My daughter, who is currently in the 5th grade, recently told my wife and me how taking notes helped her in school.
How taking notes helped my 5th grade daughter
She recently was introduced to the topic of customary units of measurement, which are the units of measurement used to measure quantities such as length, volume, and weight. Apparently, she was having some issue with understanding what was being taught, so in the process of learning, she took notes on some of what she was learning.
Shortly afterwards, her school went on spring break, and she was given an assignment to complete on customary units during the break. She expressed to us that she was very glad that she took notes, because she was able to refer back to them and successfully complete her assignment.
It’s worth noting that taking notes was a bit of advice I hadn’t given to her much yet; it’s something she largely did on her own.
Why YOU need to take notes
STUDENTS…
My daughter’s experience really underscores one of the big reasons that I encourage my tutoring students to take notes in math class. When your teacher is not available for asking questions, who will you ask if your parents are unavailable to help? Having notes handy can be extremely helpful in this case.
Consider this as well. What if you miss part of what your teacher is teaching? Taking notes ensures that you aren’t merely relying on your memory, which can be risky when first learning a math topic, as your understanding level is still developing and you may not remember every detail your teacher explained. Notes helps fill in those gaps.
What’s more, the very act of taking notes helps you to pay attention in class and to engage the material in such a way that your learning increases. Trust me on this; it helped me ace math classes in high school, and it helped me get two engineering degrees.
I go in more depth about the importance of note taking in my video below. I really hope this will encourage you to become a note taker, even if you have done okay without notes up to this point!
