What Are Skeleton Notes?

Skeleton notes are like the training wheels of notes. They provide students with starting points and important visual cues to prompt inclusion of important information while allowing for students to organize, arrange, and include information that will specifically support their learning. Put simply, they've partially completed notes. Some of the content is provided but not all of it.

Skeleton notes will look different depending on the content you're covering and what students need to know. Generally, they contain portions of important information leaving space for students to fill in the details as they see fit. The given portion may include a table with headings filled in and the rest blank, an unlabeled diagram, a partial formula, or a text header or prompt.

Why Use Skeleton Notes?

Skeleton notes can be a great way to ensure student notes cover all important concepts while providing them with the space to capture those concepts in a way that best suits their learning. They also require students to actively engage with the learning material. Instead of passively consuming fully prepared instructor notes, students have to put their own learning into the notes in a form that will be most useful to them.

Creating skeleton notes that allow for lots of ways to represent information, including visual representations like graphical organizers and sketches, can improve retention.