Creating Guided Notes Worksheets for Your Students
What are guided notes?
Guided notes can be described as a skeleton outline that lists main points of a verbal presentation and provides designated spaces for students to complete as the speaker elaborates on each main idea (Lazarus, 1991). They are a helpful tool for English Language learners and students with learning disabilities. A good handout will have about half of the information typed out and half left for the students to fill in during the lecture. Handouts may also include the following questions for students to answer; partially completed diagrams, maps, or graphic organizers; and pictures.
Guided notes provide benefits for all students and teachers:
Low cost and efficient strategy
Promotes active engagement
Students are more likely to participate in guided note taking
Prevents leaving out important information
Leads to higher scores on all corresponding activities, assignments, and assessments
Allows organization of lecture to be clear
Leads to more verbal responses from students
More critical points are recorded
Students don’t have to guess what information is important
Can be used in any content area
Complete and accurate notes can be used as study guides
Check out these additional resources - some include examples!
(Hint: Find more examples of guided notes in your content area by conducting a Google Search with "guided notes mathematics" and substituting a topic or subject area name.
Compare the two examples of Guided Notes for Architects in Action - Before and After (see below). Key revisions include use of a table to assist in organizing information, improved use of space on the page, insuring that all questions are oriented toward the student.
Look back over the three guided notes attached to the teacher lectures in the previous step - the FOIL Method, Disease, and Spanish. How will these activities support student learning? (they are attached on the first page of the lecture)
Create a handout to go along with your lecture. This could be a short worksheet, guided notes, a copy of the questions you ask throughout your lecture, additional information, or whatever you feel is needed.
Use formatting to improve the organization of your handout. Consider font color and size, images, headings, use of tables, etc.
Review your work by checking spelling and grammar with the Microsoft Word review tools.
Add your Teacher Lecture and Guided Notes to your Digital Unit Plan under Lesson #1.
EXAMPLE: Architects-in-Action Guided Notes
Compare the two examples of Guided Notes for Architects in Action - the before and the after. Key revisions include use of a table to assist in organizing information, improved use of space on the page, insuring that all questions are oriented toward the student. If you were a student, which would you prefer? Guided Notes BEFORE
Creating Guided Notes Worksheets for Your Students
What are guided notes?
Guided notes can be described as a skeleton outline that lists main points of a verbal presentation and provides designated spaces for students to complete as the speaker elaborates on each main idea (Lazarus, 1991). They are a helpful tool for English Language learners and students with learning disabilities. A good handout will have about half of the information typed out and half left for the students to fill in during the lecture. Handouts may also include the following questions for students to answer; partially completed diagrams, maps, or graphic organizers; and pictures.
Guided notes provide benefits for all students and teachers:
- Low cost and efficient strategy
- Promotes active engagement
- Students are more likely to participate in guided note taking
- Prevents leaving out important information
- Leads to higher scores on all corresponding activities, assignments, and assessments
- Allows organization of lecture to be clear
- Leads to more verbal responses from students
- More critical points are recorded
- Students don’t have to guess what information is important
- Can be used in any content area
- Complete and accurate notes can be used as study guides
- Students learn to take better notes
(from An Alternative to Traditional Note Taking Strategies)Check out these additional resources - some include examples!
(Hint: Find more examples of guided notes in your content area by conducting a Google Search with "guided notes mathematics" and substituting a topic or subject area name.
Assignment
EXAMPLE: Architects-in-Action Guided Notes
Compare the two examples of Guided Notes for Architects in Action - the before and the after. Key revisions include use of a table to assist in organizing information, improved use of space on the page, insuring that all questions are oriented toward the student. If you were a student, which would you prefer?
Guided Notes BEFORE