The bulk of my teaching career has been at the high school level. This year I moved over to the middle school and one of my first observations regarding the multitude of differences between my high school students and middle school students is their note-taking skills (or lack thereof). It makes sense--it is usually middle school when students are taught this skill. Over the course of the year, I have experimented with different styles. I've used interactive notebooks, guided notes, graphic organizers, and doodle notes. Here are a few examples of my doodle notes and interactive notebook pages I've used with my students: This week I am going to introduce Cornell notes to my 6th graders. (If you are curious what style middle school students prefer, it is without a doubt, guided notes. I don't have an "issue" with guided notes per se. In fact, I think they are great and I will continue to use them when appropriate. My concern with "over-relying" ...