I’ve been exploring ways teachers can use digital learning placemats to structure critical thinking, and wanted to share an idea that may spark inspiration, especially for those using Freeform on iPad.
This example is a Science Notice & Wonder placemat created in Freeform. The placemat was created by the teacher and shared with students through Freeform. Students added sticky notes to capture observations, questions, and emerging ideas. While learning placemats are traditionally done on paper, shifting them to iPad introduces new layers of flexibility and engagement.
Why Try Learning Placemats on iPad?
✨ Zooming & Infinite Canvas: Freeform gives students space to zoom, pan, and expand their thinking without being confined to a single sheet of paper. This helps them organize ideas, cluster patterns, and revisit earlier thinking with ease.
✨ Markup with Apple Pencil: Students can annotate images, circle evidence, draw diagrams, or draft models, bringing a hands-on feel to digital work.
✨ Flexible Sticky Notes: Digital sticky notes can be resized, color-coded, duplicated, and moved around. This makes it simple for students to visually sort and categorize their thinking.
✨ Multimedia Integration: Images from experiments, short videos, voice recordings, diagrams—students can pull all of these into the placemat to support deeper analysis and reflection.
✨ Real-Time Collaboration: Shared Freeform boards mean groups can work together live. Teachers can monitor progress, nudge thinking, or highlight strong examples instantly.
When Might Teachers Use This Strategy?
🔍 Inquiry & Phenomena-Based Learning: Placemats help students slow down and explore what they notice before forming explanations, great for anchoring science units or analyzing primary sources.
🎯 Critical Thinking Routines: Whether it’s Notice/Wonder, Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, See-Think-Wonder, or problem-solving processes, placemats provide structure that supports deeper reasoning.
📚 Text, Image, or Data Analysis: ELA, science, math, and social studies teachers can use placemats to help students break down complex texts, graphs, images, or scenarios.
Learning placemats are a simple strategy, but iPad and Freeform give them new life as interactive, multimodal thinking tools. If you’re looking for ways to make student thinking more visible and more flexible. Try creating a digital learning placemat for to intro your next unit to get students curious and asking questions!
📣Would love to hear how others are using Freeform or placemats to support critical thinking!
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