Do you sometimes feel like this? Dear Brenda I find that note taking is a real bore with me spending hours trying to get everything down on paper as the teacher is talking, well not exactly everything but most of what she says in History and all of what he says in English because its an important subject. I feel that if I leave anything out I won’t get a good grade in my exams and I’ll be really disappointed…. Annie Group can discuss why they agree/disagree with statement What makes them worry about making notes? Note taking audit: Which subjects have they so far had to make notes in? Did they get help with this? What problems did they have? Have they overcome them? Do you sometimes feel like this?

What’s the point of taking notes? Why take notes in lessons? 70% of what we hear, we forget Taking notes helps us to focus and listen How do you know what is important? Listen for signal words Listen and ask questions if you don’t understand What are the aims? Pick out key points Keep tests and exams in mind Provide yourself with revision notes You can use: Mindmaps Brainstorms Bullet point lists Summary shapes Signal Words When a teacher speaks they will sometimes use signal words. This means that whatever they are going to say next is important so you should listen carefully and write it down E.g. There are 4 reasons… Remember… For example….. Also… However…. To conclude/finally/this shows us…. Listen carefully/remember this/the important points you need to know are…

Listen Teacher clues Pupil questions

What do you notice about the way these notes have been written? Listen to the passage being read and look at the notes that have been made below. What do you notice about the way these notes have been written? Francisco D. Joquim= biggest in world – stretch 2 17cm 20yrs old fits can of fizzy drink sideways in mouth Worlds Widest Mouth Comp in Rome (No 1) Lived in Angola + found by Guinness Book of Records Took 2 yrs to find him Beat people from around Put can in/out mouth 14x in 1 min Called ‘Jaw of awe’ Read newspaper article aloud to class on ‘The man with the mostest mouth’ from Metro Newspaper Middle name shortened to letter ‘D’ Pictures used Symbols of arrow, equals sign, / Red to show statistics Purple- facts about boy 14x instead of times Key facts noted

Listen to this report and write some notes. Remember to note: The main facts Some names of people involved Key dates/time/place What is the main event and why is it happening?

Scan newspaper article

Final Advice… Mention key names, places and people Avoid repeating certain facts Spell words phonetically then look them up Use colour, diagrams, drawings and arrows Use lists and bullet points Use abbreviations and shorthand. Think texting Don’t write in full sentences Underline, highlight, box and ring words Use capital letters and lower case letters Refer students to Letts pages 36-39