Doodle Notes in ELA : How To Guide

Truth, I LOVE DOODLE NOTES! As a 6th grade teacher, I saw a serious disconnect regarding note-taking. I had a few engaged students and eagerly taking notes (you know the ones I’m talking about.) But the others were gone, lost. 

I realized I needed something to keep student’s attention and engage them in the material. While at the same time, they have something they could refer back to. I finally stumbled on Doodle Notes. 

In this post, you’ll learn all about Doodle Notes. And how to incorporate them into your English classroom. 

If you want to get started with a free set of Doodle Notes, check out this FREE parts of speech lesson.

What are they, exactly?

Doodle Notes are a unique visual note taking method with built-in features that increase focus and memory by taking advantage of a collection of brain research, including Dual Coding Theory.

I try to include them into just about anything that I am introducing to my middle schoolers. This is because 6th graders LOVE them, and it help them retain the information they are learning.

In addition, Doodle Notes are one of the best grammar resources I use in my classroom. You can learn more about Doodle Notes and the brain benefits here.

How to Include Doodle Notes in the English Classroom

The great thing about Doodle Notes is that you can use them for anything! For example, I use them to introduce concepts, review standards, remediation, early finishers, and free time coloring pages! 

My favorite way to use Doodle Notes in the English classroom is to introduce a new standard. When I pass out a new page, my students know we are typically discussing a new topic. And they are excited! Yep, my middle school students are excited to learn. 

They love everything about them. They love the designs, enjoy coloring and any extra built-in activity, and look forward to it. So I have student buy-in from the beginning when I use them with my students. Aside from the brain benefits and the retention of information, that student engagement is a huge benefit.

How to Implement

Okay, so we just talked about all of the different ways you can include doodle notes into the English classroom, but how do you implement them? What do you do with them?

In my classroom, notes are pretty much all completed as a whole group assignment, and the students follow along with me using a fill-in-the-blank set. The AWESOME part is, I create different versions, so all of my students have something that fits their learning needs. 

About 15% of my students receive a blank version; it has all the graphics but no fill in the blank. They are free to write the notes as they feel necessary.

Another 15% of the students receive a coloring page version. These are the students who can’t keep up with the notes. All of the notes are complete for them. These students are really going to benefit from the visual coding, so I am 100% okay if they are coloring while listening to the lesson.

The remaining 70% of the students will use the fill in the blank notes. They keep up with me as I present the lesson, doodle, color, and fill in the information as the lesson progresses.  

You can see that doodle notes are beneficial to the English Classroom. And can get your students SERIOUSLY interested in the material that you are presenting to them.