2. Common Q & A About Note
Taking
1. Why do I need to take notes?
2. How do I learn to take class notes?
3. How should I organize my notes?
4. What should I do with my notes after I
take them?
5. What should I do if my teacher is going
too fast and I can’t keep up?
3. Why Take Notes?
It is difficult to remember information for an
entire unit or chapter that lasts over several
days or weeks.
It is important to take notes to help you
remember and understand the material you
are learning so that you can be ready for the
test!
Note taking keeps you active and alert during
class and helps you stay focused on the
information you are learning.
4. How Do I Take Notes?
Every person has their own note taking
strategy; you will develop yours over time.
There are many different types of note
taking strategies, so you will have to find
one that works best for you.
Some Common Types:
Listing/Bulleting
Outlining
Two-Columns
5. Organizing Your Notes
It is helpful to keep notes separate from worksheets, handouts,
and homework assignments.
Your teacher may require you to keep a notebook or binder
organized in a certain manner. If so, do as your teacher asks;
it will help you succeed in class.
One possible way to organize your notebook is as follows:
Use a 2-inch binder with three divider tabs.
Put your syllabus in front of the first divider tab, so that it is the
first thing you see when you open the binder.
Label the first tab “Notes” and put all of your notes behind this
tab.
Label the second tab “Homework” and put all of your
homework behind this tab, both before and after it is
completed and graded.
Label the third tab “Other” and put anything that doesn’t fit in
the other two tabs behind this one.
6. Using Your Notes…
If you take notes and then never look at
them again, you’re wasting your time!
After class, it is important to read over your
notes to review. As you read, highlight or
underline key details that you may have
forgotten or that may appear on the test.
When a test is coming up, use your notes as
a study guide or to make up your own
practice test or quiz before the real thing.
7. Keeping Up With the Teacher
This problem usually occurs when students are trying
to write down too much information.
Try to write down main points, things that the
teacher emphasizes, and anything the teacher tells
you to write down.
Consider recording the teacher’s lecture and
taking notes later, when you can pause and restart.
(Ask the teacher for permission before you do this!)
8. Study Skills
If you want to succeed in high school, you
will have to put forth the effort.
You must set aside time to study and do
homework EVERY DAY.
Believe it or not, you can spend less time
studying if you do the right things and
have a plan.
9. General Study Hints
Review your notes each night, and then study for a
longer period of time the night before a test.
Maintain good attendance.
If you want to do well in school, attendance is important.
When you miss school, you miss important material that will
be on the test. It is your responsibility to get that
information.
Participate in Class.
Ask questions, make eye contact with the teacher, listen to
what’s going on, read the material
Use Your Textbook and Other Materials
Form Study Groups
Stay Organized
