A tree diagram organizes items into groups.

Key features

• Main heading: names the whole group under which everything belongs

• Group headings: name the groups that separate the items

• Items: the things to be sorted into groups

• Connecting lines: show how groups and items are related

Tree diagram

In a tree diagram information is sorted into groups and subgroups. This helps us to see where details belong in a sequence of groups, where some groups fit inside others. For example the group "poodles" would fit inside the group "dogs" which in turn would fit inside the group "animals."

Why use tree diagrams in the classroom?

• To understand visually the science concept of classification.
• To plan an information report, which organizes information by looking at how it can be arranged in groups. More about this here.
• To investigate social studies topics such as families and family trees.

Other diagrams to compare with this one:

• Flow chart
• Word wheel

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