This week, you will get a chance to practice your note-taking skills. Why do we need to practice note-taking skills? Well, we often assume that everyone knows how to take notes. After all, we all have to write things down here and there, what’s so special about it? Probably, anyone who studied at school is able to take notes. Agreed! But, to take notes effectively requires some awareness, knowledge, organization, and structure. But don’t worry – with little effort, you’ll master the skill in no time!
So let’s begin. And let’s begin with reading. Reading about the topic activates your prior knowledge of the material, so once you have to write down new information, it will be easier to grasp it and create links between what you already know and what you need to learn.
Reading
Read an article about volunteering in Canada:
Before reading
Look at the title of the article. What do you already know about this topic? Can you predict what this article will be about?
While reading
Use an online dictionary to study or clarify the meaning of new words. Create a word bank of 5-10 words from the article. Include their meaning, pronunciation, sample sentences and any notes you might have about these words. Use the word bank sample document below:
After reading
Were you able to predict what the article was about? What was new to you? What information did you already know?