While outlines work well for some students, others don’t find them useful. For today’s kids, who have grown up with TV and videos, a storyboard may be a great way to get ideas on paper; this method was first used in filmmaking.

• Start by drawing a number of squares on a blank piece of paper.
• Next, have your child write down the ideas he wants to include in his paper on sticky notes. Use one sticky note for each idea. For many visual learners, it also helps to draw a picture. The sketch should illustrate the idea.
• Once he has his ideas down on notes, he can start to arrange them. Which idea needs to go first? What comes next? As he makes those choices, have him arrange the sticky notes in order in the squares on the paper.

The storyboard makes it easy to see where there are gaps that need to be filled in. If your child thinks of a new idea, it’s easy to put it where it belongs. Or, if he decides that he needs to rearrange the ideas in the paper, he can move the notes around.

When he has things laid out in a way that makes sense, he can start to write. The storyboard will give a clear picture of how to write the essay.

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