Effective Note-taking from an Early Age FOLLOWING ON FROM LAST MONTH’S ARTICLES – EFFECTIVE READING FROM AN EARLY AGE AND TEACHING KEYWORD IDENTIFICATION FROM AN EARLY AGE, KATH DENHOLM DISCUSSES EFFECTIVE NOTE-TAKING AND EFFECTIVE SUMMARISING
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he word note-taking is daunting for a young child, so I often use the more colourful word doodle. According to dictionary. com, doodle is to draw or scribble idly. If one can learn to scribble the critical information, present-mindedly from a young age, he will soon present as genius! Note-taking is complex and will take years to master. The Victorians developed two great shorthand systems to help one keep up with the rate of the speaker. Robert Jay Watson speaks on these systems in his article This Writing System Was Invented To Make Note-Taking an Easier Task. After reading this, I want to send my own children on a shorthand system course! A Warning: Teachers yell
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their heads off if they see a child drawing while they are teaching, if of course the scribble was done with an absent mind. The teacher will be thrilled and astounded if the child explains that while she teaches, he is going to jot down notes of all the critical information said. Effective Note-taking Requires the Use of your Left and Right Brain Most humans have a left brain (order and structure) and a right brain (creative and analytical). If these two brains can work together, memory magic happens. Both brains must be used when scribbling notes present-mindedly. It is important for your child’s left brain to use a format, when doodling. There are various formats
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that we teach: • The bubble format • The brick format • The tree format • The key image format A format creates order and structure on a page. In their special DOODLE booklet, they can choose the format that their left brain desires that day. E.g. If they are learning about the sun, the key image is a fun format to use. Some Final Words on Effective Note-taking Note-taking effectively is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT skill to learn and will take years of practice. Initially, a child will only be able to extract one or two pieces of critical information. This is amazing! They have begun their journey of note-taking. After the lesson, they need to revise their doodle and add colour to it. Their right brain would love this! As a child practices and begins to master the art of ‘scribbling present-mindedly’, he will no longer stare at you blankly, with an open mouth. He will be able to tell you a few things that he has learnt! This is rewarding for all involved!
