CLASS NOTES
take 'em
    The teachers at Elsie Allen have made a schoolwide agreement to use "Cornell or Focused Notetaking" in all classes. This will not be that different from how I have requested notes to be taken in the past. The purpose of this style of note taking is to focus on organization and multiple encoding techniques to better understand and remember new information.

*When you take notes in class, they might be sloppy or disorganized because you are trying to get so much information quickly.
*Within 24 hours, look over your notes and figure out what they mean. Copy down the important information again NEATLY and add any explanations so you will remember and understand them better.
*Organize into Outline Form or Bullet Form and put DATES on your notes!

CORNELL NOTE TAKING

    On each page, you will put the Date, Topic, Subject, and Source (where you are getting your info). A vertical margin is made about 5-7 cm (2-3 in.) from the left side of the paper. The right side of the paper is then used to organize the notes taken in class.
    After Notes have been put on the right side, explanation, definitions, headings, comments, illustrations, clarification, or questions are put in the margin on the left further organizing your notes and allowing you to go through them more easily and thoroughly. This is called Reflection. A Summary of the day's information is then made in the bottom margin.
    Additionally, you will be required to know many Vocabulary terms for each topic we cover. Each term should be written in your notes with definitions and pictures. It is also a very good idea to include new words/terms/definitions that might not be specific to the topic but helpful in increasing your vocabulary. Any questions about this may be addressed in class. See example below:


Here is an outline of Focused Note Taking for more details and an Example of Cornell/Focused Notes:

For full credit, you must have all of the following;
Dates (on every page)
Notes (quantity and quality of all information) including...
Vocabulary (all required terms)
Reflection (on every page)
Summary (on each page and ideally, a main summary at the end)
Evaluation (for higher level [3-4] credit)

Grading:
Level 4 - E: Evaluation/thoughts/higher order connecting of ideas
Level 3 - CO/S: Content Objective/Summaries
Level 2 - V/R: Vocabulary/Reflection
Level 1 - Less than basic (not including all of the Level 2)





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