Why Cornell Notes in science
and at Kofa?
Cornell notes are only
useful if students are
engaged and ready to
learn.
The boy in the front
right of this picture is in
another world and will
be lost when asked to
recall what occurred in
class.
Change the culture of
note taking, help our
students learn how to
be skilled note takers
and learners!
Cornell Notes in Science

Cornell note taking stimulates critical
thinking skills.

Note taking helps students remember what
is said in class.

A good set of notes can help students work
on assignments and prepare for tests
outside of the classroom.
Cornell Notes in Science
• Good notes allow students to help each
other problem solve.
• Good Notes help students organize and
process data and information.
• Good Notes help students recall by
getting them to process their notes 3
times.
Subject: Teacher can have
students write their daily
objective here
Questions,
Subtitles,
Headings,
Etc.
2 ½ inches

First & Last Name
Class Title
Period
Date
Class Notes:



Any note taking format can go here
Students should abbreviate whenever
possible
Can be used to organize main ideas of
lecture, text, presentation or provide the
big picture of a unit
• Summary is added at the end of subject or objective (not each page).
• Summary added AFTER questions are written and finished
• Summary should answer the problem stated in the subject.
WICR- Used correctly, Cornell Notes has it all!
Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration and rigor!
Why is page set up so important?
• Name and information on the upper right ensures
students have a daily class record and can retrieve notes
if absent, lost or misplaced.
• Objective and or lesson title in upper left ensures student
knows what the teacher wants them to be responsible to
know from this lesson.
• Notes located in the main body on the right, provide
record of class, list of important facts, define vocabulary
and show sample problems recorded in the students own
style and should be as abbreviated as possible.
WICR- Used correctly, Cornell Notes has it all!
Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration and rigor!
Why is page set up so important?



Questions/Main ideas on the left, should be completed as
soon as possible after the lesson.
Teacher can have students do by themselves, then pair share
with another student and then share as a class. (This would
be a good formative assessment tool.)
In this column you can answer:
 What did I already know? What did I learn? What questions
do I have for my teacher? What would be a good test
question? Students might write one or more of the following:
categorize, question, vocabulary. Words that give test alerts,
connections and reminders.
WICR- Used correctly, Cornell Notes has it all!
Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration and rigor!
Why is page set up so important?

Summary column should summarize questions and
notes from above, focusing on the most important points
and key words.

Summary comes at the bottom of the last page of notes
on the topic being covered

Students should use the SQ3R system. Survey,
Question, Read, Recite and Review.



Survey reading selection or lesson (on right - body of notes)
Review questions about what you have read/heard
Try to find 5 most important points - include in summary
Example of
Cornell Biology
Notes
In this example the question
section has not been used to it’s
best potential.
Higher level questions expand the
students depth of understanding
Questions should begin with:
 Why or how
 Compare and contrast
 What is the function of…
 What is the effect of...
 What if…
Example of Cornell
Chemistry Notes

In this example the
student has used the
space wisely, used
abbreviations and shown
examples that will aid in
problem solving.

This format provides the
perfect opportunity for
following through with the
5 R’s of note-taking:

Record

Reduce

Recite

Reflect

Review

5 R’s of note-taking
Record – During the lecture, in the right body column, record as many
meaningful facts and ideas as you can. Write legibly.
Reduce – As soon after lecture as possible, summarize these facts and ideas
concisely in the question column. This clarifies meanings and allows students to
connect objective with contents of notes to develop higher level questions.
Recite – cover notes, using only your questions, say over the facts and ideas of
the lecture as fully as you can using your own words. Then write a summary to
bring it all together.
Reflect – Draw out opinions from your notes and use them as a starting point for
your own reflections on the topic, try to apply information to your life and how it
relates to prior topics. This aids in remembering information.
Review – Spend 10 minutes every week in quick review of your notes and you
will retain most of what you have learned.
Cornell Notes Rubric
5
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P ro p e r s e t-u p a n d h e a d in g
N o te s a re s e le c tiv e ly a n d a c c u ra te ly p a ra p h ra s e d
U s e o f lo g ic a l a b b re v ia tio n s
N o te s h a v e b e e n e d ite d , h ig h lig h te d , a n d u n d e rlin e d
Q u e s tio n s c h e c k fo r u n d e rs ta n d in g a n d re fle c t h ig h e r le v e ls o f in q u iry
S u m m a ry s h o w s le a rn in g b y e ffe c tiv e ly s u m m a riz in g a n d re fle c tin g o n
In fo rm a tio n a n d /o r a s k in g q u e s tio n s to c la rify o r fu rth e r th e th in k in g
4
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P ro p e r s e t-u p a n d h e a d in g
N o te s a re s e le c tiv e ly a n d a c c u ra te ly p a ra p h ra s e d
U s e o f lo g ic a l a b b re v ia tio n s
Q u e s tio n s c h e c k fo r u n d e rs ta n d in g a n d re fle c t h ig h e r le v e ls o f in q u iry
H a s a s u m m a ry
3
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P ro p e r s e t-u p a n d h e a d in g
N o te s m a y/m a y n o t b e a c c u ra te ; in fo rm a tio n n o t a lw a ys p a ra p h ra s e d
S o m e u s e o f a b b re v ia tio n s
Q u e s tio n s c h e c k fo r u n d e rs ta n d in g
M a y/m a y n o t h a v e a s u m m a ry
2
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P ro p e r s e t-u p
H a s s o m e n o te s
H a s q u e s tio n s
M a y/m a y n o t h a v e s u m m a ry
1
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P ro p e r s e t-u p
H a s n o te s
Q u e s tio n s o n le ft n o n -e x is te n t
N o s u m m a ry
0
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Im p ro p e r s e t-u p ; n o t C o rn e ll n o te s
How I grade CN in my classes



In AVID, as well as biology, the notes are only as valuable as we
make them.
I arbitrarily choose the sections I grade. Early in the year I grade
the whole paper to keep students responsible.
I make CN worth 50 points.
 Heading - 5
 Subject - 5
 Notes (right body) - 10
 Questions (left body) - 10
 Summary (end of subject) - 20
Change the culture of note taking.
Use Cornell Notes as the tool!

Students view note taking as boring busy work. We have have
been given the opportunity to mandate Cornell Notes in our science
classes and all classes this year at Kofa High School.

This will promote the skill of organized note taking accompanied by
an effective method of reviewing and utilizing the curriculum we are
teaching.

How to incorporate into your lessons


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Use CN daily to record information
Design bell work and closer activities around CN
Students can work as partners or individually
Weekly grades can be given using CN rubric
Test preparation and review can be designed around
question and summary sections of CN
Sources

The Write Path Science Teacher Guide Grades 6-12, Avid Center, 2003

Tools For Thought, Jim Burke 2000, www.englishcompanion.com

ALL-IN-LINE NOTES

http://www.dartmouth.edu/admin/acskills/no_frames/lsg/cornell.html

Why Cornell Notes, power point by Paul Bullock, Senior Program
Specialist, & Anne Maben, AP Science Coach, AVID LA County

http://www.avidonline.com