Why You Should Try Guided Notes for Math

Let’s talk about why you should try guided notes for math note-taking in middle school. Picture this: You’re 12 years old and math class just started. Your 7th-grade math teacher tells you to do the following:

1. Take out a pencil
2. Open your notebook to the next blank page
3. Take notes!

Your teacher then begins the math lesson and you scramble to jot everything down while also paying attention to the things he is saying but not writing.

Then, the worst thing happens.

Your neighbor blurts something out that destroys your teacher’s train of thought (and yours).

When the teacher picks back up with the lesson, nothing is making sense.

You look over at your neighbor’s notebook to see if you missed something and it turns out, they haven’t been writing a single thing!

When you get home and sit down to do your homework, you take out your notebook page only to realize it’s nothing but a random collection of numbers and operations that make zero sense.

You don’t know how to do the homework and your notes offer no help!

Until I entered Mrs. Parker’s classroom, this had been my middle school math experience!

What was different?

Mrs. Parker gave us an outline to use for our notes. While she taught, we followed along with fill-in-the-blank notes and examples.

I could easily pull out my notebook once I got home and everything would make sense! It was organized and easy to follow. 

Mrs. Parker was actually the reason I became a 7th-grade math teacher and I knew that this was exactly how I wanted my students to take notes.

Unfortunately, life happened and I forgot all about Mrs. Parker’s notes until after my 2nd year of teaching. In my 1st year, I was just trying to survive, in my 2nd year, I tried (and failed) interactive notebooks. It was a MESS.

Following that school year, I was determined to create notes for my 7th-grade math students.

I did some research and learned that Mrs. Parker’s notes were guided notes. After pulling together lots of examples, I spent the entire summer working on creating them and I am so glad I did. 

The level of understanding and participation in my lessons drastically increased the next school year!

Here’s the thing:

• Middle school students need structure and scaffolding for note-taking
• Using guided notes is not complicated and your students will thank you later
• With good guided notes, your students will be able to answer most of their own questions

Getting started with guided notes is easier than you may think!

In this blog post, I am breaking down how you can make guided notes for my math classes, how you can use them to guide your lessons every single day AND how you can encourage every student to actually take notes.

The best part? When using guided notes in your middle school math classroom, you will:

• Be able to teach lessons with confidence
• Reach students with note-taking accommodations
• Provide students with a structured routine for note-taking
• Be sure that your lessons are standards-aligned
• Have a simple process so you don’t have to start from scratch!

Quality note-taking makes a difference in learning but we must teach students a strategy on how to take notes.

What are guided notes?

Guided notes work to retain student attention while providing them with the most important information of the lesson. Students follow along by filling in blanks during the lesson (cloze-notes). This helps students learn to actively listen and participate.

What does the research say about guided notes?

Guided notes are a form of scaffolding and scaffolding has been known to increase retention. A study done at the University of Chicago sought to examine the effectiveness of guided notes.

The results of the study indicated that guided notes have a positive effect on students of all grade levels and students with disabilities.

An increase in accuracy of note-taking and student test scores was shown. (Haydon, Mancil, Kroeger, McLeskey, & Lin, 2011).

One of my former 7th-grade students, (who was in 9th grade at the time) sent me an email to thank me for the notes that I had given them because it was helping her pass Algebra I.

That gave me all the happy feelings!!

What I include in my guided notes:

• Learning target and page number in the header for easy reference
• Outline of lesson
• Key vocabulary 
• Clear steps for students to follow
• Scaffolded practice
• Additional practice problems

How are guided notes used in a middle school math classroom?

At the beginning of each unit, I give my students all of the guided notes they will need for that unit.

They write the page number in as we progress through the unit.

Then, I project the accompanying notes presentation on the board to accompany the lesson. Students follow along on their own copies!

How do I create guided notes for math?

You should start by creating an outline of a particular skill that your students need to know. Think about the key vocabulary and any previous content they need to know. Next, be sure to leave spaces for students to fill in during the lesson. Include a range of math problems and ample space for them to show their work.

How do I create standards-aligned guided notes without starting from scratch?

What do I need to get started?

DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

Templates!

To take your note-taking up a notch… you can use templates! I have this all done for you in my product Guided Notes Templates for Middle and High School. Simply open up one of the templates and insert your content!

Want to grab the easy-to-use Guided Notes for your classroom? Click here to get your copy for just $10.

It comes with:

• 10 Guided Notes template designs
• Done-for-you outline
• Space for page number and learning target 
• Practice Pages to add practice problems
• Detailed video and print instructions

You can grab templates and get started today → Guided Notes Templates

 

Worried that you don’t have time to create your own guided notes? 

You can grab a full year of either → 7th Grade Math or → Pre-Algebra Guided Notes!

 

 

“My students love the consistency of the notes and are easy for them to understand. Perfect for students with disabilities.” – Nicole C.

 

 

An extra perk of guided notes? Students will have a reference tool to use all year long and beyond!

Be sure to tag me in all of your guided notes pictures!

 

 

Reference

Haydon, T., Mancil, G.R.,  Kroeger, S.D., McLeskey, J., & Lin, W.J. (2011). A review of the effectiveness of guided notes for students who struggle learning academic content. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 55(4), 226-231. http://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2010.548415