Manley Career Academy

Organizing for Learning:

Two Column Notes

Why Two-Column Notes

Can take on a variety forms (Flexible) Addresses more than one main idea type Applicable for all content areas Allows students to make choices Meets special education needs (Visual

Perception difficulties)

Development of Personal Systems (Paris, Wasik, and Turner, 1991; Duke and Pearson, 2002)

Good Readers know how to use different systems and know which strategies produce the most effective reading.

Poor Readers are far more rigid, sidestepping challenging reading because they don’t know what to do.

Development of Personal Systems (Paris, Wasik, and Turner, 1991; Duke and Pearson, 2002)

Experience different ways to organize Write about information Have an awareness of the author’s

purpose and style of writing Facilitate Self-Monitoring Provide Flexibility

Initial Step

Teach students to recognize the seven most common organizational patterns as identified in the work of Marzano et al. (1997) and Jones, Palincsar, Ogle, and Carr (1987). 

Organization of Information Chronological sequence: organizes ideas and information in the time sequence that

events occurred ( Event Mapping, Academic Notes) Compare and contrast: organizes information on a topic in terms of similarities and

differences (Compare and Contrast, Comparison Notes) Concept / definition: organized by beginning with a general idea of a person, place,

thing, event, or abstraction and then delineates its elements, characteristics, and/or examples (Classification Notes, Main Idea Notes, Metaphor Analysis)

Description: this pattern paints a word picture of a person, place, thing, or event; the facts and details do not have to be given in any particular order

Episode: this pattern organizes a large amount of information about an event or time period; it may include: specific times and places, people involved, sequence of events and their possible causes and consequences ( Interactive Notes, Event Mapping)

Generalization: general statements are supported with specific details or examples (Pyramid Notes, Academic Notes, Classification Notes, Cornell Notes, Inductive Main Idea)

Process/cause-effect: tracks a series of steps leading to an outcome or product; or explains a causal sequence (Cause and Effect, Process Notes)

Organizational Scheme

Depends upon their learning goals and how the author crafted the piece

Well-structured Expository textTwo-Column Notes Less obvious structured textConcept Mapping

Type of Strategy

Depends on how an author has presented the information

Problem-Solution Cause and Effect Chronology of Events Series of Comparisons Propositions and Supportive Information

Two-Column Notes

Variety of Formats depending on subject area, instructional goals, and the nature of the text

Main idea-detail notes Opinion-proof Hypothesis-proof Problem-solution Process Notes

Two-Column Note-taking

Main Idea:

5 Major Types

Details:When to use each type and examples of each

Main Idea-Detail

Problem-Solution

Opinion-Proof

Process

Hypothesis-Proof

Learning content from informational reading selections in which the material is presented sequentially

Analyzing problems in literature, current events, and life situations

Drawing conclusions and supporting them with evidence from text and other sources

Working through step-by-step process to solve problems

Analyzing written material according to theoretical assumptions and evidence, which is critical to thinking like a researcher

Main Idea-Detail Notes

Help students organize main ideas and details from subject area reading assignments

Students divide their papers into two columns and record main idea in the left and details on the right.

Main points can be in the form of questions or as key words.

They use their notes as a study guide

Main Idea-Detail NotesMain Idea Detail Notes

How are islands formed? (3 Ways)

Atoll

1. lava-layers flow into sea, pile up volcanic islands ex. Hawaii

2. Mountain tops-tops of mountains in ocean ex. Coasts of Maine & Scotland

3. Barrier islands –sand pushed up by waves ex Florida & New Jersey

Round, oval, horseshoe

Ex. Cook, Gilber, Marshall Islands

Main Idea-Detail Notes(Power Structures)

Topic: Protists

Main Idea Detail Notes1. Difference between plants

and animals

2. Two main types of protists

3. Protists that produce own food (plant like)

4. (3 types)

2. Plants make own food

2. Animals take in food

2. Protists that produce own food

2. Protists that capture food

2. Euglenas

3. can make or take in food

3. don’t have cell walls

3. live in fresh water

3. flagella

4. whip-like strands, aid movement

Main Idea-Detail Notes(Reading Logs)

Question Log ~ During Reading

Questions you have while reading. What surprised you?

Reflect on meaning. Make connections. Comment on the Journey.

Main Idea-Detail Notes

Add a third column for memory cues,

pictures, notes from films and class

discussions which relate to ideas in the left

column

Opinion-Proof Notes

Two-column format where students learn how to develop and support arguments with evidence (Santa, Dailey, Nelson, 1985).

Opinion proof stresses critical thinking skills with both expository and narrative text.

Students write down their thesis or opinion in the left column ad use the space on the right-hand column for recording evidence.

Social Studies Opinion-ProofOpinion Proof

Napoleon was a great leader

1. Ended revolution

2. Drew up constitution

3. Fair taxation

4. Government workers chosen for ability

Napoleon was a great leader. He brought an end to the revolutionary fighting in France and then established a national police force to keep peace. He told all the nobles who had fled the country during the revolution they could return home. Napoleon also drew up a new constitution that gave all male citizens the right to vote…….

Hypothesis-Proof Notes

Help students begin to think like a researcher. Integral to teaching the research process is analyzing written materials according to theoretical assumptions and evidence (Harrison, 1991).

Hypothesis-Proof Notes

Hypothesis Proof

1. What is the hypothesis? Large asteroid about six miles in diameter crashed into earth, killing dinosaurs

1. Impact caused rise in Earth’s temperature; dust in atmosphere

2. Dust blocked off light; plants died, no food for dinosaurs.

3. Extinction was quick.

Problem-Solution

Organized so students list four questions in the left-hand column

Answers to those questions are recorded on the right portion of the page.

Provides students with a guide for thinking and writing about issues in novels and in content subjects

Problem-Solution

1. What is the Problem or Issue? America’s topsoil is eroding away at an alarming rate

2. What are the Effects? Ugly ditches cut through the hillside

Creek bed choked with topsoil

Soil can’t produce as many products

3. What are the Causes? Not proper protection for soil, poor conservation

Not rotating crops

4. What are the Solutions? No-till

New Fertilizers

Strip Farming

Process Notes

Student work through the steps of problem solving in mathematics and in conducting scientific experiments.

Students write the steps for problem solving in the left-hand column and information from the story problem in the right.

Process Notes

A boat sailed 750 miles from Vancouver to

San Francisco, another 412 miles to Los Angles and on to Panama 3,000 miles away.

What was the total length of its journey?

Main Idea

Important facts

Clues

Picture

Predict

Any second step needed?

Do the Work and Check

To find the total of miles in trip from Vancouver to Panama.

750 miles from V to SF/412 miles to LA/3000 to Panama

Final Thoughts

Two-Column notes allow successful readers to glean main points and details from their reading assignments

Students need to organize information from their reading and apply this knowledge

Students who understand main idea and details are able to think critically about their reading

Final Thoughts

As always, it is crucial that the graphic organizers be used as a form of scaffolding to reach a goal that goes beyond the organizer itself; the goal might be a piece of writing, preparation for a discussion or Socratic seminar, etc.  We need to be explicit about the fact that using these tools will train our minds to automatically recognize text structures and organize information while reading, even when we are not using a graphic organizer.  In short, it is a way to become a more skilled reader of informational texts, something we all grapple with in this age of information!