Note Taking Skills Worksheets

We often associate the process of note taking as something that is reserved for the classroom, but really it is just a helpful technique to learn and retain information. Ever give your order to a waiter at a restaurant? Were they taking notes, you bet ya! What students often lose sight of is the purpose of note taking. The underlying reason we do this is to learn more, not to write everything down that is said. We do this to highlight the important points and heighten our ability to be active learners. The goal is to be able to look back at what we wrote and retain as much information as we can. At the end of the day, if your notes do not help understand the concept, they serve no purpose. Learning to take notes that work for you, takes time and experience. The most important thing is to constantly evaluate which methods you are using that produce results. It this section of site we feature worksheets that can help you learn to be a better note taker.

Note Taking Skills Worksheets:

Why Take Notes? - This week in class, practice the second type of note taking. Remember, the goal is not to write down every word the teacher says, but to capture the main points and connect them to related concepts where you can. Listen carefully to what your teacher is saying, then write down what you have learned in your own words.

Skills & Steps - This helps students evaluate their own approach to learning and see if they are missing something.

Mapping Method - A concept map is a way to organize information that makes sense visually. The main advantage of a concept map is that it shows relationships between things. This can be especially helpful when a single concept or piece of information is related to more than one other thing.

Clustering - Clustering is a way to organize information. Clustering means sorting information by putting like things together and identifying different subtopics that fall under a single topic. You can then connect the clusters for related concepts, similar to how you would with a mind map or a concept map.

The Cornell Method - In the Cornell Method of taking notes, the page is divided into three or for sections, and each section has a specific purpose.

Reading Partner - Use the graphic organizer below to take notes while you read the passage.

3, 2, 1 - A nice way to review everything that is brought your way.

The Big 5 - We help you arrange the five keys to any project.

Categories - Use the boxes below to group your notes into categories that you determine.

In the Clouds - What are the most important details of the work.

Key Details - A nice organizer to put everything together for yourself.

Sources and Evidence - Evaluate all the facts that are presented.

Story Notes - This is a listening sheet.

Template - This is streamlined template you can use to process your notes and give your own thoughts on it.

Use with Text - Use the graphic organizer to take notes on the key topics in the assigned text.

What I Know - What do you fully understand about this topic already?

The Gist - Understand the guts of any topic with this.

Core Ideas - What are three things you learned?

Things I Lost - This is a great way to sum up everything you were exposed to.

Research Notes - When you are working on a research paper.

Questions? - This helps you come up with specific question that may be helpful to ponder when learning this.

Vocab. - What are the important words to remember along the way.

Charting Method - With the charting method, you organize information in columns, for example, in a table. Label each column with a category name so that you can easily compare the same kind of information between rows.

The Boxing Method - Grouping your notes in this way makes it easier and quicker when it's time to review, because it is easier to find things that are related to each other.

The Outline Method - In the outline method, you identify main ideas and write them down along the left-hand margin of the page. Then you list subtopics underneath of them and sub-subtopics and details underneath of that, indenting at each level. The outline method works best for classes in which you know material will be presented in a clearly structured way.

Connections - This helps you find connections between major concepts in a work.

The Basics - The covers all the main points of interest for you.

The Checklist - Use the checklist below to assess your note taking skills.

Keep It Short and Simple (KISS) - The Keep It Short and Simple note-taking technique, or KISS, focuses on keeping notes brief, capturing only what matters in a way that you are likely to remember when you review your notes.

Summaries - When you have an opportunity, summarize your notes on the left-hand side.

How to Take Good Class Notes

If you look at the big picture having good notes to review is just as important as spending the time reviewing them. If the information you are working to is not easy to follow or confusing, you test preparation will be the same as that. There are many different things you can do to prepare to create a good set of notes before you even get to class. It starts with understanding where you left off previously. Take your time to review where you left off last class. It should only take you five minutes, tops! At the end of every week, look back at the course outline or syllables to make sure you know where you are and where you are going. The last thing to consider before you even write a note is to make sure that you date and title every separate instance of your recording. This will help you understand where everything fits when it is time to review on a larger scale.


Some main points that can improve your process right now include the focus of your note taking. You need to center your thoughts on the main points, but any questions that teacher poises to the class need to be highlighted. This is because they are usually the essential questions of the lesson. Making sure that your notes are clean, well-spaced, and concise is a critical component of making them helpful for when you need them. Being consistent in the way you structure everything is important because it will make it much easier for you to interpret when it is time to study.


There are number of different ways in which you can take notes. It is paramount that you understand that there is no single correct way to do this. The correct way is the way that works best for you. This reminds me of one of my college friends. I looked over at his notebook and it was just drawings that represented things that we were talking about in class. At the time, I thought he was preparing for a career in the comics, but when we got our tests back, he always had the highest score. He would be the first to tell you that he was not a genius, but he found a note taking method that worked for him. You need to do the same. The Cornell Notes method is a standardized way to approach this. It involves a standard format that can be applied to all content areas. Some students have a lot of luck with just writing outlines. This focuses on highlighting major points and leaving plenty of room to explain examples. Some students furiously write every single word a teacher says, which we do not fully recommend. The thing to remember is that what matters, is what works.