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According to the research of the famous psychologist Vygotsky， to evaluate children’s intelligence development， two developing levels should be considered， namely present level and potential level， and there is an area between these two levels， which is called “The Zone of Proximal Development”. To help students get a higher level， teachers are supposed to provide students with some scaffolding. As for teaching English reading in senior high school， teachers can assist students in reading by using a mind map as scaffolding. Therefore， this article mainly focuses on the function of the mind map used as scaffolding to develop senior high school students’ reading skill.
1. The Analysis of the Present situation of High School English learning
According to the key competency of English course for senior high school students， the main focus of English teaching should be placed on improving students’ language ability， thinking quality and cultural awareness. When it comes to thinking quality， it mainly includes agility， smartness， creativity， criticalness and profundity.
In terms of language ability， reading is of great importance. However， it is also a big headache for many senior school students. While reading， the students may meet two obvious obstacles， namely the length of the passage and some difficult words， phrases and sentences. Whenever they are faced with a long passage， they are more likely to give up reading halfway. To help students better understand the text and have a deep impression of what they have learned， some scaffolding can be set up.
2. The Definition of a Mind Map
“Mind map”， first created by Tony Buzan， is a new thinking mode. It builds the relationship between the vivid pictures and every concept. Although it is simply a visible picture （map）， it is regarded as an entire thinking tool， which can be used in all walks of life， especially memorizing， creating， learning and all kinds of thinking. To be specific， a mind map can be used in learning by helping students keep notes， review the lessons， and understand some reading materials and so on.
3. The Benefits of Using a Mind Map
3.1 The Research Method
3.1.1 Case Study Method
To demonstrate the benefits of using a mind map， one typical lesson is chosen. （Reading， Unit 2 Robots， New Senior English for China， Students’ Book 7， People’s Educational Press， 2014） This lesson is quite long， and it’ not easy for the students to find out the main clue of the text. Therefore， a mind map is necessary. 3.1.2 Comparative Experiment Method
Let students understand the above lesson by using their own way at first， and then create a mind map to help students understand and remember the text easily. At last， compare the levels the students have reached， and try to find out whether the mind map can work as the scaffolding or not.
3.1.3 Questionnaire Method
To better understand the students’ reading level and their knowledge of a mind map， a questionnaire is made. The survey mainly focuses on the following
1. The Analysis of the Present situation of High School English learning
According to the key competency of English course for senior high school students， the main focus of English teaching should be placed on improving students’ language ability， thinking quality and cultural awareness. When it comes to thinking quality， it mainly includes agility， smartness， creativity， criticalness and profundity.
In terms of language ability， reading is of great importance. However， it is also a big headache for many senior school students. While reading， the students may meet two obvious obstacles， namely the length of the passage and some difficult words， phrases and sentences. Whenever they are faced with a long passage， they are more likely to give up reading halfway. To help students better understand the text and have a deep impression of what they have learned， some scaffolding can be set up.
2. The Definition of a Mind Map
“Mind map”， first created by Tony Buzan， is a new thinking mode. It builds the relationship between the vivid pictures and every concept. Although it is simply a visible picture （map）， it is regarded as an entire thinking tool， which can be used in all walks of life， especially memorizing， creating， learning and all kinds of thinking. To be specific， a mind map can be used in learning by helping students keep notes， review the lessons， and understand some reading materials and so on.
3. The Benefits of Using a Mind Map
3.1 The Research Method
3.1.1 Case Study Method
To demonstrate the benefits of using a mind map， one typical lesson is chosen. （Reading， Unit 2 Robots， New Senior English for China， Students’ Book 7， People’s Educational Press， 2014） This lesson is quite long， and it’ not easy for the students to find out the main clue of the text. Therefore， a mind map is necessary. 3.1.2 Comparative Experiment Method
Let students understand the above lesson by using their own way at first， and then create a mind map to help students understand and remember the text easily. At last， compare the levels the students have reached， and try to find out whether the mind map can work as the scaffolding or not.
3.1.3 Questionnaire Method
To better understand the students’ reading level and their knowledge of a mind map， a questionnaire is made. The survey mainly focuses on the following