Mind maps are now a common tool in education: you may have used them yourself at school. But if not, you could work through this unit yourself or with your child to find out about them.

Mind maps are a way of organising information and ideas in a graphical way. The idea is to 'free-up' your thoughts and put them down in the order in which they occur, and to look for links as you go along. Mind maps can be used to plan a project or an essay, or they can be used as part of revision to check what you know.

Mind maps can be particularly helpful to children who are dyslexic and to those who 'think visually'.

You can help your child by asking them to show you how to make a mind map. If they are stuck for a topic, think of some questions to ask them where they can explore ideas, for example, what jobs they might want to do when they are older, what the advantages and disadvantages of each one are, and what qualifications they might need for each one.