Note-Taking to Remember
Critical Reading for Learning

Note-Taking to Remember
“Typically, I just jot down some notes but the memories of these notes are fleeting.
With Cornell notes, I actually had to slow myself down and think about what I wrote and what I remembered to complete the actual notes.”
--Eric, Allen High School 11 th Grader

University of Waterloo, Counselling Services, adapted by AVID

This is about mastering information, not just recording facts.
Adapted from AVID
“When this class first started, I absolutely dreaded doing Cornell
Notes. But as we started to practice Cornell Notes, I realized they weren’t so bad. I actually really liked the idea of going back daily to study the notes and writing a summary to cover the whole idea. I like them so much that I even bought a Cornell Notes journal…”
--Hannah, Allen High School 11 th Grader

Before
After

http://www.mychandlerschools.org/Page/5019

Record your notes on the right side.
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/Page/5019 http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html

http://www.mychandlerschools.org/Page/5019
“First taking notes and then going back to add level 2,3,4 questions greatly helped me to comprehend the material as I was forced to understand, digest, and extrapolate my notes in order to write higher-level questions.”
--Lirit, Allen High
School 11 th Grader

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/03/why-youneed-to-be-excited-about-every.html
http://www.mychandlerschools.org/Page/5019
“Since I do a first round of notes, then the 2 nd round for questions, + the 3 rd round for summary, I get to review the information 3 times to enhance my understanding.”
--Kendra, Allen High
School 11 th Grader

Dartmouth College: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/notes.html
University of Texas Medical Branch: https://shp.utmb.edu/asa/Forms/cornell%20note%20taking%20system.pdf
Cornell University: http://lsc.cornell.edu/LSC_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf
University of Texas at Dallas: http://www.utdallas.edu/~dodge/ECS1200/Lec3.pdf
Texas A&M University: http://www.tamusa.tamus.edu/studentengagementsuccess/jaguaracademicguideforsucc ess/studytipsandtechniques.html
Harvard University: http://hilt.harvard.edu/blog/note-taking-tools-and-tips
Costa’s Levels of Thinking and Questioning: http://hms.d300.org/sites/hms.d300.org/files/documents/costa-question-starters0.pdf

“Before… all I did was highlight because I was terrified of deciding what was important. Now I completely forego the highlighter and my notes on the side, as well as my underlining, tell me not only what information I found important but why I found it essential to my learning.”
- Hayley, AHS 11 th grader

Critical Reading = Active engagement and interaction with texts

Research shows that students who read

 deliberately retain more information and retain it longer.
Makes reading meaningful and do steps simultaneously and quickly.
Slows reading, giving time to comprehend and process information.
“I may be reading texts slower, but I only have to
 eliminates need to re-read.
Increases comprehension in every subject.

Takes practice (and modeling) to learn to
[read] once. A single, efficient run-through is better than several hasty speed reads.”
- Vincent, AHS
11 th grader


Are there headnotes, an abstract or prefatory material?

Do you know the author? Do his credentials provide information about him or the topic? Does the editor provide introductory information?

What is the layout of the text? Is the text broken into meaningful subtopics? Does the organization tell you anything about the line of inquiry?


Throw away your highlighter!

Mark up the margins of the text with words and phrases: ideas that occur to you, noting what is important, connections with other ideas, and questions you have.

Develop your own symbol system: * a key idea, or use an !
for surprising ideas. Your personal set of consistent hieroglyphics allows you to mark important insights quickly as you read.

Get in the habit of hearing yourself ask questions and write those in the margins.


Outlining enables you to see the

 skeleton of the argument (right column).
Summarizing takes the skeleton and makes connections through paragraph form (summary).
Analyzing adds an evaluation of the writers assertions and supporting evidence and then allows you to apply
“It helps me tie information into Cornell
Notes, as I get the nonsense out of the way.”
- Evan, AHS
11 th grader your own reaction to the ideas (left column).


How is the language chosen, used and positioned in the text?

Look for recurring images, repeated words or phrases, consistent ways of characterizing people or events.

This may signal important points or possible author biases.


Consider the information in the context of historical, cultural, material, or intellectual circumstances.

Does this inform your understanding or how you view the information?
“When I do this,
I become more active and enjoy the stuff I am reading about.”
- Eric, AHS 11 th grader


How does this support main themes in
 the course?
Does it affirm or contrast with other readings? Does it expand on prior readings or shift the course of inquiry?

Why do you think your teacher assigned
 this reading at this point in the course?
Has your thinking been altered by this reading?
“This helped me understand that my response to a piece has value, and should be recorded as well.”
- Madison,
AHS 11 th grader

The best way to ensure your students are reading critically and processing information in meaningful ways in your course is to: