Sketchnotes in Geometry

Paul Murray sketch of Geogebra presentation

At MACUL 2017 this year fellow presenter Paul Murray came to my session on Geogebra and did a sketchnote. When he tweeted it to me, I was hooked. I saw the hour presentation unfold on this single page. Any specifics he would be able to find at the bit.ly and he took the big ideas down.


After Paul's and Keith's session on sketchnotes, I knew I needed to try this, not only with my professional notes but I knew that I needed to try it with students. Oh, I also went out and bought the book. I NEVER go and buy the book. Ever. (Full disclosure: While the book is good, this presentation has a lot of what you'll need to get going). I also obsessed over what to write on and what to write with--I was already a pen/pencil and paper junkie. I just went with a notebook I already had and smooth rolling ball point. Sketchnote army is also a great place to get some ideas.






I wanted to use this idea of taking notes with my students. I thought that it was fun and personal and more importantly, if done well, would be a record that one would be willing to go back to. I started using sketchnotes at staff meetings, when lesson planning, pretty much anywhere I needed to get ideas to paper.

Two weeks ago, I tried it out with my Geometry students. Before starting the unit on Area, I gave the students some examples of sketchnotes, using the book, I talked about several ways they could think about organizing their notes, They didn't need to take notes in a linear way, but I would understand if that's how it made it onto your paper. I encouraged (but didn't require) color. I encouraged (but didn't require) different font size and orientation. I showed examples of how empty space could be used to great effect. I also emphasized that what they do should be comfortable for them. I wanted them to experiment, but also end up with something that is useful for them.

I also informed them of what the 4 main areas would be this unit. The day before the test, I went through examples from each class so they could get more idea for the next unit.

In the future, I need to give them more ideas for images, I need to help them see what is (and isn't) important to write down. Taking notes is also a skill that we all need to practice and be conscious about how we present.

Here are  some of the results.