Cornell Notes
2015-2016
What are the benefits of using Cornell Notes with our students?
- Cornell Notes are useful in any academic setting, from lecture, presentation, video, books, vocabulary to PBL.
- The use of the note taking, note making, note interacting and note reflection steps increase students retention of important information.
Read the Business Insider article supporting Cornell Notes as THE best note taking method.
How to take Cornell Notes
Remind students of the 10/24/7 Rule!
- A system using scheduled repetition strategies moving information from short-term memory into the more reliable long-term memory portion of the brain.
How do I know if my students are taking and using Cornell Notes correctly?
- Cornell note taking is a process that is expected to be built upon,
- Follow the CORNELL WAY and use the resources available to you on google drive (templates, samples, rubrics)
- REMEMBER: Only Part 1 is what students will be completing in class most of the time (Create Format, Organize Notes), Parts 2 & 3 can be done as a bell assignment the next day, ticket out the door, you can group students to compare and revise notes.
Cornell Notes - CORNELL WAY rubric
Where can I find more resources on the CORNELL WAY and Cornell notes?
The link below takes you to our LMS/Colin Powell 6th Grade Center "Cornell Notes Resources" google drive folder. The folders contain:
- Lesson Help - tips for learning, teaching and using the Cornell Way, grade level expectations and 10-2-2 lesson plan for classroom use
- Samples - Cornell Notes from all subject areas (yes, even Music and PE).
- Templates - Various files including google drive templates, pdf template, reading log version, math templates (graph and dot versions). Just make a copy of the templates to use them in your classroom.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0xOc8RhUSpcX044ajZXc1JuUW8&usp=sharing
Frequently Asked Questions?
- What are the grade level expectations for Cornell Notes?
6th Grade - Learn to set up Cornell notes correctly, know what each section is and what should go in each section. Begin use of higher level questions and basic summary writing with teacher assistance.
7th Grade - Take properly set up Cornell notes with little guidance from teacher, and proficient summary. Include proof of review and revision process (circle key words, underline main ideas, etc).
8th Grade - Take Cornell notes from many sources, including lectures, presentations and books. Use all steps in note taking, note making and note interacting process.
- Do I have to provide Cornell Note paper for my students? No, you can use: notebook paper, page in a journal, half sheet of paper, google doc template, PDF template and more. Tip: If you know you will be lecturing, have students set up Cornell notes pages at the beginning of the week so they will be ready quickly.
- Do I have to provide an EQ? Yes, you should provide some type of target to help them understand what the notes they are taking are about and to summarize. Tip: This should be written on your whiteboard somewhere anyhow.
- Can I provide the questions in the left hand column? Yes and No. We should scaffold the question writing process. By November, students should be able to write their own questions. Teacher and student written questions should be higher level questions. It is understandable that you may need to give guiding questions for some note sets. Teaching Tip: Students can write their questions the next day as a bell assignment together. While they are doing that, they can also partner up to compare notes and make additions and revisions. Using the Rigor and Relevance place mat is a useful tool to help students identify higher level questions.
- Do Cornell Notes always have a summary? Yes, the summary is an important part of synthesizing the notes. Teaching Tip: Have students write their summary at the end of the week as a repetition strategy. Summaries should answer the EQ or learning target.
- Will I have to grade Cornell Notes? They should be graded just as you would normally grade notes in your class. Rubrics are available if needed.
- What about my students who might need accommodations? Cornell notes can be provided in many formats, including completely filled out by teacher or fill in the blank versions.
- I only teach PBL, how can I use Cornell Notes? Students can use digital Cornell Notes to answer their guiding questions, to record vocabulary or take notes from the project brief. Teaching tip: Learning Logs are a great alternative to measure understanding of the project.