Use these documents below to help with topics such as: how to study, scheduling, note-taking and getting through difficult reading.
What are Historical Thinking Skills?
STEP 1: DIVIDE YOUR PAPER INTO TWO COLUMNS
• Make the left column 1/3 the width of your paper, so that the right column is 2/3 the width of
your paper. This will look sort of like Cornell notes.
STEP 2: SCAN THE TEXT FOR KEY TERMS/ NAMES/ WORDS YOU DON’T KNOW AND DEFINE
THEM
• Write the words in the left column & define them in the right column
• Skip a line or two on your paper between words in order to leave room for
definitions/descriptions
• This should include bold terms, as well as non-bold terms that need defined
• For people, you are trying to figure out their position or importance
• Many of these will be on the chapter flashcards on the chapter resource page.
STEP 3: READ THROUGH THE DOCUMENT WITHOUT TAKING NOTES, BUT YOU NEED TO
FOCUS
• This should be a focused read
• When you do this at home, you should not have the TV on or your phone near you (maybe put it
in another room)
• If you somehow “space out” and realize you made it to the bottom of a page without actually
recalling what you read, start the page over. You were not focused in that first reading.
STEP 4: NOW RE-READ WITH A HIGHLIGHTER, AND CONSTRUCT A HULK SUMMARY
• Highlight the “important words” so that you are constructing sentences that communicate the
ideas, but are not grammatically correct
• When you re-read what you highlighted, it should sound as if the Incredible Hulk has summarized
the chapter for you.
• DO NOT highlight more than 3-5 words in a row.
• If you are doing this with the PDF straight from the screen, skip this step and write out your hulk
summary directly into your notes on the right side.
STEP 5: COPY WHAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED INTO THE RIGHT COLUMN OF YOUR NOTES
• Repetition is key to learning.
• Idea: Try to get a minimum of 8 “touches” on the content in it’s entirety every week.
STEP 6: MAKE SURE YOU ARE ANSWERING THE FOCUS QUESTIONS/ ACHIEVING THE
OBJECTIVES/ “BE SURE YOU CAN” BULLET POINTS
• Are the answers to the focus questions found in your notes? Write the question down in the left
column next to where it is answered in the right column.
• Turn the “be sure you can” bullet points into questions and write them in the appropriate place in
the left column as well.
• If you are not able to answer all of these questions with your notes, you know where to focus
when you are reading the full chapter.
STEP 7: STUDY AND CONTINUE TAKING NOTES FROM THE CHAPTER
• You should study your notes a little each day, and as many times as you can before your quiz (8
touches).
• To study your notes, fold along the dividing line so that your left and write columns are on
opposite sides, like on flashcards.
• Maybe even color code so that questions/key terms aren’t just aligned with their answer in your
notes, but highlighted to be the same color as well.
So, there it is. Will it produce miracles overnight? Maybe, but more likely it will merely place you on a path of continuious academic improvement. Maybe even self improvement. Become the best version of yourself in 2017! Well, the best version of yourself so far...