In our reading this week there was a lot about note taking and cues. As I teach my first graders, we usually start a lesson with an affinity chart. I pass out post it notes and they draw or write something they know about the topic we are about to start. Then they post them on chart paper and as a class we read all responses together. Throughout the week as we learn more about the topic we refer to our chart. We make adjustments to our chart through out the week and add or take away post it notes and learning takes place. The final day of our unit is spent reviewing and talking about all that we had learned. This is our version of note taking and the children seem to like it. "Summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students abiltiy to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn,& Malenoski, 2007, p. 119).
We also utilize Webs and Venn Diagrams on the SMARTboard where we sort parts of a story, spelling patterns in words, and facts from a unit. Graphic organizers are another fantastic idea for children to cognitively learn. They are able to store away information and remember the unique and engaging ways they were taught. They need to be able to wrap their minds around what is being taught and this reinforces the theory of how the mind/brain thinks and processes (Duffy and McDonald, 2008, p.20).
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I like your use of graphic organizers and I agree that they are a useful tool for all grade levels... I teach high school children. With the concept mapping tools we were introduced in last weeks learning resources, I am now having my students use the webs online. We are starting a new novel, Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," and I am going to have the students create webs for the 10 characters and the clues to the murders. This will be my first test run.
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