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Note Taking ~ Inspiration
SUMMARY: Students
learn three different note taking styles to aid them in writing
down their discoveries during the Hidden Villa field trip
in an organized way. This supports the development of students'
note taking skills. Note taking during the field trip also
supports student academic success in classroom projects integrated
with the field trip. DURATION: 2
to 5 days GRADES: 2nd-5th
CALIFORNIA
STATE STANDARDS |
| Although
note taking is not a specified standard on its own, the
skills required for taking effective notes are part of
many language arts standards throughout the elementary
grades. Determining main ideas and supporting details in
informational text is an important reading standard that
is addressed in this unit apart from the skill
set of decoding. Students will develop their skills of
analyzing diagrams and captions as they learn to create
them for their own Hidden Villa discoveries. Finally, students
will focus on the writing standard of sensory details as
they take personal notes for later use in stories and poems. |
HIDDEN
VILLA GOALS |
| Taking
notes is not a Hidden Villa requirement. However, as a
teacher I find it a powerful tool to not only support
my student's academic progress, but to also enrich their
Hidden Villa experiences. When students are asked to take
notes about their discoveries,
students tend to pay more attention to details during their
Hidden Villa activities. Pausing a few times during the
day to recollect and sift through the activities of the
day allows students more time to reflect on their experiences.
This helps students remember more clearly the ecological
information learned as well as the feelings or experiences
of personal importance. Students also often find that being
encouraged to focus in on just a few things when taking
notes heightens their curiosity about these topics. Students
then ask further questions, continue their exploration
of the topic or return to class with a deeper sense of
wonder and maybe a list of questions they are anxious to
research further. |
CLASSROOM
RELEVANCE |
Knowing how to take effective notes is an essential skill for student success, starting in the early middle-school grades and growing in importance through high school to college. Taking notes involves learning a set of challenging and complex skills, which students cannot be expected to learn on their own or overnight. It falls on us then, as elementary teachers, to being developing the basic skills students will need for this task. Many of our language arts lessons based on standards of reading comprehension and writing research help our students develop the skills of an effective note taker.
There are several reasons why I particularly like using
our Hidden Villa field trip as a way to introduce
or
reinforce note taking skills. First of all, students'
experiences during the Hidden Villa field trip provide
fun, meaningful
and applicable reasons for students to take notes. Because
students are engaged in the activities, they are more
enthusiastic about taking notes, thus boosting their
skill learning
curve. Also, at Hidden Villa students are encouraged
to take notes about what they believe is interesting
or important
about what they have learned. Since learning at Hidden
Villa is hands-on, the skill of determining important
main
ideas and supporting details is separated from the
skills of comprehending
informational texts. This allows students more freedom
to develop their note taking skills without the worries
of understanding
a hard passage of reading or of finding the correct answer.
Finally, my students' Hidden Villa notes are immediately
useful to my students as we use them the very next day
to initiate and support our integrated classroom projects. |
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