Monica Olloren
Professor Ayala
SED 464
23 November 2014
Marzano Strategy: Venn Diagram
From Kindgarten to adulthood, people have used Venn diagrams to classify and organize sets of data. Although mathematician John Venn popularized the use of Venn diagrams in the early 19 th century, historians note that Venn diagrams have been employed towards the works of men present since the 13 th century (Eliza 2013). Venn diagrams were originally used for the world of math, but over time have evolved into one of the most important teaching tools in the classroom.
Venn diagrams are graphic organizers used to compare and contrast two different ideas or concepts in various fields of study. They are usually represented as “overlapping circles that show shared and dissimilar properties of two or more categories” (Russell
2013). In English, Venn diagrams can be used to compare two literary characters. In Math they can help classify which numbers are whole numbers, integers, or both. In Science, they can assist students in differentiating between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In Social
Studies, they can help students compare and contrast different types of government. Venn diagrams assist students in organizing the multitude of information they are given into a medium they can comprehend. In doing so, they learn to identify, analyze, and evaluate –higher forms of thinking.
Venn-Diagrams are fantastic tools because they can be scaffolded to fit the student’s learning style and level. All grade levels have utilized Venn diagrams because they give students the freedom to manipulate the Venn diagram based on how they want to sort and classify the given information. They can add an additional circle to compare, color code the

circles, or create them through numerous platforms whether it be online or on paper. Most importantly, they lead students to higher levels of thinking. Once students have completed the diagram, they can start inferring why these sets of data are similar and/or different, which forces students to analyze and evaluate the information – two important skills that students must obtain. The great thing about a Venn diagrams is that it effortlessly and unconsciously lead students to critical thinking, which means students are more likely to retain the information. Venn diagrams yield a 45 percentile gain, which is more than any other Marzano teaching strategy ( Marzano 2011). However, Venn diagrams only “work best when we have the students completing them, not when the teachers are doing it for them”(Jones 2012). Teachers should introduce the purpose and proper usage of the Venn diagram as an instructional tool, but are recommended to not instruct students what they should write in the Venn diagram. Simply, teachers must allow students to label the Venn diagram by what they deem relevant and important because the Venn diagram should help students organize THEIR thoughts, not the teacher’s thoughts.

Works Cited
Eliza (January 17, 2013). A history of the Venn diagram. Lucidchart. https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/2013/01/17/a-history-of-the-venn-diagram/
Jones, Raymond (August 26,2012). Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Venn Diagrams.
Readingquest:MakingSenseInSocialStudies.http://www.readingquest.org/strat/ven n.html
Marzano, Rober (2001). Marzano’s (Nine) High-Yield Instructional Strategies.
PalmBeachSchools. http://www.palmbeachschools.org/qa/documents/Handout5-
MarzanoHighYieldStrategies.pdf
Russel. K (May 2, 2013). Using Venn diagrams as a Teaching Tool. EducationSpace360. http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/using-venn-diagrams-as-ateaching-tool-413/