1. Strategies for Taking Good Notes Chapter 3 www.getworksheets.com

2. Taking Good Notes Students may not realize how important it is totake good notes. Taking good notes is an acquired skill that canserve as an important tool for understanding keyconcepts and preparing for tests.What is Acquired skill? It means you can learn thebest way to take notes by using one or more of thestrategies detailed in this chapter. 3. Good Notes Taking notes helps the listener to stay focused,recognize main ideas, and understand thematerial being covered. The notes can later be used as a study aid- kindof like an external memory device that aids inrecovery and review. There are many different ways you can takenotes. 4. Cornells 5Rs of Note Taking Divide your notebook paper into 5 section asshown on the worksheet. See page 24 Record: Date and number your pages; writeclearly; in the main section of the paper jot downwords and phrases to identify facts and mainideas; abbreviate when possible. Reduce: Go over your notes as soon as you canand write down keywords and their definitions inthe top part of the column on the left side of thepaper. Highlight or underline important facts anddates in the main section. 5. Cornells 5Rs of Note Taking Recite: Go back over your notes and rewrite them orrepeat them out loud. ( Think of you learning style)Memorize important facts and details. Reflect: Write down questions or things to beresearched on the bottom left side of the column.Include possible questions that could be asked on anexam. At the very bottom of the page, summarize thebook/chapter of what you read or heard in class. Review: Go over notes frequently to keep them freshin your memory. Dont just re-read them; cover themup and test your ability to recall. Also, make sure all ofthe questions in the workspace have been answered. http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/cornelllined/ 6. Cornells 5Rs of Note Taking 7. Mind Map Method: Mind mapping is a creative technique that can help note takers quickly identify the structure of a subject and understand how all of the places fit together. It helps with the complex problem solving and makes it easy to absorb information from different sources. 8. Mind Map Guidelines Write the title of the subject or book you arestudying in the center of the page and draw acircle around it. List major subtopics or subdivisions around thecircle and draw lines to those from the main topic As you move deeper into the subject or book youmay discover more levels of information that canbe linked to the subtopics. Jot those down anddraw a line connecting them. 9. Mind Map Guidelines Use single words or simple phrases Highlight with different colors to keep sectionsand ideas separate. Use different symbols to identify different topics. Look on page 19 for an example of what a basicmind mapping looks like: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/advanced-mind-mapping-study-skills-mind-map http://www.study-habits.com/how-to-mind-map 10. Mind Mapping 11. Periodical Method: Using the simple method is excellent for reviewing main subjects and key ideas. Divide a sheet of paper into three columns. The center column should be wider than the two outside columns. This is where the main notes/text will be written down so the answers can easily be found. Use words and phrases rather than full sentences. Afterwards, summarize your notes in the left-side column. Jot down question and ideas in the right side column. See page 20 12. Periodical MethodSummary Notes QuestionsSummariz Questions ande notesWrite notes in the middleideas go hereherecolumn 13. Episodic Notes: This is a good technique for taking notes whenyou have a book or assignment that has differentstages or scenes. Each episode or scene in thestory can be broken down into sequences forbetter recall. Using the worksheet on page 25, draw a detailedpicture in the box on the right side of how youvisualize a particular scenario. ( Keep in mind thatit doesnt matter how well you draw becausethese are notes that only you will see.) Writedown in the notes section what is happening andwhy its noteworthy. 14. Episodic NotesName:Date:Topic: Class: Notes: Notes: Notes: 15. Interactive Notes Sometimes referred to as the BFA SystemBefore, During and After), interactive note takingis a simple way to process reading assignmentsand develop ideas for easier recollection. Look at page 26, write down the title andsubheadings of the book or chapter you arereading in the first column. Add relevant words,themes, headers, captions, and objectives. Askyourself questions to look for in the story andmake a guess as to what you think will happen. 16. Interactive Notes In the second column, write down questions andcomments you may have as you are reading. Forexample I wonder why *What caused. I think *This is similar to.. This is important because* What do they meanby * What I find confusing is.. What will happen next is..* I can relate to thisbecause.*This reminds me of * As I read, Ikeep wanting to ask. 17. Interactive Notes The third column will be your summary as you makenotes of important points of interest and ask follow-upquestions for more details or research. Things tothink about. For example: *Three importantpoints/ideas are.. These are important because.. What comes next The author wants us to think. At this point the article/story is about I still dont understand What interests me most was. This means that See page 26 18. Interactive NotesName: Date:Topic:Class:BeforeDuring AfterPrepare to Read Questions &SummarizeComments 19. Reading for Changes This method of note taking is when the studentlooks for changes or shifts in the text to helpprompt memory recall, and is probably moreuseful when reading fiction. Things you are goingto look for are: Setting Does the location where the story istaking place change? Time Does the story skip ahead or gobackwards in time? 20. Reading for Changes Action Does something happening in the storyor whatever action the character is doingchange? Point of View Does the characters attentionshift from one focal point to another? Tone or Mood Does the tone or mood of thestory suddenly change? 21. Reading for Changes Direction or Focus Does the story seem to bedirected on a particular focal point or plot andthen make a surprising shift? Condition or Status Are there any changes toa characters circumstances, behavior, physical oremotional well-being, or social status? 22. Reading for ChangesTo help you evaluate thesignificance of any changes,To determine if something next ask yourself thehas changed, ask yourself following questions:these questions. Who or what did this What specificallychange have an effectchanged?on? What was the situation How did this changebefore and after?affect others in the Is the change story?important? If so, how? What was the reasonfor the change? 23. Title Talk: This is an easy pre-reading method of note-taking that teaches students how to create theirown ideas and predictions by linking the title withthe text. Write down the title of the book or chapter in thecenter of your page. Circle the main words and then write any wordsaround each one that you think applies. Skip ahead to read subheadings or chapter titlesto see if they can offer additional ideas. Then read through the material you can addmore relevant words. 24. Post It Annotations: Post It (a/k/a sticky notes) are great whenusing a book as a study resource that cannot bemarked up. Stick a small cluster of sticky notes to the insidecover of the book so they are handy wheneveryou come across ideas, facts, and otherinformation that should be noted. Jot down shortdetails on the sticky note so that you willremember the pages or sections relevance. When you are ready to write your report or studyfor an exam, you can easily skim back throughthe book using the sticky notes. 25. Whats the Big Idea? Look at the worksheet on page 27. You can quickly make a synopsis of the book orchapter you are studying by identifying the mainidea. First, write down what you think the main idea is. Then, focus on the idea by narrowing down themain point(s). Finally, list the reasons why you thought this wasthe main idea of the book or chapter. 26. Whats the Big Idea? Whats the big idea?Whats the Most Important Point(s) List the reasons why you thought this was the main idea of the book or chapter. Include relevant page numbers. 27. Links: http://www.stetson.edu/administration/academicresources/media/Cornell%20Note%20Taking.pdfhttp://www.algonquincollege.com/studentservices/csd/prospectiveHome/make_the_cut/documents/TheCornellModel.pdfhttp://incompetech.com/graphpaper/cornelllined/http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/advanced-mind-mapping-study-skills-mind-map http://www.study-habits.com/how-to-mind-map www.GetWorksheets.com