It is a skill your child will use even more once he reaches high school. Here’s an idea that will help your child improve his note-taking skills. With your child, create sheets of paper with note- taking prompts on them.

You will need four different sheets of paper:

• One to use before the lecture to help your child identify what he already knows about the topic.

• Two to use during the lecture to focus on main points.

• A fourth for after the lecture to help him summarize and remember the information.

On the pre-lecture sheet, have your child write these two questions:

• What is today’s topic?

• What do I already know about this topic?

For note-taking during the lecture, have your child create three sections:

• Describe the main points the teacher makes. Include details as they’re being discussed. Have five to seven numbers on the two sheets. Add space after each number for writing.

• Summarize. Tell how the main ideas are related.

• List new vocabulary.

On the after-lecture sheet, ask your child to list five main points of the lecture and describe each point.

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