Strategies and Practice Note Taking Strategies and Practice

This Monkey’s Business was Art Note taking is an important skill. Listen as your instructor reads the story below to practice three methods of taking notes. This Monkey’s Business was Art An American Art collector was not monkeying around when he paid $26,352 for three paintings created by a chimpanzee. The three brightly colored abstract pieces were painted by Congo, a chimpanzee artist. They were created during the 1950s, when Congo was just three years old!

So, what was the main idea of the story? What details did you remember about the story? How might note taking help in remembering the story? There are three basic note taking methods that we will discuss using this story as an example: * Outlining * Mapping (Graphic organizer use) * Cornell Method

Outlining: Art collector bought art by chimp Paid roughly $26,000 for three paintings Colorful abstracts Made in the 1950’s Chimp was 3 Understand: “Art collector bought art by chimp” is the main idea. The bullet points are supporting details for this main idea. Outlines are hierarchical and linear in nature, good for logically organized writing.

Mapping: Understand: The main idea is usually at the center or top and other related details and ideas branch out from it. Pictures can also be added to provide additional details for any of the ideas. Mapping is good to show creative ideas and connections between different ideas or concepts within complex text.

Cornell Method Summary: Artistic painting skills may be present in other species than humans, like chimpanzees. Understand: In the Cornell method, you draw a vertical line making one small column on the left and a larger column on the right. On the right column you put specific notes on the topic, then on the left, you write a word or phrase that summarizes or helps you remember the details on the right—called a “chunk”. At the bottom of a page, you then summarize all of the “chunks” from the topic.

Your turn! Directions: Your instructor will provide you with a worksheet that is setup for all three note taking methods just described. You should choose at least ONE method to use to take notes on the next story provided: “The Red Effect”. Then you should consider which note taking method you think may work best for you and in what situations you could use it best.

Want to win the big game? Wear red! The Red Effect Want to win the big game? Wear red!   Is it possible for the color of a uniform to affect the outcome of a sports match? British anthropologists (scientists who study human behavior) think so. In 2004, researchers studied the results of Olympic competitions in boxing, tae-kwon-do, and wrestling. These sports were great to study because uniform colors were randomly assigned. In each sport, contestants wearing red had a slight advantage. Those with red uniforms won a little more than half the time. Was this a matter of chance? Or did red uniforms suggest danger and strength to opponents? Many scientists have studied “the red effect.” Some have found that the color of wrestler’s uniforms may affect a referee’s scoring. But nobody knows for sure. It’s not clear what effect red has on players, opponents, referees and fans, or if it has any effect at all. It’s a great question to ask. And until it’s answered, you can be sure there will be many teams who are pinning their hopes on red.

Processing Questions: Answer the following questions: (Put onto back of handout.)   1. Which note-taking method do you prefer? Why? 2. In what classes are you most likely to take notes? Why? 3. How can your notes help you prepare for a test? Explain.