The SQ3R Reading Strategy with (adapted) Cornell Notes

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TheSQ3RReading Strategywith (adapted)Cornell
Notes
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SQ3R

• Developed by Francis P. Robinson, a psychology
  professor at Ohio State University, during WWII.
• Robinson was looking for a way to help Army
  personnel read and master technical texts in
  accelerated college courses they were taking to
  prepare for service in the War.
• SQ3R is now a proven strategy used in all levels
  of education to help readers understand and
  remember what they read.
• Seven Pioneering Adult Literacy Educators in the
  History of Teaching Reading With Adults in the
  United States by Tom Sticht
• www.nald.ca/fulltext/sticht/feb05/seven.pdf

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• S Survey
• Q Question
• R Read
• R Recite (Note-Taking)
• R Review

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SURVEY

• Before you begin reading a chapter or section of
  your textbook, look it over. Use the text
  features!
• Read the title, headings, and sub-headings. Try
  to understand how these ideas relate to each
  other. Do they compose an outline?
• Read any introductory material.
• Look for questions at the beginning and at the
  end of the chapter or section you will be
  expected to know the answers to these questions
  by the time you finish reading.
• Look for vocabulary terms at the start of the
  chapter or section or boldfaced throughout the
  text. Youll need to know what these terms mean.
• Look at the illustrations, captions, tables,
  graphs, and maps throughout the chapter or
  section.

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QUESTION

• While you survey the text, create questions about
  the text.
• Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how? Turn
  headings and sub-headings into questions. I
  wonder... can be used in many situations when
  you are having difficulty thinking of a question.
  Why is this important? is a great critical
  thinking question.
• Write down your questions.
• Asking questions gives you motivation and a
  purpose for reading. It can help you decide
  which information is important in the text.
• When you finish reading, check your
  understanding can you answer your questions?

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READ

• Read the entire section or chapter.
• Pay attention to headings and sub-headings as you
  read and think about how those ideas fit on the
  outline for the chapter.
• Pay attention to the meanings of boldfaced terms.
• Search for the answers to your questions as you
  read.
• Suggestion Mark the information that answers
  your questions with a tape flag so that you can
  find it again quickly when you take notes.
• Do not stop to take notes while you read. Strive
  to understand how ideas relate to each other.

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RECITE

• At the end of each section or chapter, pause and
  answer, in your own words, the question you asked
  yourself for that portion of the text.
• The recitation step would be a great place to
  take some notes! Suggestion Use the Cornell
  Note-taking System.

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The Cornell Note-Taking System

• Developed by Walter Pauk at Cornell University to
  help students take better notes from class
  lectures.
• Uses a column, divided-page format.
• Encourages students to use a six step process
  starting with the initial lecture and continuing
  through mastery of the new learning.
• Although originally intended for use during
  lectures, the Cornell System can be adapted for
  use with SQ3R.

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Formatting Cornell Notes

• Fold or divide paper vertically (hotdog style)
  leaving a 2/3-wide column on the right and a
  1/3-wide column on the left
• Allow at least a 1-inch margin around top, left,
  bottom, and right sides of the paper
• Dont write on the back sides of the paper.
• Leave at least one line of blank space between
  each new question/ key word and its corresponding
  notes. This white space gives your eye a
  visual break and helps your brain understand
  which chunks of information go together.

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Using Cornell Notes with SQ3R

• The questions you developed in the Q step of SQ3R
  will be written in the narrow left column of your
  notes. The questions could also be re-written
  as key words or phrases.
• The answers to the questions or ideas that
  clarify the key words will be written in the
  right column. Taking notes is the RECITATION
  step of SQ3R.
• One teacher I know calls these flash notes
  because you can fold back the right column and
  quiz yourself using the left column as a prompt.

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Example of Format for Cornell Notes
What was 18th Amendment? ratified (passed) 1919 banned (prohibited, forbid) making, selling, and transporting alcohol
Causes of 18th Amendment reformers wanted to prevent alcohol abuse goal save grain during WWI for food rather than alcohol
Effects of 18th Amendment decreased amount of alcohol people drank saloons went out of business ( and -) arrests for drunkenness declined increased smuggling illegal alcohol esp. by organized crime groups illegal saloons (speakeasies) began business 21st Amendment
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REVIEW

• Continue using the SQ3R strategy
  section-by-section or chapter-by-chapter
  throughout your unit of study.
• Periodically, review your flash notes. Your
  Cornell notes give you a perfect way to quiz
  yourself over the information youve read. Ask a
  family member or friend to quiz you over your
  notes.
• Frequent, short reviews of your notes are more
  effective than cramming before a big
  end-of-chapter or unit or semester test.

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• Prepared by Laura Patton
• Indian Woods Middle School
• September 2007
• Sources
• Seven Pioneering Adult Literacy Educators in the
  History of Teaching Reading With Adults in the
  United States by Tom Sticht
• www.nald.ca/fulltext/sticht/feb05/seven.pdf
• SQ3R A Reading Technique
• www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success
  /26666.html
• The Cornell Note-Taking System
• http//ccc.byu.edu/learning/note-tak.php