Unlocking Creativity: Using Heart Maps for Generative Writing in Secondary Classrooms
Generative writing is a powerful tool in K-12 education, fostering creativity and self-expression among students. One engaging method to stimulate this creativity is through heart maps, originally developed by Georgia Heard. These visual and reflective exercises help students explore their emotions, experiences, and relationships, ultimately enhancing their writing fluency and confidence. Here’s how you can implement heart maps in any secondary classroom in any content area.
What Are Heart Maps?
Heart maps are visual representations of what matters most to students. They allow learners to express their inner thoughts and feelings through a combination of images and words. The process encourages students to reflect on various aspects of their lives, making it an excellent springboard for generative writing.
Why Use Heart Maps?
Encourages Self-Reflection: Heart maps prompt students to delve deep into their emotions and experiences, fostering a better understanding of themselves.
Builds Fluency and Confidence: By focusing on personal topics, students feel more invested in their writing, which can lead to increased fluency and confidence in their skills.
Stimulates Idea Generation: Heart maps serve as a rich resource for ideas that students can draw upon for essays, stories, and other writing projects.
Awakening the Heart, Second Edition: Teaching Poetry K-8
A best-selling and beloved teaching resource, Awakening the Heart inspired thousands of teachers to learn the power of infusing poetry into the everyday life of their classrooms rather than relegating it to one month out of the year.
In this fresh new edition, Georgia Heard offers updated strategies, lessons, mentor texts, and examples from both professional and student writers that resonate with today’s kids. An impactful complement to any SEL program, Awakening the Heart's lessons and exercises empower students to connect with their emotions, identities, and the world around them.
Awakening the Heart, Second Edition provides practical strategies for:
creating an inclusive and supportive poetry environment
helping students read poetry to understand its meaning
helping students get started writing poetry with accessible prompts
teaching poetry, craft tools, and techniques.
An entire section of the book is dedicated to poetry prompts, lessons, and exercises you can incorporate into short writing sessions, even when poetry isn’t a main focus of your curriculum.
“We need poetry now more than ever," Georgia writes. "It is the doorway into literacy for so many children and a pathway to knowing how we feel, learning about who we are, and connecting with others and the larger world."
Heart Maps: Helping Students Create and Craft Authentic Writing
How do we get students to “ache with caring” about their writing instead of mechanically stringing words together? We spend a lot of time teaching the craft of writing but we also need to devote time to helping students write with purpose and meaning. For decades, Georgia Heard has guided students into more authentic writing experiences by using heart maps to explore what we all hold inside: feelings, passions, vulnerabilities, and wonderings. In Heart Maps, Georgia shares 20 unique, multi-genre heart maps to help your students write from the heart, such as the First Time Heart Map, Family Quilt Heart Map, and People I Admire Heart Map. You’ll also find extensive support for using heart maps, including:
tips for getting started with heart maps
writing ideas to jumpstart student writing in multiple genres from heart maps
suggested mentor texts to provide additional inspiration
“For twenty years I’ve been a tour guide of sorts for heart-mapping writers,” says Georgia. “All you need is paper, pen, an open heart and a willingness to explore what matters to you.” It is this freedom, this idea of discovery, that makes heart-mapping so inviting; students find they have a lot to write about both beloved and newly discovered topics.
Filled with full-color student heart maps, examples of the resulting writing, along with online access to 20 different uniquely designed reproducible heart map templates, Heart Maps will be a practical tool for awakening new writing possibilities and engaging and motivating your students’ writing throughout the year.
What Do Heart Maps Look Like in All Subject Areas?
English Language Arts (ELA): Character Analysis Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map from the perspective of a character in a novel, short story, or play they are studying.
Directions:
Draw a large heart in the center of a blank page.
In the middle of the heart, write the character’s name.
In each section of the heart, write down important things the character cares about (family, friends, beliefs, desires, goals).
Add specific quotes or examples from the text that support each item in the heart.
Use the heart map as a prewriting tool to compose an essay or response that explores the character’s motivations and development throughout the story.
Social Studies: Historical Figure Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map based on a historical figure they are studying (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, or Julius Caesar).
Directions:
Draw a large heart in the center of a blank page.
Write the name of the historical figure in the center.
Around the heart, write key events or experiences from the person’s life that influenced their decisions and actions.
Fill in each section of the heart with their passions, values, relationships, and challenges they faced.
Use this heart map as a prewriting tool for an essay or presentation about how these factors shaped their contributions to history.
Science: Scientist Discovery Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map for a scientist, focusing on the discovery or invention that shaped their legacy (e.g., Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, or Nikola Tesla).
Directions:
Draw a heart in the center of the page and write the name of the scientist in the middle.
Surround the name with the scientist’s key discoveries, motivations for their work, and how their personal life influenced their research.
Add details about the social, ethical, or environmental impacts of their discoveries.
Use this heart map to brainstorm ideas for a report, presentation, or project on the scientist’s life and work.
Mathematics: Personal Connection to Math Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map to explore their relationship with math and how they encounter math in everyday life.
