A flow chart is a visual text that shows a series of steps in a sequence.

Key features

• Arrows show the order in which to read the text.

• Labels name things (the rain, the lake) or processes (rain falls, lake fills).

• Chains arrange items in a single line

• Forks split one chain into two or more chains

• Loops are used to repeat some or all of the steps

Linear flow chart (or chain)

Linear flow charts arrange items in one line, forming a "chain." Arrows indicate the order in which to read the text.

Forked flow chart

Forked flow charts include at least one fork that splits one sequence into two or more sequences. In this example the fork shows that more than one event is caused by the rain.

Cyclical flow chart (or loop)

Cyclical flow charts (or loops) have all items arranged in an endless loop, showing that the sequence may be repeated. Any of its events can be seen as a starting point.

Flow charts

In a flow chart items are organized in a sequence. Flow charts have different uses:

• They may be a chain of cause and effect, explaining a process.
• They may organize past events in a time sequence, recounting what happened.
• They may show a series of steps, forming instructions.
• They may be a sequence of reasons, forming an argument.

Many flow charts are combinations of chains, forks, and loops.

Why use flow charts in the classroom?

• To plan an explanation, a procedure (instructions), a recount (such as a news story), a narrative, or an argument. (More about visual planning can be found here.)
• To summarize an explanation, a procedure, a recount, a narrative, or an argument. (More about visual summaries can be found here.)
• Examples of topics that suit flow charts include the water cycle, life cycles, how products are made, where a certain food comes from, preparation for a debate, how machines work, and so on. Flow charts are in fact one of the most useful and adaptable visual texts in the classroom.

Other visual texts to compare with this one:

The following two visual texts are often confused with flow charts:

• Tree diagram Uses arrows (or lines) to organize facts in groups and subgroups. (An example is a family tree.)
• Web diagram Uses arrows to link participants showing how they are connected. (An example is a food web.)

Tree and web diagrams are "fixed" and show relationships, whereas flow charts show something "moving" through a system.

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