Imagine your students actively making connections, debating ideas, and visually mapping relationships between key concepts. The Hexagonal Mapping Protocol offers a flexible, engaging way for students to organize their thinking and discover new relationships between ideas. Whether used for inquiry-based learning, unit review, or problem-solving, hexagonal mapping deepens discussion, reinforces connections, and encourages critical thinking.
What is Hexagonal Thinking and Mapping?
Hexagonal thinking and mapping allows students to organize concepts into a flexible, interconnected web by arranging hexagon-shaped cards. In the mapping activity, each card represents an idea, and students must determine how different concepts relate to one another, creating a visual network of connections. This process encourages higher-order thinking, as students must justify their reasoning for each connection.
How to Use the Hexagonal Mapping Protocol in Your Classroom
Follow these steps to effectively implement hexagonal mapping in your classroom.
Step 1: Set the Ground Rules
Before diving into mapping, set clear expectations:
Each hexagon must connect to at least one other hexagon.
A hexagon can connect to up to six others.
Students must be able to explain every connection they make.
There is more than one correct way to form connections.
Pro Tip: Encourage students to challenge their initial connections. If they can explain why a card could fit better elsewhere, let them adjust their map!
Step 2: Organize and Introduce the Hexagonal Cards
Begin with a small set of topic-specific hexagon cards.
Introduce these cards gradually, allowing students to start forming basic connections.
Guide students to consider different types of relationships, such as cause and effect, sequencing, or conceptual links.
Pro Tip: If time allows, let students create their own hexagon cards to represent missing ideas or unexpected connections.
Step 3: Facilitate Small Group Mapping
Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a set of hexagon cards.
Students work collaboratively to arrange and rearrange the hexagons, debating which connections make the most sense.
Groups explain their reasoning aloud, reinforcing their understanding.
Pro Tip: Use sentence stems like “We connected these two ideas because…” or “We debated this connection because…” to promote meaningful discussion.
Step 4: Introduce Layered Mapping
As the inquiry progresses, students repeat the mapping process with additional layers of complexity:
Round 1: Students arrange an initial set of hexagons to introduce foundational ideas.
Round 2: They add new hexagon cards, challenging their original thinking.
Round 3: Students merge maps from different groups to form larger, whole-class connections.
Pro Tip: Photograph each group’s map at the end of each round to create a Hexagonal Maps Inquiry Wall—a growing visual record of evolving ideas!
Step 5: Discuss and Reflect
After finalizing their maps, groups present and justify their connections to the class.
Encourage students to compare maps, discussing similarities and differences.
Wrap up with a whole-class reflection: How did your connections change over time? What surprised you? What new insights did you gain?
Pro Tip: Give students sticky notes to write questions or alternative connections on other groups’ maps, sparking even deeper discussion.
Why Use Hexagonal Mapping?
Hexagonal Mapping transforms learning into an interactive, student-driven process by:
Promoting critical thinking through justified connections.
Encouraging multiple perspectives and open-ended discussion.
Helping students visualize relationships between key concepts.
Creating a flexible structure for organizing complex information.
By incorporating hexagonal thinking into your classroom, you’re not just engaging students—you’re empowering them to think flexibly, make meaning, and see learning as a dynamic process. Try it out and watch your students’ understanding grow one hexagon at a time!
About inquirED
inquirED was founded by teachers with the mission of bringing inquiry-based social studies to every classroom. Inquiry Journeys, inquirED’s elementary social studies curriculum, is used in schools and districts across the country to help students develop deep social studies content knowledge and build the inquiry skills that are essential for a thriving democracy.
Subscribe to receive email updates from inquirED