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I. Attention Getter - Van Wilder Video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThHKwU8iYs
 * Note Taking Presentation – Outline **

- Arthur’s Quiz - Show short video tell students “take notes” - “what were some of the strategies you utilized while taking notes during the video?”

II. Powerpoint - Introduction (what we’re teaching today, outline) - Question: What are some strategies you use to take notes? (pause – response, discussion) - Bring up Figure 8.2 in text (p 153) - Benefits of note taking - Research, studies?

- “what’s the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing?” (pause – response, reflect) ?

III. Five R’s of Note Taking 1. Record 2. Reduce 3. Recite 4. Reflect 5. Review
 * discuss each briefly

IV. Martin Luther King Activity - “Why was the campus shut down yesterday? Talk about MLK Jr Day - Picture/slideshow on powerpoint - “I have a dream” handout

V. Cornell Method of Note-Taking - Andy Bernard Video - Introduction o What it’s all about o Research o - Hand out “The Cornell Note-Taking System” - Cue Column - Notetaking Column - Summary at bottom of page - 5 R’s again - Activity? (related to anything they can take notes on)

Research

[|http://web.ebscohost.com.www.remote.uwosh.edu/ehost/detail?vid=19&hid=12&sid=44f75138-f260-44e1-8706-54402c07ce08%40SRCSM2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=30002956]

//Note//-//Taking//: Purpose, Problems and Proposals
Problems with note-taking • Some fail to organise their time and do not get the //notes// in by the first day of the Year 13 autumn term. (The occasional student never gets them in at all!) • Some tend to write out //notes// on everything, even parts of the book that are not relevant to our syllabus. • Although Module 6 is a source-based module, most leave out the contemporary sources, even if they have written at length on irrelevant material. • Some write out a great deal of undifferentiated prose, instead of setting the //notes// out in a reader-friendly format. • Some find it difficult to recognise that there is any value in the process, until they under-achieve on Module 6, by which time it is too late. Perhaps the greatest problem of all is that approaches to //note//-//taking// are very personal, and that what suits some students does not suit others. [|FIRST SUGGESTION] Students should begin by consulting the syllabus ('The Origins and Early Development of the Cold War, 1945-62') and the Teacher Guide information that I give to, and go over with, them. The syllabus outlines the main topics and key issues. The Teacher Guide expands upon this information. It points to the need for a broad knowledge of the Eastern and Western 'spheres of influence' but promises that questions will not be set requiring a detailed knowledge of the internal history of states in the 'Eastern bloc' or 'Western alliance', nor questions on the internal politics of the US and Soviet alliance systems. Finally, the Guide wants students to be aware that the topic has generated historical debate. Has this first suggestion worked? Not always. For example, some students omit to //note// the historians' debates covered in McCauley, and many write in great detail about the internal histories of states in the Eastern bloc. [|SECOND SUGGESTION] Students should differentiate and code their //notes// through a variety of techniques. These include adding subheadings of one's own, using different colours to highlight countries, dates or individuals, giving special signs for important events and sources. Lists should be made where possible, especially where there are different viewpoints or causes or results of an event. Crises deserve some sign, as do important individuals. Turning points and 'blame' also need to be noted. Some suggested 'sign-posts' to go on //notes//, perhaps in the margin, include: important individual -- a pin man; possible source extracts -- a book; a country -- the national flag; crisis --(*) or several (*)s, depending upon the gravity of the crisis; aggressive superpower behaviour -- the grumpy face; nonaggressive superpower behaviour -- a happy face; meetings -- two pin men. Have these suggestions worked? Some students take to the technique, but the majority do not. [|THIRD SUGGESTION] Students need to //note// the page in McCauley to which they are referring, and to number the pages of their own //notes//. This is because they might want to look back at McCauley, and they (or l) might drop their pages. Has this suggestion worked? A minority of students follow this practical tip. [|FOURTH SUGGESTION] Knowing the very human tendency to put things off until the last minute, I am going to try something new this summer: I will look at each pupil's //notes// at least twice before the term ends and give some (hopefully) helpful tips. This might motivate/force them to start working on the task earlier and give them more confidence to persevere if they are assured that they are on the right track. I have not clone this before because some students will only decide on AS results day Whether or not they will continue with History in Year 13. Hence I am not sure it will work. [|FIFTH SUGGESTION] Another new approach I am going to try this year will be to invent (or use with permission) examples from previous students' //note//-//taking//, and to invite current students to comment on their quality and consider what grade the candidate probably ended up with.

