1. Synthesizing Information from a Source
Taking Notes
Synthesizing Information
from a Source
Mary Alice Osborne
Library Media Specialist

2. Plato & Note-Taking
“The act of writing something down is basically the decision to forget it.”

3. Note Taking is a Skill This takes understanding of what you're doing.
It takes practice, which involves effort. (A BIG part of being a successful student!)

4. Note Taking is Difficult
Spoken language is more diffuse than written.
Speaker's organization is not immediately apparent.
Immediate feedback seldom occurs.
Spoken language is quick, and does not 'exist' for long. This makes analysis more difficult.
Let’s practice one strategy with this slide. Are there words you don’t know, or ideas you don’t understand? How could you rewrite these points so you can clearly understand them?
Diffuse- Spread out over a large area- not concentrated. So what does this mean?
Seldom – Rarely; not often.
Discuss what students think these points mean,, and encourage them to write a simplified, shortened version in their notes

5. Note Taking is Difficult (Simplified)
Spoken lang. harder to pin down (make concrete)
Can’t always tell what’s important while listening
Don’t always know if u r doing good job
Spoken lang. quick- then gone. Harder to understand meaning.

6. Four Purposes For Note Taking
Provides a written record for review
Forces the listener to pay attention
Requires organization, which involves active effort on the part of the listener
Listener must condense and rephrase, which aids understanding

7. Physical Factors Seating Near the front and center Vision is better
Hearing is better
Avoid distractions
Doorways, window glare, etc.
Peers

8. Physical Factors Materials Two pens Wide-lined paper
Ink easier to read
You have a reserve
Wide-lined paper
Class date, and topic clearly labeled (In this class, you grade depends on this!)
Should use dividers
Plenty of blank paper in back

9. Before Taking Notes Prepare yourself mentally
Know the purpose of the lesson (Check objectives on the board)
Review your notes and other background material
Review your reading assignment
Reading should be done BEFORE class
Think about what happened in the last few classes

10. While Taking Notes Don't try for a verbatim transcript Paraphrase
Get all of the main ideas
Record some details, illustrations, implications, etc.
Paraphrase
But remember that the speaker may serve as a model
Use symbols to indicate importance of items
Underline, highlight or star major points
Leave plenty of white space and skipped lines so it’s not so crammed together, and you’ll be able to find important information later

11. While Taking Notes Note teacher’s organization of material Be accurate
Organization aids memory
Be accurate
Listen carefully to what is being said
Pay attention to qualifying words like sometimes, usually, rarely, etc.
Notice signals that a change of direction is coming but, however, on the other hand

12. While Taking Notes Be an aggressive, not a passive, listener
Ask questions and discuss if it's allowed (in my class it’s encouraged!)
If not, jot questions in your notes
Seek out meanings.
Develop a system of mechanics
Jot down words or phrases, not entire sentences
Develop some system of shorthand and be consistent in its use
Leave out small service words (Caveman language)
Use contractions and abbreviations
Use symbols +, =,

13. After Taking Notes Review and reword them as soon as possible
You should consider this in scheduling your work load
Don't just recopy or type – think!
" Reminiscing " may provide forgotten material later
Rewrite skimpy parts
Fill in gaps as you remember points
Arrange with another student to compare notes
Find answers to any questions remaining unanswered
Write a brief summary of the class

14. After Taking Notes Review and reword them as soon as possible
We forget 50% of what we hear immediately;
two months later, another 25% is gone.
Relearning is rapid if regular review is used
Sharpen your note taking technique by looking at your classmates’ notes.
How are they better than your own?
How are your notes superior?
Practice those skills you wish to develop

15. What are some ways to be a good reader of information?

16. List of Possible Strategies:
Skimming and scanning
Looking for keywords
Noticing bold, italic, and underlined words
Being aware of headlines
Using the table of contents, index, glossary, and title page
Paying attention to picture captions
Knowing that, sometimes, reading every word is necessary
Make a mind map or table or line diagram

17. ABC - LOU Note-taking Strategies Abbreviations Bullets
Caveman language
Lists
One word for several
Use your own words
Taken from: School Library Media Activities Monthly Vol. 12, No. 1, Sept. 2006

18. Abbreviations Abbreviations are shortened forms of a word or phrase
Use them when you take notes
Examples:
Dr. = doctor
Mrs. = missus
Mr. = mister
U.S.A. = United States of America
CN = China
List of Abbreviations

19. Bullets Example of a Bulleted List: Foods Romans Ate Pizza Spaghetti
Olives
Tomatoes
Wine

20. Caveman Language

21. Lists We all make lists from time to time: Grocery lists
List of things to bring on vacation
“To Do” Lists
When doing research you can also make lists:
List of countries the Romans conquered
List of weapons used by the Romans

22. One Word for Several (Paraphrase)
How to:
Reread the original passage until you understand it.
Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase.
Check your version with the original to make sure that it accurately expresses all the essential information, but in a new form.
Record the source (including the page) in your notes so that you can credit it easily
Taken from:

23. Use Your Own Words Similar to Paraphrasing
Read the information through
Without looking at the original material, write your version
Change words that are difficult to words you understand
Note: You still need to cite the information

25. Try to Paraphrase this:
Roman men and women originally seem to have worn a large piece of wool, wrapped around themselves. After they met people from Greece and Egypt, around 200 BC, they began to wear linen tunics (like T-shirts) under their wool robes, which was more comfortable.
On their feet, both men and women wore leather sandals, or leather boots in cold weather.
In their hair, women wore wooden hairsticks or wooden combs, which they could also use to comb their hair.
Model this
"Roman Clothing - History for Kids!" Kidipede - History and Science for Kids - Homework Help for Middle School. 13 Mar <

26. More ideas for note-taking

27. Mind Map

28. Table

29. System Map

30. Line Diagram

31. Highlighting
Many students find that highlighting helps them to concentrate and helps them to understand the text.
Just deciding what to highlight or underline encourages you to think critically, make judgments and formulate your own response to the text.

32. Highlighting
Read quickly through the text to get an overview of what it’s about.
Read it more closely, pausing at the end of each paragraph to identify the main points. You may highlight:
Sentence or word that sums up an important idea
Quotations
Statistics
Specialized terms
Important or useful data
Examples or links to other ideas.
You could use different colored pens to mark different kinds of information, but be careful not to highlight so much that it becomes distracting.