Iceberg Diagrams

What Is an Iceberg Diagram?

The Iceberg Diagrams teaching strategy helps students gain awareness of the numerous underlying causes that give rise to an event. It’s often difficult for students to see these causes because they rest “beneath the surface.” The visual image of an iceberg helps students remember the importance of looking deeper than the surface in order to better understand events in the past or present. This strategy can be used as a way for students to organize their notes as they learn about a period in history, as a way to review material, or as an assessment tool.

How to Use Iceberg Diagrams

Step 1: Select an Event

Select an event that students are exploring in class. It can be an event from literature, history, or recent news. Students should already be familiar with this event.

Step 2: Introduce the Iceberg Visual

Ask students to list what they know about icebergs, or you can show them a picture of an iceberg. The main idea you want to establish is that what one sees above the water is only the tip of the iceberg; the larger foundation rests below the surface. Then ask students to draw an iceberg on a piece of paper or in their journals, making sure that there is a tip, a water line, and a larger area below the surface. Their drawings should be large enough so that students can take notes within the iceberg. Alternatively, you can distribute the iceberg template located in the handout section.

Step 3: The Tip of the Iceberg 

Ask students to list everything they know about the facts of a selected event in the “tip” area of the iceberg. Questions they should answer include: What happened? What choices were made in this situation? By whom? Who was affected? When did it happen? Where did it happen?

Step 4: Beneath the Surface  

Ask students to think about what caused this event. In the bottom part of the iceberg (under the water), they should write answers to the question, “What factors influenced the particular choices made by the individuals and groups involved in this event?” These factors might include events from the past (i.e., an election, an economic depression, a natural disaster, a war, an invention) or aspects of human behavior or nature such as fear, obedience to authority, conformity, or opportunism. This step is often best done in groups so that students can brainstorm ideas together.

Step 5: Debrief

Prompts you might use to guide journal writing and/or class discussion include:

• What did you learn from completing your iceberg?
• Of the causes listed in the bottom part of the iceberg, which one or two do you think are most significant? Why?
• What more would you need to know to better understand why this event took place?
• What could have been done, if anything, to prevent this event from happening?
• What have you learned about how to prevent similar events from happening in the future?
• How does the information in this iceberg help you better understand the world we live in today?