http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/summ.php

Focus on Effectiveness – Research-Based Strategies //Summarizing and Note-Taking//

//Summarizing and Note Taking//
Effective summarizing leads to an increase in student learning. Helping students recognize how information is structured will help them summarize what they read or hear. For example, summarizing of a reading assignment can be more effective when done within summary frames, which typically include a series of questions the teacher provides to direct student attention to specific content (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001). Students who can effectively summarize learn to synthesize information, a higher-order thinking skill which includes analyzing information, identifying key concepts, and defining extraneous information. Note taking is a related strategy that teachers use to support student learning. Without explicit instruction in note taking, however, many students simply write down words or phrases word for word, without analysis (or good effect). Successful note-takers summarize to arrive at a nugget of meaning, which they are much more likely to retain. Students also benefit from using their notes as a document of their learning. Teachers can prompt students to review and refine their notes, particularly when it is time to prepare for an exam, write a research paper, or other summative assessment of learning.

Key Research Findings

 * Students have to analyze information at a deep level in order to decide what information to delete, what to substitute, and what to keep when they are asked to give a summary (Anderson, V., & Hidi, 1988/1989; Hidi & Anderson, 1987).
 * Reading comprehension increases when students learn how to incorporate "summary frames" as a tool for summarizing (Meyer & Freedle, 1984). Summary frames are a series of questions created by the teacher and designed to highlight critical passages of text. When students use this strategy, they are better able to understand what they are reading, identify key information, and provide a summary that helps them retain the information (Armbruster, Anderson, & Ostertag, 1987).
 * Teacher-prepared notes show students what is important and how ideas relate, and offer a model for how students should take notes themselves (Marzano et al., 2001).
 * Notes should be in both linguistic and nonlinguistic forms, including idea webs, sketches, informal outlines, and combinations of words and schematics; and, the more notes, the better (Nye, Crooks, Powlie, & Tripp, 1984).
 * When students review and revise their own notes, the notes become more meaningful and useful (Anderson & Armbruster, 1986; Denner, 1986; Einstein, Morris, & Smith, 1985).

Implementation
By deliberately teaching the skills of summarizing and note taking, teachers provide students with a stronger foundation for learning by employing research-based strategies such as: What information can they delete because it is not essential or redundant? When they encounter unfamiliar vocabulary or specific examples of more general concepts, can they substitute another term that will help them remember the big ideas? What information is essential to keep?
 * 1) Teach a formal process. Teach students the delete-substitute-keep process for summarizing. A "rule-based strategy" for summarizing includes a specific set of steps (Brown, Campione, & Day, 1981). The steps are:
 * 2) Delete unnecessary words or sentences
 * 3) Delete redundant words or sentences
 * 4) Substitute super-ordinate terms (for example, "trees" for pines, oaks, and maples)
 * 5) Select or create a topic sentence
 * 1) Identify explicit structure. Help students identify how information is structured in different formats. For example, when they begin reading a play, make sure they understand the difference between scene descriptions, stage directions, and dialog. Use a newspaper to show them how news and opinion writing is structured differently. Examine a Web site together to make sure they understand which content is paid advertising.
 * 2) Model good note taking. Model for your students how to take effective notes. Give them an outline of information you are going to cover in class, and have them use that as the starting point for their own notes. Show them that notes are living documents that change and evolve as the note-taker gains new understanding.
 * 3) Frame summaries. Use framing questions to focus their attention on key concepts you want them to remember. To encourage students to synthesize ideas, give them a word limitation for summarizing information concisely.
 * 4) Personalize. Encourage students to personalize their notes, using sketches, diagrams, color codes, idea webs, or other approaches that make sense to them. What matters most is that students make notes that are meaningful and useful to them.
 * 5) Use notes as study aids. Have students compare and discuss their notes in small groups as a method for review and test preparation.

Additional Resources
The Virginia Tech Division of Student Affairs provides a list of note-taking skills. [|http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/notetake.html] The Academic Resource Center at Sweet Briar College also provides note-taking suggestions. http://www.arc.sbc.edu/notes.html