Free Printable Brace, Bridge, Circle and Flow Map Templates

About these brace, bridge, circle and flow maps handouts

These four pages are general-purpose map layouts, each suited to a different kind of thinking. The brace map divides a whole into its parts and the parts into smaller parts. The bridge map helps students find an analogy by naming the relationship between two things and applying it to more pairs. The circle map puts a topic in the center and gathers what students know around it. The flow map lists stages in order with the smaller steps inside each stage.

The brace map has a whole-object box on the left and three parts, each with three sub-part lines. The bridge map has a relating factor line, four pairs with a bridge between them and the word as to read the analogy. The circle map has a topic circle in the middle, a larger ring for ideas and a dashed outer frame that prompts students to think about where their ideas come from. The flow map has four stage boxes with arrows and a substep column under each one.

Brace maps fit anatomy, geography and parts of a book; bridge maps fit vocabulary and analogies; circle maps fit pre-reading brainstorming; flow maps fit processes and events. These are generic layouts. They are not affiliated with any branded thinking-map program.

How to use them

1. Pick the map that matches your thinking: parts, analogy, brainstorm or stages.
2. Type the topic in the Subject box for the brace and circle maps, then print.
3. For the brace map, write the whole object, then its parts, then the smaller parts.
4. For the bridge map, write the relating factor first, then complete each pair.
5. For the flow map, number the stages and write the substeps under each.

Classroom tips

• Use the circle map before reading to check what students already know, then revisit it after.
• On the bridge map, ask students to read each pair aloud as an analogy.
• Use the brace map for the parts of a plant, a sentence or a government.
• Let students draw small pictures inside the circle map ring.

Notes on this page

• These are generic map layouts. They are not affiliated with any branded thinking-map program.

Last reviewed 2026-10-03. Handout Hero designs are original and made for this site. They are general reference material; check your own school, district or tradition where it matters.