Read and Take Notes - What Does That Mean?
You log off from your first day of school and look down at your assignment pad. You see, for three different classes, your assignment is to “Read and take notes”.
What does that mean? You know how to read, but what does “take notes” mean? How much should you be writing down? In what format? What is the teacher looking for? What is the point of this?
Note-taking has three main purposes:
It lets your teacher know that you did, in fact, do the reading
It forces you to digest the information you’re reading, which helps you learn it better
It leaves you with a set of notes you can use for studying later.
You might also consider #4: it helps you make a good first impression in the first week of school.
With all of these in mind, you want your notes to
Be neat and organized
Summarize the content in the reading
Show what you’ve learned from the reading
If your teacher gives you a specific format for your notes, follow that. It is always better for your grades to lean towards what you think the teacher wants. However, if you aren’t given any instructions, a simple outline format is a reliable strategy.
The Word document below provides a little more detail on how to take notes in an outline and can also serve as a note-taking template. Click the button to download the document.
Click the button below to download the Word document.
How do you prefer to take notes? Comment below or email robinsatty@stemsmartconsulting.com.