Reader Instructor

Internalizing New Knowledge

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

21st Century Skills—You will use critical thinking and problem solving skills and communicate effectively.

Directions

Please save this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document.

Self-Checked Activities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. Except for the Summary section, these self-checked activities have no sample answers, as they depend on your personal experience. Keep in mind that you will benefit most by answering questions thoroughly and honestly. At the end of the lesson, click the link to open the Student Answer Sheet. Use the sample responses to evaluate your work on the Summary section.

5.Summary

Consider what you’ve explored in this lesson. Try to remember everything you can. Look at the unfinished outline below and attempt to fill in the blanks to the best of your ability without looking back in the lesson. This activity will not only test your memory but will also help you practice studying.

Answers:

Taking Notes—Note-taking can be a very useful study technique. Writing down information has been proven to improve memory and learning. You can be a better note-taker by trying these approaches:

Active listening—Requires you to pay more attention to main ideas and details, helping you collect only the most relevant pieces of information. By focusing on what the speaker is saying, you can better understand the information the speaker is presenting.

oVerbal cues—These cues are helpful when actively listening. Pay attention to certain words the speaker says, because they could signal that important information is about to be related.

oVisual cues—Watch for things such as words written on the chalkboard, information from a slideshow presentation, and whether the speaker seems to be excited about a certain topic or fact. These cues will signal that the information is important for you to write down.

oAsking questions—Being a better active reader means asking questions if you don’t understand something. Having the speaker elaborate on a specific point will help you to better understand it.

Group discussions—Allow you to take more notes or add details you might have missed during the lecture.

Techniques for taking notes will vary from person to person. Find the approach that works best for you. You can use one method or a combination of the following:

Outlines—This technique is good for well-organized classes, especially if slideshow presentations are shown. This method summarizes and condenses information to focus on main ideas and supporting details.

Free-form—This method allows you to write without a particular structure. Write down everything you think is important in paragraphs and bullet points, which frees you from taking the time to conform to a specific form, such as an outline.

Concept map—This method is a more visual approach to taking notes. If your instructor jumps from topic to topic, a concept map might allow you to return to earlier ideas and add details during the lecture.

Processing and Using Notes—After you’ve taken notes, the next step is to figure out the most beneficial way to use them.

Polish—Polishing your notes is good because it helps clarify and correct any wrong or missing information. Polish your notes as soon as you can after class to avoid forgetting anything.

Reorganize —Turn your notes into different kinds of study materials to better retain the information you learned in class. Seeing this information presented in different formats might help reinforce your knowledge.

Ways to process your notes:

Recite—Read your notes aloud to yourself and make connections with the text. This action might help you remember what you’ve just studied.

Visualize—If you’re a visual learner, creating a picture in your mind of your notes might further help you retain what you learn.

Rewrite—Rewrite your notes from memory to help you remember important details.

Flashcards—Flashcards will also help with your memory by giving you the means to easily quiz yourself about the facts from your notes.

Reading Effectively—Learning how to read effectively is one of the most important parts of your education. To read more effectively, you must become an “active” reader. Active reading lets you engage with the text by identifying and collecting ideas, key concepts, and supporting details.

Schedule —Developing a reading schedule and spreading out your assignments might help you concentrate on what you’re reading, rather than trying to absorb a lot of information at once.

Time of day—Decide when you’re most alert during the day and choose to read then, which may help you focus more on your reading.

Location—Location is important in facilitating concentration. Choose a place that will not distract you or tempt you to stop reading early.

Questions—Write down any questions you have while reading. By doing so, you’re actively engaging with the text, allowing you to focus your thoughts and figure out what you don’t know.

Annotation—Annotating the text will help you become a better active reader. It will also help when you start studying, as it will reinforce your knowledge of the topic.

Notes—Taking notes on a text might be helpful if you want to take the extra step of remembering what you’ve read. Putting main ideas and details into an outline, for example, might be useful for some students.

Getting the Most out of Homework—Homework can improve your knowledge and skills, so it’s important to know how to maximize those results.

Homework helps—Remember that homework is ultimately there to help you. Take it seriously by writing down questions you have and reviewing your notes at the same time.

Don’t wait—Don’t wait to do your homework until the last minute. That creates stress and doesn’t leave you with sufficient time to dedicate to learning from your homework.

Review —Asking yourself how your homework relates to your notes and what you’ve learned in class will help strengthen your understanding of the topic.

Lesson Activities

Student Answer Sheet

Academic Success

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