# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CNx6FCFljL5
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20303859-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/89d3fe7668.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-04-17T20:03:55.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

Sketchnoting—a simple, visual way to take notes by drawing things like facts, dates, or abstract concepts—pushes students to actively process and make sense of what they’re learning, writes Nimah Gobir for KQED. It’s a powerful way to keep kids’ attention and help them organize and retain information.⁣
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A few considerations if you’re interesting in trying visual note-taking with your class:⁣
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• Try a Warm-Up: Some students will struggle with the idea of visual note-taking. Try a fun exercise like scribbling for the duration of a song to get them engaged and feeling comfortable, suggests artist and educator Todd Berman. ⁣
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• Develop a Symbolic Language: Educator Wendi Pillar recommends identifying 10 key words or concepts from your learning materials and working as a group to develop a visual library of shorthand symbols or characters. Kids will develop their own as they get more comfortable with the practice.⁣
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• Model It: Pillar likes to demonstrate for students on a whiteboard or paper. “As we take the notes together, I will ask students, ‘How would you represent it?’ And they’ll shout out ideas like, ‘You could draw this or this!’ And sometimes I tell them ‘I can’t draw that! You want to come on up here and show [the class]?’” Pillar tells Gobir.⁣
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• Rethink the Page: Encourage students to play freely with spacing, vary text sizes, and add symbols anywhere on the page “to create a hierarchy of information that might be harder to capture in linear text,” suggests Gobir. ⁣
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• Keep it Low-Fidelity: Emphasize that visual note-taking doesn’t require accomplished artistry—there is no right or wrong, it’s simply a tool for understanding connections between topics, themes, and ideas. ⁣

• Skip Grading: Sketchnoting, diagrams, freehand drawing, mind-mapping, and similar techniques are ways to get thoughts on paper, not practices meant to demonstrate student mastery. Provide feedback rather than grades. ⁣
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Link in bio.⁣

#ArtsIntegration #StudentEngagement #StudentVoice #TeachingStrategies #MiddleSchoolTeacher #HighSchoolTeacher #TeacherTip

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## Tags

teachingstrategies, middleschoolteacher, studentvoice, studentengagement, highschoolteacher, artsintegration, teachertip

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