MINILESSON Use Sketching and Writing to Take Notes CONNECTION Share an example of an author who researched and took notes. Emphasize the power of taking notes to help you hold onto key information. “Researchers, did you know that the nonfiction authors you’re reading books by didn’t just sit down one day and start writing? No way! Instead, they had to start by doing a ton of research, just like you’re doing right now. “Take Rina Singh, for instance. She heard a story about Jadav Payeng and decided she wanted to learn more. Next, she watched a documentary about him. And then, she did a bunch more research. She even talked to Jadav’s daughter about his work. There’s no way Rina could hold onto all that information in her head. I’m sure Rina had to write down the most important information so she could remember it accurately, so she could tell Jadav’s story truthfully when she wrote about him.” Name the teaching point. “Today I want to teach you that when you are researching a topic, one way to hold onto the information you’re learning is to write about it. You can use sketching and writing to take notes about the most important information you are learning.” TEACHING Share examples of note-taking about insects from second grade. Recruit students to study the samples, naming what they recall about note-taking while you annotate the notes. “I know you’ve all taken notes before, so rather than teaching you all the same old tips again, I thought we could study some notes and work together to label them, marking them up with all the things we can try when we do our own note-taking. “I’ll display two sample note-taking pages here, both about insects. You might remember your teacher last year showing you notes that look like these. Will you study these with your partner, asking, ‘What can these note-taking pages teach us about how to teach notes?’ Point to parts as you talk, and be as specific as you can.” Display two sample note-taking pages, and channel students to talk.
Working memory is limited. Oakley and Schewe (2021) discuss how people can typi- cally hold two to six pieces of information in their working memory. In order to retain information, students need to transfer information from their working memory to their long- term memory. Pausing after a chunk to put something you’ve learned on paper is helpful because it gets content out of kids’ working memory, freeing up more space for new learning. In second grade, students par- ticipated in related reading and writing units: Growing Knowl- edge and Writing Research- Based Nonfiction. Both units introduced students to a series of note-taking strategies stu- dents can use when writing about nonfiction reading, which you’ll review today. Graham (2020) has found that students’ reading comprehen- sion improves when students write about the material they are reading. This positive effect also holds true for students experi- encing reading difficulties.
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Bend I • Strengthen Nonfiction Research Skills: Researching Plants
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