What is a graphic organizer primarily used for?

A graphic organizer is primarily utilized to help students organize and visually illustrate their ideas. This tool serves as a visual framework that allows learners to map out concepts, relationships, and structure within content they are studying, making it easier to understand complex information. By creating diagrams, charts, or other visual representations, students can see how various pieces of information connect, which enhances their comprehension and retention of the material.

The effectiveness of graphic organizers lies in their ability to transform abstract concepts into more tangible forms, enabling students to engage with the material actively. This visual approach caters to diverse learning styles, particularly benefiting visual learners, and supports critical thinking and problem-solving skills as students categorize and rearrange their thoughts.

In contrast, the other choices serve different educational purposes. Assessing student performance focuses on measuring learning outcomes rather than organizing thoughts, while providing feedback to teachers involves communicating student progress, not visualizing information. Standardizing curriculum refers to creating uniform educational standards and does not pertain to the individual organization of ideas.