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Hi! I am an eighth grade Rebbe and I am trying to find someone to speak to about a method on how to teach the boys to take notes.  I was wondering if anyone has figured this out or maybe someone can tell me who to speak to.

Thanks,

Avi Kula

Dear Rabbi Kula,
Note-taking is a skill that must be taught and learned.  Many teachers think that note-taking, organizational skills, neat writing, etc. will happen through osmosis.  Unfortunately, this is not so.  Students must be taught the importance of the particular skill, they must be taught how to do it, they need to practice it, and they need teacher feedback about their performance.

I found the following resource in the chinuch.org archives: [Note Taking Tips and Techniques (R_01279) Contributor: Chaya Wineberg ].  This should provide a solid basis for how to teach this skill.  After you teach the skill, it is important to provide guided practice.  It might also be worthwhile to grade their notes.  The notes on a particular unit can count as part of the grade on the unit test or it can be a separate grade.  If the notes will be graded, it is important to provide the students with a grading rubric so that they will know what is expected from them.