Age group:
High School

Type of note taker:
Creative Note Taker

How do you use this note-taking system?
To create a map, write the main theme of the lecture in the middle of the page. Draw a circle around it and then let your child? mind go with the class. Main themes go wherever they fall -- and details are connected by arrows or any other unique notation device.

Other important information:
This is radical stuff. Mapping, or brainstorming, is a concept and tool that is well used in writing but rarely used in the act of taking notes. If your child thinks visually or spatially and learns by looking at how information is connected, this structure is the ticket.

Note that this system can get messy and confusing. Your child should develop alternative means to supplement information that might be lost in the brainstorms. For all the risk involved, however, many think that this is the most dynamic way to take notes.

You can find an example and blank template here.

To Notes homepage

The above content was researched and written by Jonathan Mooney.