Lotus Diagram

What is it?

The lotus diagram is an analytical, organizational tool for breaking broad topics into components, which can be prioritized for implementation.

What does it look like?

Katie’s hair	My sister’s Car	Apple
Our math Book	Things that are Red	Our teacher’s sweater
Our barn	Bobbi’s shoes	Susie’s back pack

When it is used?

The lotus diagram can be used when the topic is:

1. Complex or has many details to be learned.

2. Needs to be organized visually to help students organize thought or develop themes.

How is it made?

1. Determine the topic to be studied and state it clearly.

2. Using either brainstorming, affinity diagram, or multi-voting, narrow, and priortize the major topics.

3. Write the main topic in the center of the rectangle of the lotus diagram.

4. Place each of the eight sub-topics in the rectangles surrounding the center rectangle.

5. Transfer each of the sub-topics to its corresponding numbered rectangle and brainstorm more subtopics or applications.

Applications

Use the lotus for outlining writing projects.

Use the lotus for shape recognition, either in kindergarten where children cut pictures from magazines or at upper levels for learning more about polygons.

Use the lotus for learning about the different regions of the United States of America. Each region is broken into general categories: history, geography, climate, industry, people, or population.