Sticky Note Summaries for Integrating Writing Into Content Areas

Are you looking for more ways to integrate writing into your content areas? Look no further than sticky note summaries! This strategy allows students to narrow down their summaries from a lot to a concise and precise summary.

This strategy is great for reviewing what students have learned after a unit or as a way to find out what students know before getting started on a unit.

Sticky Note Summaries Materials

For this strategy, you will need three different sized sticky notes, one of each size for each student. Each student will also need a writing utensil.

Index card sized or half page sized sticky notes
Regular sized sticky notes
Small page marker sized sticky notes

Sticky Note Summaries Process

Each student is given one sticky note of each size
You give a topic
You give think time
Starting with the largest sticky note students write down everything they know about the topic trying their best to fill up their large sticky note
Students share what they wrote on their large sticky note
Moving to the regular sized sticky note students write as much as they can fit, in normal sized handwriting, about the topic again editing what they feel they no longer need from the largest sticky note
Students share what they wrote on their regular sticky note
Finally, students write their best summary of the topic on the smallest sticky note being sure to include all important information
Students share their summaries

Tips for Sticky Note Summaries

I like to tell students that their final summary should include everything someone needs to know about a topic without adding so many details that it gets confusing.

Modeling using regularly sized handwriting across all three sticky notes using a different topic is helpful in showing students the expectations ahead of time.

For more ways to integrate writing into content areas check out this post.