60-Second Strategy: Read-Aloud Quick Sketch
By encouraging students to sketch visual notes during a read-aloud, teachers can turn doodles into deeper learning—and help boost retention and comprehension.
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Go to My Saved Content.At Beaumonde Heights Junior Middle School, in Etobicoke, Ontario, English language arts teacher Chey Cheney uses a creative and practical sketchnote activity he calls “read-aloud quick sketch” that enhances reading comprehension and long-term retention by integrating visual note-taking with listening. Rooted in the belief that reading and read-alouds (even for secondary students!) are foundational to learning, this method offers a dynamic way for students to engage with texts—without requiring every reading experience to be followed by formal written responses.
As teachers continually seek meaningful ways for students to interact with and reflect on texts, sketchnotes provide an accessible, student-centered approach. The activity begins with a consistent setup: Students write the author’s name and title in the center of the page, and then place a starting point in the top left and a finishing point in the bottom right. A winding road connects the two, symbolizing the journey through the text.
Students then doodle their understanding as the teacher reads aloud, using keywords (in stars), important quotes (in thought bubbles), and simple images that relate to events or themes. These quick sketches serve as cognitive anchors. The use of symbols, images, colors, arrows, and layout makes the learning visible and memorable. The act of sketching while listening activates different areas of the brain, helping to encode the information into long-term memory. Even weeks later, students may not recall the passage verbatim, but their sketchnote will cue vivid memories of the content.
This strategy also validates and honors sketching as a legitimate form of response, helping students express comprehension in ways that feel authentic and creative. As they gain confidence, students can evolve beyond the structure and personalize their notes.
Having students do sketchnotes during read-alouds is a fresh, effective, and engaging way for students to respond to text— and a powerful tool that blends literacy, creativity, and memory-building into a single experience.
To learn more about the many ways drawing can be a valuable tool for learning, and to see the research behind why it works, check out Youki Terada’s article for Edutopia titled “The Science of Drawing and Memory.”