How do you take good notes for high school?

Question

Im possibly going in to some honor classes (from what I read on my tentative schedule).

I usually just copy what the teacher puts on the board and count on luck and what I remember from paying attention (sometimes that backfires, because I procrastinate taking notes or not pay attention as much).

I got REALLY lucky on the faq that Im going into junior year.

So yea, any tips?

Answer 1

use different coloured pens.  it helps when you're studying them later.  also, dont write EVERYTHING that the teacher writes on the board.  you need to learn how to pick out the important things, the things that will be on tests.  key points, i believe they're called.

Answer 2

do you type?  well?  it's time to learn.

get yourself an alphasmart, that uses an SD card, and type notes.

later, upload 'em by transferring the SD card.

i don't know if they all use an SD card, the Dana does.

easy to type.

simple to use.

do it quick, and practice typing, and uploading.

look on Craig's list.

Answer 3

You should look into Cornell notes. It is a note-taking system where you divide your paper in half. (long-wise) On the right side of the page you write down the notes that the teacher puts on the board. On the left side of the page you do summaries and write your own questions for clarification. A lot of colleges use this method of note-taking and I think a lot of students find success with it. Check these sites for more info:

http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/corne...

http://www.clt.cornell.edu/campus/learn/...

Answer 4

ok everyone has diffrent ways of learning... Me I write everything down... But others do just do the main points.. It all depends on your style

Answer 5

My only tip is to actually read the book and reallly try to learn the material. Write down anything that seems important as you read it, that you think you won't remember but really should. I graduated this year, after taking five AP classes last year, and there was not one of them where the teacher gave us good notes to really study off of. Plus, its a bore to really pay attention in class when the teachers just give an outline of the material, instead of really trying to make you learn and understand it all.

Answer 6

i recommend using composition notebooks. the pages don't rip out that easily, so everything stays in one place.

usually i also write whats on the board. i underline or circle stuff that the teacher says is really important.

if she says something that isn't in the notes on the board but is useful, i'll write in down in the margins.

hope this helps. good luck!

Answer 7

i have been in your shoes for years. I finally figured out a good sytem that works. It took me until i was in college to do it. Hnadwritten notes are a pain and rarely reveiwed. If you go to microsoft.com they have a program for only 20$ it is called one note. It also comes with notecard. One note is a program designed for taking notes and is a great program. I can type much quicker than hand write. My notes were perfection. They were so good that i charged other students money for them. I made 150$ last semester. Note card is a program that makes notecards electronically for you. All I do is take my notes, reveiew at night, and review once before a test and I get a's. My hand written notes never got reviewed because they looked sloppy.

Answer 8

I never took notes in High School.  My very first class in college, the chick next to me was writing notes for the whole hour of class.  I thought that was what I should do.  So I wrote everything down.  Its really a matter of practice.  Write everything down. But after that, you will find out how to write down main topics and you will also learn the style of the teacher.  You come to learn when they are going off topic or when their information is unnecesarry in your road to learning the subject. Really this works. Write everything at first, then you will learn to note take efficiently thereafter and your notes will not be long but accurate and concise.

Answer 9

haha. by end of 1st quarter my freshman year i gave up on notes. ended up w/ a 4.0 i wasted alot of paper taking notes that first quarter