-mapping.

Task: Now it’s your turn. Using the McDonald’s leaflet/article you looked at last week, you are going to produce a mind map with the key bits of information from it. You will later use this information to write a report on the subject of McDonald’s food. The branches have been completed for you, all you have to do is fill in the twigs. Once you have completed this task, your teacher will give you a new article and a blank piece of paper. You are to create a mind map noting the main pieces of information from the new article, which may contain very different views on McDonald's. How many branches will you use on your mind map? Is it possible to use the same topic headings for those branches as your previous mind map?

The Keys to Successful Mind Mapping: • Branches • Twigs • Colours • Images • Care and attention

Another reason it is so useful is that it helps you organise your thoughts.