Note-Taking Practice for Your Students

Note-taking is a highly important research skill. By breaking down the information they have gathered into digestible points, students can better retain and understand material.  Note-taking also fosters active reading, enabling students to focus on the most important aspects of the text and filter out unnecessary information.

This set of three note-taking practice worksheets has been designed by our teacher team to enable your students to gain experience with this important research skill. Each text encourages students to delve deep into the content by:

• Identifying the main idea
• Extracting subject-specific vocabulary
• Writing bulleted notes that capture key facts and details from each paragraph

The topics included in this set of note-taking practice worksheets are:

• Sharks
• Astronauts
• Smartphones

Research and note-taking are valuable academic skills. The earlier we teach our students how to do these things well, the better!

Using These Note-Taking Worksheets in the Classroom

This set of note-taking worksheets can be used for whole-class, group or individual lessons, depending on your needs. Here are some suggestions as to how you might use this resource with your students:

• Shared Reading Activity – Display one of the texts on your interactive whiteboard. Read the text through as a class, pausing after each paragraph to discuss the main ideas and key vocabulary. Students can then work together to draft bulleted notes, sharing insights and building collective understanding.
• Vocabulary Building – Once the students have completed one of the worksheets, have them create a glossary for the subject-specific terminology. Challenge students to define each word in their own language and use it in sentences related to the topic.
• Extended Research – Encourage students to conduct further research on one of the topics. They can expand their notes into a short report, presentation or creative project that reflects their deeper understanding of the subject.

Download and Print These Research Skills Worksheets

This set of research skills worksheets downloads as an easy-print PDF. Use the Download menu above to access this file.

For sustainability purposes, we recommend printing these worksheets double-sided if possible.

More Research Templates for Your Students

Looking for more resources to support your students in becoming expert note-takers? Click below to browse through more options!

teaching resource

Cornell Notes Template

Help your students organize their notes with a free Cornell Notes Template.

teaching resource

Note Taking Graphic Organiser

A graphic organiser for students to use when recording research notes.

teaching resource

Printable Graphic Organiser Worksheets

A collection of 14 different blank graphic organisers to use in a variety of ways in all subject areas.