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Variety of Notetaking Techniques: Chain of Events
Chain of Events is used to describe the stages of an event, the actions of character
or the steps in a procedure. Key questions: What is the first step in the procedure
or initiating event? What are the next stages or steps? How does one event lead
to one another? What is the final outcome? Clustering
Clustering
is a nonlinear activity that generates ideas, images and feelings around a stimulus
word. As students cluster, their thoughts tumble out, enlarging their word bank
for writing and often enabling them to see patterns in their ideas. Clustering
may be a class or an individual activity. Compare/Contrast
Comparison/Conrast is used to show similarities and differences. Key frame questions:
What are being compared? How are they similar? How are they different? Continuum
Continuum is used for time lines showing historical events, ages (grade
levels in school), degrees of something (weight), shades of meaning, or rating
scales (achievement in school). Key frame questions: What is being scaled? What
are the end points or extremes? Cycle
A depiction of a Cycle
attempts to show how a series of events interacts to produce a set of results
again and again, such as the life cycle or a cycle of poor decisions. Key frame
questions: What are the main events in the cycle? How do they interact and return
to the beginning again? Fishbone Mapping
A Fishbone Map is
used to show the causal interaction of a complex event (an election, a nuclear
explosion) or complex phenomenon (juvenile delinquency, learning disabilities).
Key frame questions: What are the factors that cause X ? How do they interrelate?
Are the factors that cause X the same as those that cause X to persist? Spider
Map
The Spider Map is used to describe a central idea: a thing, a process,
a concept, a proposition. The map may be used to organize ideas or brainstorm
ideas for a writing project. Key frame questions: What is the central idea? What
are its attributes? What are its functions? Storyboard
A storyboard
is a graphic, sequential depiction of a narrative. Students recall major events
of the story, then illustrate the events in the squares provided. Venn
Diagram
The Venn Diagram is made up of two or more overlapping circles.
It is often used in mathematics to show relationships between sets. In language
arts instruction, Venn Diagrams are useful for examining similarities and differences
in characters, stories, poems, etc. It is frequently used as a prewriting activity
to enable students to organize thoughts or textual quotations prior to writing
a compare/contrast essay. This activity enables students to organize similarities
and differences visually . K-W-L-H
The K-W-L-H teaching technique
is a good method to help students activate prior knowledge. It is a group instruction
activity developed by Donna Ogle (1986) that serves as a model for active thinking
during reading.
K - Stands for helping students recall what they KNOW about
the subject.
W - Stands for helping students determine what they WANT to learn.
L - Stands for helping students identify what they LEARN as they read.
H -
Stands for HOW we can learn more (other sources where additional information on
the topic can be found).
Students complete the "categories" section at the
bottom of the graphic organizer by asking themselves what each statement in the
"L" section (What We Learned) describes.
They use these categories and the
information in the "H" section (How Can We Learn More) to learn more about the
topic. Students also can use the categories to create additional graphic organizers.
They can use the organizers to review and write about what they've learned.
Sample
K-W-L-H
Dinosaurs
What We Know
Dinosaurs are large.
Dinosaurs
are dead.
They lived a long time ago.
There is a movie about dinosaurs
What We Want to Find Out
How long ago did they live?
Why did
they die?
How do we know what they looked like?
Who are the people who
study dinosaurs?
What We Learned
An archeologist has an exciting
life.
Dinosaurs eat plants and some eat meat.
Some dinosaurs were gigantic,
but had small brains.
Fossils uncover dinosaur traits.
How Can We Learn
More
Research
Museums
Field Trips
Archeological digs
Videos
Internet computer search
Categories of Information we expect to use:
Size
Career Eating Habits Prior Knowledge Topic Survey
Anticipation/Reaction
Guide Instruction:
Respond to each statement twice:
once before the lesson
and again after reading it.
Write A if you agree with the statement
Write
B if you disagree with the statement
Response Before Lesson TOPIC: Dinosaurs
Response After Lesson
Dinosaurs are the most successful group of land
animals ever to roam the Earth. Paleontology is the study of fossils.
Human
beings belong to the Zenozoic Era.
Most dinosaurs have Greek names.
Some
dinosaurs are named for places in which their fossilized remains were found. Dinosaurs
ruled our planet for over 150 million years.
Dinosaurs had small brains http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm
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