Read more! Write more! This chapter expains the importance of including reading and writing into the classroom all the time. One main point is teaching students to do summary writing. Many times when I ask students to write a short summary about a book or a movie, they basically just tell me what happened. This chapter expresses the main points on what a summary is. A writer must put information into their own words, tell important parts, but not everything, and demonstrate a connection between information.
Encourage note-taking was another key step listed in the chapter. This is something not taught much in my school. Very rarely do I see students taking notes. When I was in school, I took notes all the time in class. Not because it was required, but because it was a routine. I used the notes to help me study and succeed. Kids (from my experiences) don't really see a need to take notes, unless it is for an assignment. This last year I had the opportunity to work with freshmen in high school for the first time. About half-way through the year I talked with my kids about note-taking. They told me they didn't like it cause it was hard. They also told me that the teacher goes to fast for them to get the notes. I think in the future (beginning this year) I will work on teaching my kids ways to take notes they can understand and still read while paying attention in class.
I can't remember ever being taught anything about note-taking. Seems a shame, when it is such an essential skill - I think we were expected to just figure it out. I remember learning at some point that the brain remembers things in 4 ways: what we see, what we hear, what we say, and what we write down. If we take notes and then read them aloud to ourselves, we are hitting all those memory tracks. If we take notes and never look at them again, we're still better off than if we hadn't taken notes.
ReplyDeleteNote taking is definitely not something that is fun to teach. The students don't like it, and I find teaching it very boring. Yet, it is a vitally important skill in school and life!
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