43Structure a lesson
A T-chart, a KWL grid, a Frayer model, a Venn, a storyboard — and, for work that isn't a lesson, a business model canvas, a sailboat retro or an empathy map. Unlike the chart and diagram panels, a frame draws nothing of its own: it is a blank scaffold to write into, on the board or after you detach it. There are ninety-nine.
Compare & contrastActivate & reviewVocabulary & conceptSequence & processCause & reasoningPrioritise & decideReflect & planQuestion & discussionReading & textBrainstormingDesign & researchStrategyRetrospectivesMeetings & facilitationProcessLayout
Find itThe Insert button, then Thinking frame.
Find oneFrames are grouped by what they are for, and each group shows how many it holds. Click a heading to open or close it — only the group you are in starts open. Or type in the search box, which looks across every group at once and opens whatever matches.
Fill it inGive it a title, rename each area in its own box, and set how many rows, columns or steps it has. A frame with a word in the middle — a Frayer, a word map — gets a Middle box too. Switching frame keeps your title.
SourceEverything you type is kept as a couple of plain lines, folded away under Source at the bottom. You never need to open it; it is there if you would rather type than click, and it is what gets saved.
Make it yoursText and line colour, a solid background, typeface, label size, line thickness and corner rounding. Turn Cells on to tint each area from a palette so they read as separate zones. Match board puts it back to the board's own colours.
Write in itPlace it and write straight on top. Or use Detach to turn it into real Slate objects — then every box and heading is yours to move, recolour, retype, or reveal one at a time with Fades.
Sticky notes snapDrag a note onto a frame and drop it inside one of the areas — it snaps neatly into that cell and shrinks to fit if it needs to. A placemat or a diamond 9 becomes somewhere a group sorts their ideas rather than a picture with paper on top.
TipFrames are re-editable. Select one and press Edit to change the frame, the wording or the colours without starting again.
Some lines you can add
title a heading across the top · labels rename the areas · centre the word in the middle of a Frayer or word map · rows cols steps causes parts how many areas to draw.
Part of the Slate guide — or read the whole guide on one page.