Advanced Topic Note Taking

Topic Note-Taking Forms

These forms make taking notes on social studies, science, videos, lectures, or any textbook much easier. Some of the forms have space for drawing pictures or ‘doodling’ notes. Doodles help you visualize and remember what you have heard or read. Be sure to mark important information with a star or asterisk. Using colored pencils or markers also helps retain information.

If you are taking notes from a whole chapter of a textbook, use multiple copies of the forms and staple them together. Continue over multiple forms or sections if you run out of space.

Advanced Book Report

For more advanced book reports, a more in-depth analysis may be required. Look to these graphic organizers to help simplify and clarify a ‘more complicated’ book report.

Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast

Use these graphic organizers to compare and contrast subjects or topics. Write two items or topics of the same category on the topic line. List the parts that are similar in the center of the overlapping circles and the parts that are different in the outside areas directly under their topic.

Types of topics that are great to compare and contrast include:

  • Plants
  • Books and Stories
  • Animals
  • Items you want to purchase
  • Places you want to visit

Story Note Taking

Story Note-Taking Forms

Record what happens first, in the middle, and at the end of a story. Remember to include some of the details, such as where the story takes place, when the events in the story take place, and what action takes place.

These forms are best used for:

  • Stories or narratives where there is a beginning, middle, and end.
  • Biographical material.
  • Sequencing events in a story or narrative.
  • Choosing a favorite part of a story or narrative.
  • Use the following guide words to help visualize a story: what, size, shape, number, color, where, when, background, movement, sound.

5W Graphic Organizer – Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why

Use this form to identify who, what, where, when, how, and why in a story or event. The form makes it easy to understand what different characters are doing, what impacts they have on events, and where different events take place. It may also be used to organize information about historical topics, such as people with impact on historical events, or to compare different stories: who is in each story, what they did, where and when they did something, or when events took place.