Guided Notes or Interactive Notebooks? Which is better?

Last month I wrote a post about how I introduce my 6th graders to more advanced note-taking techniques, specifically Cornell notes. Since writing that post, I've had a few discussions with fellow middle school Social Studies teachers about which methods they prefer as well as which methods their students prefer. It seems there is no clear-cut answer as to which method is "best." The only generalization I can gather from my conversations with fellow educators on this topic is this--use whichever method works best in your classroom. Also, some methods work best in certain situations with some students and other methods work best in other situations. Are you confused yet?

The lesson I learned this year (my first working with 6th graders) with regard to teaching note-taking skills is to take "baby steps." Start simple. Model note-taking and do it often! (I include specific examples of how students should "set-up" their notes in my PowerPoints.)

At the beginning of the school year, I used interactive notebooks and guided notes most frequently. Mid-year I switched from traditional interactive notebooks where students cut out and glue inserts into their notebooks to something that looks more like a graphic organizer they draw in their notebooks. (It takes less time and uses less paper!)

Here is an example:

This method worked well. It was super easy for kids to learn this method in a short period of time. 

Another method I use when I spend more time on a lecture or during a video (and I want my students to pay attention to the "story" and/or engaging in class discussion rather than focusing on writing a lot of notes) are guided notes. My students have told me many times that this is the method they most prefer. The reasons vary from, "this is the easiest method," to "this method allows me to spend more time listening/watching/participating in class discussion, rather than copying notes. Guided notes are also the preferred method of note-taking for my students who struggle with writing. 

Whenever I use guided notes, I encourage students to "annotate" their notes with additional detail, questions, and comments n the margins. I also encourage students to "mark-up" their notes using different color highlighters, highlighting important and/or new vocabulary, or underlining new/important vocabulary, etc. 

I always make available different versions of my notes, depending on individual student needs. For example, I provide some students with my complete notes allowing them to only focus on highlighting key information. I  also have fill-in-the-blank versions and "doodle note" versions available for students depending on their needs.)

These are some recent examples of guided notes I used in my Civil Rights unit. 

If you are interested in checking out my PowerPoints and notes bundles, click here.