Note-taking Skills WHO-WHAT-WHEN-WHERE- WHY-HOW

takes notes? Students who want to remember new information Students who want a good study tool Students who want to be successful learners Anyone who is trying to learn something new

are class notes? A record of the important information the teacher spoke A record of the important demonstrations or models the teacher used A record of the notes the teacher put on the board A record of what connections you made to the information

do I take notes? When the lesson contains new ideas and information to learn When it is important to be able to remember information being presented

do I take class notes? In your class notebook in any class On a handout provided by the teacher In your journal or log book

take class notes? They provide important information for you to know for an exam They can be a very helpful study tool to review new information The act of taking the notes may help you remember the information They are a method for mastering information

do I take notes? There are many forms of note taking. The important thing to remember is that these notes are for you. Make them your own, to fit how you best remember and learn new information. The following slides will help you get started taking helpful class notes.

Organization of Information In the center of the top line write the topic of the lesson. Divide your paper into two columns. (The left column should be 1/3 of the paper and the right column 2/3 of the sheet.) Write the Subject in the upper left corner. Write your name, the date, and your homeroom teacher ’ s name in the upper right corner Check out the next two slides to see a template and an example.

Subject Topic Name Date Homeroom Main Ideas Vocabulary Words Questions End of Lesson Summary Details Definitions Facts Examples Charts/Graphs Drawings/Diagrams

Write down questions That come to mind Write in the answer once you find out. Put in examples to make meaning of the new vocabulary or concept. Use abbreviations when you can. Summarize what you learned in the lesson. Put it in your own words. You do your summary at the end of each lesson. If your notes are 2 pages you will have a summary only on the second page. Labeled drawings are great ways to record what you are learning. All the circled information remind me that they are examples of quantitative observations. Circles, underlines, highlighting, stars and arrows can indicate important information and connections. Skipping lines can help you see where a new idea starts. Creating study questions over the material is a great way to study your notes. Those questions can also be written in the left hand column. Make connections to previous learning

Notes as a Study Tool Now that you have your notes organized into 2 columns, they can really be an awesome tool to study with. If you take the right edge of the page and fold it over to the right edge of the first column, you have all the main ideas and vocabulary showing but not the details. Now you can look at the vocabulary words and see if you remember the definitions. Once you have thought about it you can then just open up the page and check your answer.

Now you are ready to start taking and using your notes!