25 Days of Classrooms: Sketchnoting in 6th!

This month I am sharing stories from

classrooms in Berwyn South District 100.

Day 19: Sketchnoting with Ms. Caprorola (6th at Heritage)

 

   I got an invite to visit Ms. Caprarola’s class on their first day of sketchnoting!  We had just come back from the Illinois Reading Council Conference where I had presented on sketchnoting, so she knew I’d like to see it in action.  :)

     Cap was reading Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (James Patterson) which is a lovely book that incorporates a visual narrator of sorts in addition to the usual main character narrator.  Because of that, this book makes the perfect book to use to show students that pictures carry important ideas, too.

 

     When I came in, they were all sketchnoting from the first few chapters.  I saw some students using their iPads to teach themselves a new font (which is an idea I'll have to try in the future!).  One student hadn’t been there the day before, so Cap was conferring with him using Google slides.  I happened to catch her on my favorite one: IDEAS not art!

      This book actually helps clear up an important question that people often ask about the difference between visualizing and sketchnoting.  Is there a difference?  In my opinion, yes!  Visualizing is the act of illustrating ideas from the book, and so is sketchnoting.  However, in this book one of the characters, Leo, illustrates LOTS of events and ideas as they happen.  To me, a sketchnote does not try to capture everything in images.  It is meant to synthesize important ideas from the book, or important ideas that you have as the readers.  Visualizing can capture anything and everything that you hear/read in the book.  Sketchnoting is visual thinking about key ideas and understandings.

     Are students sketching as they read?  That might be visualizing, rather than sketchnoting.

     Are students sketching after they read, and deciding on a few key ideas to add?  That might be sketchnoting, rather than visualizing.

     Can they do a bit of both?  You bet.

     How did I come to that analysis between sketchnoting and visualizing?  I read the book, of course.  I asked Cap to borrow a copy of the novel.  It is GOOD.  Check it out!

     Thanks, Ms. Caprarola!  I did not get a picture of their final sketchnotes, so I apologize that I can't share any.  I'm sure they were great!