Directions:
Draw a large heart on the page and write "Math" in the center.
Around the heart, write down different ways they encounter math in daily activities (e.g., shopping, cooking, sports, technology).
In each section of the heart, list positive and challenging experiences with math, along with favorite or difficult math concepts.
Use the heart map to write a personal reflection essay on their relationship with math and how it applies to real-world contexts.
Art: Inspiration Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map to capture what inspires them artistically and creatively.
Directions:
Draw a heart in the center of a page and write "My Inspiration" in the middle.
Around the heart, list artistic influences, favorite styles, themes, colors, or objects that inspire their artwork.
Fill in the heart with specific details about how these inspirations shape their creative process (e.g., emotions, nature, artists they admire).
Use the heart map to write an artist statement or to plan a future art project.
Health & Wellness: Wellness Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map to explore aspects of wellness that are important to them, including physical, mental, and emotional health.
Directions:
Draw a large heart and write “My Wellness” in the center.
Divide the heart into sections representing different dimensions of wellness: physical health, emotional well-being, mental health, relationships, and self-care.
In each section, students list activities, people, or practices that contribute to their well-being (e.g., playing sports, journaling, spending time with family).
Use the heart map as a basis for writing a personal wellness plan or reflection on self-care strategies.
Foreign Language: Cultural Heart Map
Example: Students studying a foreign language create a heart map centered around a country or culture they are learning about.
Directions:
Draw a heart and write the name of the country or culture in the center.
In the sections of the heart, students add cultural elements like foods, holidays, traditions, important figures, music, and art from that country.
Encourage students to include any personal connections they have to the culture or language, such as family heritage or travel experiences.
Use the heart map to generate ideas for a cultural project or presentation in the foreign language being studied.
Physical Education: Sports Passion Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map around a sport or physical activity they love, exploring the reasons it is meaningful to them.
Directions:
Draw a large heart and write the name of the sport in the center (e.g., basketball, swimming, dance).
In the sections of the heart, students list reasons why they love the sport, challenges they’ve faced, their goals, and memorable moments.
Include any skills or values learned through the sport, such as teamwork, perseverance, or discipline.
Use the heart map as a foundation for writing a personal narrative or reflection on the impact of sports in their lives.
Music: Music Journey Heart Map
Example: Students create a heart map about their personal journey with music, whether as listeners, performers, or composers.
Directions:
Draw a heart and write "My Music Journey" in the center.
Around the heart, include favorite genres, artists, instruments played, and experiences in music (performances, concerts, or learning moments).
In each section, explore how music impacts their emotions, creativity, and identity.
Use the heart map as a starting point for writing a personal reflection or composing an original piece inspired by their musical experiences.
How to Create Heart Maps in Your Classroom
Step 1: Introduce the Concept
Start by explaining what heart maps are and their purpose. Share examples of heart maps (either your own or from other students) to illustrate how personal and diverse these maps can be.
Step 2: Distribute Materials
Provide students with large sheets of paper, colored pencils, markers, and other art supplies. Encourage them to think visually and be creative in their representation. You can also use this graphic organizer layout.
Step 3: Guide Them with Questions
Present students with heart map prompts to help them explore their thoughts. Here are some guiding questions you can use:
What has affected your heart?
Who has been important to you or whom do you care deeply about?
What are some unforgettable experiences or central events?
What emotional memories do you have—happy, sad, or anything in between?
What secrets have you kept in your heart?
What small things or objects hold significance for you—like a tree in your backyard, a trophy, or a stuffed animal?
Step 4: Create the Heart Map
Encourage students to draw a large heart in the center of their paper. Inside the heart, they should write or draw responses to the prompts, representing significant people, memories, and feelings. They can also include smaller hearts around the main one for different emotions or experiences.
Step 5: Explore Layout Options
Encourage students to think about their layout:
Inside vs. Outside: Discuss the significance of what goes inside and outside the heart. What do they choose to keep private, and what do they want to share?
Multiple Hearts: Suggest drawing more than one heart to represent various aspects of their lives (e.g., happy vs. sad experiences).
Center and Edges: Ask them to consider what’s at the center of their heart and what’s around the edges—this can symbolize the most important people or experiences versus those that are peripheral.
Color Coding: Discuss using different colors to represent various emotions, events, or relationships.
Step 6: Reflection and Sharing
After completing their heart maps, invite students to reflect on the process. What did they learn about themselves? How did it feel to express their emotions visually? If comfortable, allow students to share their heart maps with the class or in small groups. This sharing can lead to meaningful discussions and deeper connections among classmates.
Step 7: Use Heart Maps for Writing
Finally, encourage students to use their heart maps as inspiration for generative writing exercises. They can choose a specific area of their heart map to explore in a narrative, poem, or personal essay, using the emotions and experiences they've represented to fuel their writing.
Heart maps are an effective and engaging way to foster generative writing in secondary classrooms. By allowing students to explore their innermost thoughts and feelings, you’ll not only enhance their writing skills but also create a safe space for self-expression and connection.
Embrace the power of heart maps, and watch your students flourish as confident and creative writers!
