Selection 1: Taking Effective Notes

REMINDER: Unit Goal: Write a research paper focused on a topic of your choice. You have learned about nonfiction reading strategies; selecting sources; evaluating sources. Now, here is a review about how to take notes. Once you complete this lesson, write your draft and submit it.

Big Idea: Doing research requires many skills and strategies:

1. Write effective questions
2. Find resources
3. Identify whether or not resources are valid and contain facts.
4. Read and summarize information (eliminate what’s not useful)
5. Take notes
6. Synthesize (bring together) all of your information into a central argument, position, or conclusion.

Although taking notes may seem easy and obvious, it can be the most challenging part. Think about the last time you studied for a test: you may not have known what to take notes on or just copied everything down and then didn’t know how to judge what details or information were the most important.

Research shows that some specific strategies for note-taking solve these problems. During the note-taking itself, these strategies help you make connections and inferences as well as draw conclusions through your inferences.

Assignment: Watch the following videos about note-taking while practicing each one with the resources you have already found. [If, during this process, you discover that your articles do not have enough information, feel free to find others.] As you watch or after watching, use each form of note-taking. You can use the same article each time or try a new article. Submit one sample of each to the assignment sheet. They may fit better after the table. If you put them outside the assignment table, please write a note in the assignment spot. You can use a screenshot or photograph if you took paper notes. Assignment Rubric

Method 1. Cornell Notes video embedded above and available here: “How to Take Cornell Notes”

Method 2. Visual Note-taking: “Sketcho Frenzy: The Basics of Visual Note-taking” embedded above and available here.  *For this one, figure out what shapes you might use to capture ideas. You might want to use it for a video.

*Optional additional video below on visual note taking: "Drawing in Class." This video provides information on why it works and how you might use it.
3:31 -- The student’s process
6:51 -- Her niece’s experience + sample of notes
9:22 -- How to get started
15:03 -- a lesson on one image to start with (star person)

Optional additional video on visual note taking: Drawing in Class.

Method 3. Your usual way of note-taking -- most likely, you use an outline method or are copying down all sentences.  If you like, use your search skills to find another note-taking video to give you other ideas

REMINDER:

ASSIGNMENT: Once you have completed your notes for all articles, write a draft of your research paper. Submit it to your assignment sheet. Be sure to review the rubric attached here.  

Link to FCPS LIS Databases