Last year, I tried something new with my Classical Conversations Challenge B class. I gave each of them a brand new composition book on the first week of class and told them that I wanted them to take all of their weekly notes from community in that one book. You can read all about my B notebooks here, but in case you were wondering how it turned out, let’s just say it was a mixed bag. I had a class of 11 (5 girls, 6 boys) and it pretty much fell along gender lines: the girls seemed to love and use them, and most of the boys used them for drawing (which isn’t necessarily bad). The girls loved them so much, in fact, that some of their siblings in Challenge A this year told their director about them and now that class is using them, too (along with my girls who moved up to Challenge 1). So all in all, I think it turned out to be a great success for the students who were already good with note-taking. Still, I couldn’t help but believe that there was more I could be doing to help teach my students—all of them—how to take good notes. Enter the revised B notebook.
My B Notebook v. 2 is based on the Cornell note-taking system. I had read about it last year, but in the hustle and bustle of other Challenge B studies, it fell by the wayside. I revisited it again this summer as I prepared for my parent training and orientation. I wanted to tell the parents so they could pass it along to their children and hopefully improve their note-taking skills on community day. During our equipping session, I gave each parent a blank piece of paper, explained how to section it off to take Cornell notes and what each section is for, then dove into some content so they could test their newfound knowledge. I won’t go into all of the details of Cornell notes in this post, but I heartily encourage you to check it out and see if it could work for you, too. As my parent/teachers and I discussed on the day of our equipping, they are a perfectly classical tool: the main area is the place for your grammar; the cues area is where you ponder the dialectic connections; and the summary section represents a rhetorical understanding, hopefully leading to memory and delivery (teaching, even!).
The notebooks I passed out to my students this year are Cornell note-taking composition books. They have the same look/size as the super cheap composition books we used last year, but I’m hoping that the Cornell notes design will make them more attractive for actually taking notes and make the cost worthwhile. I’m only 2 weeks in so it’s still too early to tell whether this system will make a difference, but I was encouraged to see one of my kids dive right into the method on his first day to class:
Although he got a few concepts mixed up, he’s *well* on his way to mastering the usefulness of this type of note-taking!
One final note on the “evolved” B notebook: I’m intentionally saving some time at the end of our day to reflect on what we covered that day in each strand. I tried to do that last year, but I wasn’t consistent and so many days we just ran out of time (a weekly challenge when you have 11 students in your class!). This year, I’ve decided to use CCC forms (Connect, Collect, Create) that echo the theme of beekeeping and “making honey,” with Collect (grammar; new knowledge), Connect (dialectic; connected to things I already know), and Create (rhetoric; what can I do with this newfound knowledge?). Since I’m a digiscrapping/art journaling junkie, I decided to use colorful washi tape to tape my CCC pages to the 1st page of each week’s teaching notes.
This not only makes the journal look pretty, but it makes it easy to find where each new week starts. If you wanted to use the CCC idea you don’t have to have forms. I didn’t use a form last year but rather just had the kids draw their circles and write out “Connect, Collect, Create” each time. However, I’ve found that sometimes it’s worthwhile to provide a tool for them if it will make the real task (writing the content) seem less daunting. Since we only usually have 5-10 minutes to do these, my form allows them to spend 100% of their time on actually thinking back to each strand and what they learned. And I think that’s worth it.
If you’d like to adopt the CCC idea, you can download my page here. If you’re interested in purchasing composition books specifically designed for Cornell note-taking, you can find many different types on Amazon. I went with these, although I didn’t purchase from Amazon because I found a better price for a dozen from this online seller. They were $2.17 each when I placed an order for 10. It looks like that may have been a sale price, so check around for the best deal, especially if you want to buy multiple books.
What tools have you found to be effective for note-taking? Do you use Cornell notes yourself?
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This is wonderfully inspiring! As a mom of a Challenge B student, I’m inspired by your note taking ideas! Thank you for writing this post and introducing the Cornell system. As I was researching Challenge I ideas for next year, I came upon your blog. The notebooks and the CCC page ideas will be a refreshing way to teach my son to take notes.
Blessings to you!
The students only have one notebook to take notes on all strands, and not a separate notebook for each strand, correct?
My son is in challenge A and really struggling with note taking. He says he can’t listen and write at the same time. Not sure what to do about that, but this is such a valuable skill to learn. Thanks 🙂
Hi, Kristina. Yes, one notebook that contains notes for all 6 strands. At least that’s how I do it in my Challenge B class. I think it’s easier for them to keep track of the 1 notebook for all class notes, and then they can do with them what they want if they have other, separate notebooks for each strand at home. I’m not intending to suggest how any student keeps their notes at home and would never presume to know more than the student’s teacher. This is just what I think works well in my class and is an easy way for parents to see what their child got from any given strand that day. Granted, it succeeds or fails on the student’s ability to take notes, but since it’s a skill we are trying to help them develop, I think it’s a good gauge.
I love the way you are using the composition book to teach them to take notes. I have recently began to use this Cornell format in taking notes. Now that I have been using it, I would love to share that with the students as well. I gave them regular lined composition notebooks, so will probably just have them divide the paper accordingly for the time being.
I too have found in just 3 week, that most of the boys are doodling a lot instead of writing notes. Trying not to get distracted by this, but I really want them to learn this very valuable skill. Thank you so much for taking time to share your methods.
How fun to find this updated post on your notebooks the very day I came out to your site to look for what you did last year! I am excited to try out EXACTLY what you are doing 🙂 Thank you for this and all the other tips and tricks you have learned along the way. And a fun PS: I had connected with you awhile back when I came across your site because of a post on running, where I had also noticed Andrew Peterson quotes (two of my favorite things). You had even shared with me the first part of The Warden and The Wolf King, and I had recommended that you look into the RoadID. Maybe that rings a bell??? Anyways, I don’t think I knew there was a CC connection back then. But even cooler, I am a Challenge B director (first year) and see that you are the Melanie Johnson who is now on the academic advisor team for Challenge B; I thought that was cool!!! Thanks again, I will be sure to be dropping in much more frequently 🙂
Your comment is all kinds of awesome, Joanna! Good to hear from you again! I *did* take your advice and look into Road ID, but unfortunately, my running habit stopped almost as quickly as it started. 🙁 It got so hot (I live in south Georgia) and I was running outside, so I just petered out. I really do want to get back to it again–it’s great for mental health, too! Welcome to Challenge B! I predict that you’re going to love it! 🙂