How to annotate lesson plans

Annotating lesson plans allows teachers to:

• emphasize content on the Lesson Plan cards
• model work for students
• make notes on what students have shared
• have students come to a SMART/Promethean board to share their thinking

Using the tools

Navigate to the Lesson Plan that you want to annotate and click "Annotate" in the lesson toolbar. 

Notice all the annotation tools that appear on the left side of the Lesson Plan cards.

Using the Draw tool

Click the Draw tool. You can create free-form annotations using this tool.

• If you are using a mouse, left-click where you want to draw and hold the left button down until you are done drawing.
• If you are using a SMART pen, draw as you normally would.
• To draw using straight lines, hold the Shift key while you are drawing.

Using the Highlight tool

Click the Highlight tool. You can use this tool in the Lesson Plan card to highlight freely.

• If you are using a mouse, left-click where you want to highlight and hold the left button down until you are done.
• If you are using a SMART pen, highlight as you normally would.
• If you want to highlight using straight lines, hold the Shift key while you are highlighting.

Using the Eraser tool

Click the Eraser tool. You can use this tool in the Lesson Plan card to erase annotations.

• If you are using a mouse, left-click where you want to begin erasing and hold the left button down until you are done.
• If you are using a SMART pen, erase as you normally would.

Double-click the eraser tool to choose to clear all annotations in a single card or in the entire lesson.

Adding shapes to your annotation

Click the Shape tool. You can use this tool in the Lesson Plan card to add a variety of shapes.

• If you are using a mouse, left-click where you want to begin drawing your shape, and hold the left button down until you are done.
• If you are using a SMART pen, press and hold the pen on the board until you are done drawing the shape.

Adding text to your annotation

Click the Text tool. You can use this tool in the Lesson Plan card to add text.

Moving and dragging annotations

Click the Move tool.

• Select the annotation and drag it to the desired position in the Lesson Plan card.
• You can also rotate the annotation by selecting the box above it.

To select multiple annotations at once, select the Move tool, click the card, and hold until you cover all the annotations you want.

Once you've selected all annotations, you can move, delete, or rotate them all together.

Deleting annotations

To delete a selected annotation, use the move tool and click the annotation to select it, then click the red trash can icon next to the annotation, or use the Backspace/Delete button on your keyboard.

Selecting annotation color

Click the Color tool to select the color to use for your next annotation—whether it's a drawing, a highlight, or a shape.

Undoing annotations

To undo an annotation, click the Undo button, or use the undo shortcut on your keyboard (ctrl+z for Windows and command+z for MacOS).

Hiding/unhiding annotations

Click the Hide Annotations button to hide the annotations from view. Click it again to make the annotations reappear.

Leaving annotation mode

Click the cursor button when you want to stop annotating. You will know that you are not in annotation mode anymore when the blue borders around the Lesson Plan card disappear.