Lesson Plan:

 

What's So Great About Cornell Notes?

 

Objectives:

Students will learn the origin of Cornell Notes and the importance of fidelity to the model and will evaluate their own note‐taking skills.

Grade Level:

Grades 6-12

Materials and Preparation:

• Cornell Notes Student Worksheet
• Forgetting Curve Graph
• Teacher's Letter to Dr. Pauk
• Dr. Pauk's Letter
• Excerpt from How to Study in College by Dr. Walter Pauk
• Sample of exemplary Cornell Notes
• Background Information - Cornell Notes
• Background Information - Forgetting Curve
  

Resources Used:

• Walter Pauk, How to Study in College, Fourth Edition.
• "Forgetting curve". Encyclopedia of Psychology. FindArticles.com. 01 Jun, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0001/ai_2699000135/
• AVID Archives Database

Suggested Procedure:

• 1. Opening: Start with the following questions. What is the purpose of taking notes? How do Cornell Notes differ from regular notes? What is the point of these differences?
• 
  2. Share Background Information on Cornell Notes and the Forgetting Curve with students.
• 
  3. Share Pam McGee's Letter (read aloud/project) (even teachers wonder why we use Cornell Notes).
• 
  4. Distribute Cornell Notes Student Worksheet

• • a. Have students, individually or in pairs, fill out worksheet using:

  i. Dr. Pauk's Letter
  ii. Forgetting Curve
  iii. Excerpt from How to Study in College by Dr. Walter Pauk.

  5. Students share out responses and brainstorm reasons not mentioned in the primary sources.
  
  

1. 6. Assessment:

   a. Students Quickwrite - How can you improve your note‐taking and what do you already do well?
   
   OR
   
   b. For deeper analysis, have students evaluate their own note‐taking based on both their physical notes (what they look like on paper) and their note‐taking process (ie. Do their sit in the front of the class, avoid distractions like talkative friends?).