A World-Class Education

We’re spending twice as much on education today as we did 20 years ago. Yet, U.S. students ranked 17^th in science, 25^th in math, and 14^th in reading in the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the most widely used global assessment of student achievement.  Who’s beating the U.S. in these important categories – and how?
Vivien Stewart in her book, A World Class Education, looks at five countries—Singapore, Canada, Finland, China, and Australia—where students are doing significantly better on global assessments than students in the U.S. Despite differences in the political systems and cultural contexts of these countries, there are some common policies and practices that drive success. Understanding how other countries are succeeding can offer insights that help us do a better job here in the U.S. 
As Stewart points out, even a small improvement in the skills of a nation’s labor force can have a big impact on its economy. In a global market where companies can find well-educated workers in a growing number of countries —often at lower-cost— the U.S. will face greater competition if this trend continues.
Finland is an interesting example because as recently as 1970, only 40 percent of Finnish adults held a high school diploma. Today, its students rank among the top on global assessments of student learning. 
One key to Finland’s success was the decision in 1979 to require a two-year master’s degree for all teachers, even those teaching primary school. Teachers are trained to spot students who aren’t doing well early on, and each school has a multidisciplinary team of education professionals available to support students and help them catch up. Finland also did away with traditional structure and replaced it with a more flexible approach that encourages creativity and problem solving, individualized learning, and a wider range of academic and vocational options.
The modernization of Finland’s education system has helped put it in the ranks of the most innovative and prosperous countries. Per capita GDP in Finland is higher than in the United Kingdom, France, or Japan. And teaching is a much sought-after profession that is held in high-regard.
Like Finland, Singapore decided that its future lay in tapping its human capital. In the Singapore system, all the key elements work closely together to produce continuous improvement. Over the last decade, Singapore has introduced innovative and flexible learning choices for students. It even has a policy called “teach less, learn more” that’s designed to encourage more innovative curricula and use of classroom time.
Singapore also is investing significantly in teachers—with strong teacher evaluation and personnel systems and intensive training. With all this, it’s not really a surprise that Singapore’s students rank near the top in international assessments, or that its per capita GDP is higher than the U.S., Canada, or most countries in Europe.
I agree with Stewart that the quality of student learning is only as good as the quality of the teachers. In the U.S., it will require investing in strong evaluation and development systems that involve teachers from the start, include multiple measures of effective teaching, and that fuse teacher evaluations with high-quality professional development.
I recommend this book as a good overview of what other countries are doing, although I would have liked to see more data. For example, the book spends very little time on the length of the school day or school year, which many people think are key factors in educational achievement. And it doesn’t explain how the U.S. manages to spend so much on education without having smaller class sizes or higher teacher pay.
All in all, it’s an interesting view into five countries which are making remarkable educational progress and that offer lessons for us in the U.S.

Incredible
Shrinking
Notes

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf

Subjects

• Language Arts (Study Skills)
  Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects.

Grade

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12
• Advanced

[facebookbadge]Brief Description
A fun 3-step process helps students "boil down" note taking.
Objectives
Students will

• Listen to or read a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
• Fill a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card with important facts from the reading selection.
• Narrow down those notes to the important notes that fit on a medium-size (approximately 3- x 3-inch) sticky note or card.
• Narrow down those notes to the most important notes that will fit on a small (approximately 1- x 2-inch) sticky note or card.

Keywords
note taking, notes, listening, Earhart, study skills, research
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]

• three "sticky notes" or index cards in three different sizes -- approximately 3- x 5 inches, 3 x 3 inches, and 1 x 2 inches - for each student
• a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection

Lesson Plan
About the Lesson
This lesson uses a brief biography of Amelia Earhart as the starting point for note-taking exercises. The Earhart biography is only a suggested starting point for this lesson, however. You might substitute any piece of literature for the selection, or provide additional note-taking practice by repeating this lesson with a variety of content-rich, subject-related reading material.
The Lesson
This activity can be used as a listening activity; or you can provide each student with a copy of a brief biography of Amelia Earhart or another grade-appropriate reading selection.
To begin, give each student a sticky note or index card roughly 3- x 5-inches in size.

Display a sample of the largest sticky note or card. Share with students that this activity is going to include three brief writing assignments; each successive assignment will require them to write less. Emphasize that for the purpose of this assignment, it is important that students' write in the same size for all three assignments. The reason for that rule will become clear as the activity proceeds. You might demonstrate the "ideal" size writing on the largest sticky note or card. See the sample text box below.

Read aloud or have students read to themselves the Earhart biography or another reading selection. During the first reading, students should not take notes. Instruct them to listen carefully, consider all the details in the selection, and think about the details they think are most important or significant.
Then tell students you are going to read the passage again. This time, students should jot down notes on a 3- x 5-inch sticky note or index card. They should fill the card with their notes. (Remind them that they should pay close attention to the size of their writing.)

If the students have individual copies of the reading selection, they can do the above steps on their own. If you are reading aloud to them, you might need to read the selection one more time to be sure each student's card is filled up with notes.

Next, provide students with a sticky note or card of medium size. (See Materials Needed above.) Tell them their job is to study the notes on their large card and eliminate some of the less important information. They then should fill up the medium-size card with notes from the large card that they think are most important. (Remind them to pay close attention to the size of their writing.)
Finally, provide students with the smallest sticky note or index card. Now, students really have to make careful judgments about the most important information to transfer from the medium-size card to the small card.

In the end, students should have notes that express the most important facts or themes found in the reading selection.

Emphasize to students that this lesson in note taking is intended to help them see that note taking is about scaling down information to the most important details. Students can also employ this strategy as they study for unit tests. They can read through their notes; "boil down" those notes to key facts, ideas, and themes; and write those key ideas in the margins of their notebooks. The key ideas are the ideas that represent the themes worth reviewing for the upcoming unit test. To study for that test, students might simply review their margin notes and practice supplying supporting information for each key idea.
Assessment
Read aloud a news story from today's newspaper and have students write the key idea(s) on a small sticky note or index card. Students also might employ the three-card strategy used in this lesson to "boil down" the news story to its main idea/ideas.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Find more ideas for teaching study skills in an Education World article Teaching Study Skills: Ideas That Work!.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/03/lp322-02.shtml#sthash.8cdfS7wt.dpuf