Greetings!
If you have not had an opportunity to introduce your class to notetaking, consider doing so during the month of November. You may use the subject of Thanksgiving to practice!
Notetaking is just like making a T-Chart with a few important twists:
1. Be sure to have students include their name, date, and title on all notes.
2. The "Big Ideas" are listed on the left side of the T-chart and the "Tell me mores" are listed on the right side.
3. Remember the "Rule of 5" (Five words or less for each entry).
4.The notes should be uncluttered and easy to read.
5. The notes should be complete!
Give it a try with any content you are currently studying, or start with the ideas listed below: |
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Level 1: Have a class discussion about Thanksgiving and the ways families celebrate the holiday. You will write the notes as a demonstration during the discussion. A second grade class discussion might generate notes that look something like this:
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 Level 2: Read a book about Thanksgiving to your students. One we like is The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern and Elroy Freem. After reading the book (perhaps even more than once), provide students an opportunity to complete the right side of their notes while you provide the left side. It might look something like this:
Students should use only words/phrases to write down three important details they learned about each Big Idea.
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Level 3: Have students independently read an article about the history of Thanksgiving. One that is historically accurate is on the website from the History Channel: http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving/. Click on the article First Thanksgiving. After setting up their papers, Level 3 students should be able to generate both the left and right side of their notes.
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webinar on Active Reading strategies. Two of our trainers discuss notetaking in detail with many student samples.
