In 1980, the iconic yellow Post-it note hit the market and is now a staple in office supplies. Post-it notes were so successful because they could easily be removed from one surface and applied elsewhere. But if you’ve used Post-it notes, you know that at some point, they just stop sticking.  

Sometimes student learning is like a Post-it note. They can remember for a little while, but the information just doesn’t stick in their brains. How can students use note-taking to learn in a way that sticks with them?

Taking notes is an important life skill for students to develop in school. If they are always given outlines with blanks for them to fill in, they won’t learn this skill; they will merely listen for the word to fill in. On the opposite extreme, we can’t just hand them a piece of paper and say, “Take notes.” Note-taking needs to be taught explicitly.

Why take notes?
Students need to learn to take notes because note-taking helps them to remember. And it’s not just the finished notes that help; it’s the act of taking notes that also helps them remember. It’s even better if students reorganize their notes or add information from the textbook. This gives students opportunities to review what is in their notes and to read content that they are trying to remember. This gives them practice in remembering content. Students can even add questions to the margin of their notes to quiz themselves in preparation for tests.

When to Take Notes
Though students usually take notes in the context of doing schoolwork, they can take notes whenever something is important to remember. This could be:

• during a sermon in church
• in an important meeting
• while reading a book
• in their own personal Bible study

But here’s the big question that every student wonders: How do I know what to write down?

How to Take Notes
There is more than one good way to take notes, but it is important to have a structure. Students can get hints from what is important, especially from the way a class or sermon starts, or from titles and subtitles in a textbook. They can also listen for cues such as:

• “The three main points we will be talking about are . . . ,”
• “This is important,”
• “The most significant . . . ,”
• “To sum up,” 
• Or pay attention to when the teacher slows down

As students learn the hierarchy of information, they develop a mental structure for organizing the information they will be learning.

Taking notes can involve outlining or even drawing pictures! Check out this video from BJU Press to see a model of note-taking in action.

At BJU Press Homeschool, we are working to set your students up for success. We are adjusting guided notes with our video courses starting in grade 6 and into high school to help teach students how to develop a mental structure for note-taking. This skill is a tool that they can take with them into life.