Sketchnoting: My First Attempt

Have you ever tried Sketchnoting? I highly suggest it as a way to write about your reading or learning.

I tuned into Shawna Coppola and Tanny McGregor’s presentation, Sketchnoting for Engagement and Deeper Comprehension, during #TheEdCollab’s Fall Gathering. I have seen people Sketchnoting at conferences and was interested in trying. Given my complete lack of artistic ability, I was hesitant. Shawna and Tanny reassured us it wasn’t about ‘art’ and convinced the audience to just start with the basics:

• fonts
• color
• maps
• arrows
• frames
• bullets
• word pictures

Okay, I thought, I know how to do all that stuff. So when I attended the 49th Annual IRC Conference the following weekend, I decided to give it a go. Here are some of my Sketchnotes from the sessions I attended.

I am obviously not a Sketchnoting pro yet, but, boy, did I have fun. I was so engaged during each of the presentations as I considered how to capture the information, and I remember nearly everything I wrote down!

My next steps are to grab some thicker tipped markers in order to vary the size of my lines, to learn to create some different fonts, and to turn my paper so my notes aren’t so linear.

Sketchnoting is a great way to write about reading. It is perfect for both read-alouds and independent reading. I had kids try it during a read-aloud a couple of years ago, and you can read about it here.

For more information on Sketchnoting, I highly recommend:

• Shawna and Tanny’s #TheEdCollabGathering presentation.
• Tanny McGregor so generously shares her Sketchnotes on her website if you are looking for a mentor.
• I also recommend The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rhode.