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Make a Note of That

All learners take in information differently. Note-taking templates can be helpful tools for organizing your learning. Within this section, you will be introduced to three styles of note-taking templates.

After reading the different descriptions of note-taking styles below, it will be up to you to decide which style of notes you would prefer to utilize.

Styles of Note-Taking:
1. Charting Notes
2. Cornell Notes
3. Mind Mapping

Each note-taking style page contains guided notes for the different sections of Essential Knowledge that you can download from the ‘Downloadable Files’ section.

Charting Notes
Cornell Notes
Mind Mapping
Charting Notes

Charting Notes:
There are 6 components of the charting notes: main topic, learning objective/outcome, topic columns, idea boxes, key vocabulary boxes, and picture box.

  • Main topic: overall topic of the lesson
    • Ex: Living Cells
  • Learning objective/outcome: can be filled out by the teacher or student. Should be written before note-taking begins to demonstrate what will be learned throughout the lesson.
    • By the end of the lesson the student will be able to __________________.
  • Topic columns: organize the notes into subtopics
    • Ex: Classification of cells
  • Idea boxes: space where students may write down important information such as key facts, questions, and concepts
    • Ex: What is a plant cell?
  • Key vocabulary: Includes only those terms introduced for each main topic. Vocabulary can be reviewed before the lesson begins so students know what to look for OR students can list words during the lesson and go back later and add definitions.
    • Ex: Eukaryotic cell, prokaryotic cell
  • Picture: free space for student use. They might use this area for drawing graphs, tables, sketches or designs.


You can access Charting note-taking templates for each section of Essential Knowledge by downloading the corresponding files from the ‘Downloadable Files’ section below.

Note: These PDF files contain fillable blanks so you may fill them in and save them/print out to turn in.

Cornell Notes

Cornell Notes:
There are 5 components of the Cornell notes: topic, learning objective/outcome, keywords/questions, notes, and summary.

  • Topic: overall topic of the lesson
    • Ex: Living Cells
  • Learning objective/outcomes: can be filled out by the teacher or student. Should be filled in before note taking begins to demonstrate what will be learned throughout the lesson.
    • By the end of the lesson the student will be able to __________________.
  • Keywords/questions: key questions or vocabulary that will help guide students through note taking. These questions should be written during the lesson OR after the lesson to make information in the notes easier to identify.
    • Ex: What is a cell?
  • Notes: main portion of Cornell notes where students will answer their key questions and define keywords.
    • Keywords, definitions, facts, or answers to key questions
  • Summary: reflection area for students to use after the lesson. After the lesson is completed and the student has reviewed their notes, a brief summary will be written about the lesson.
    • This section is very important when reviewing and studying for a test.


You can access Charting note-taking templates for each section of Essential Knowledge by downloading the corresponding files from the ‘Downloadable Files’ section below.

Note: These PDF files contain fillable blanks so you may fill them in and save them/print out to turn in.

Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping:
There are 3 components of mind mapping notes: main topic, subtopic, and detail boxes. Mind mapping is a creative, less structured way of note taking, and students can modify the technique depending on what works best for them.

  • Main topic: overall topic of the lesson
    • Ex: living cells
  • Subtopics: organizes the notes into branches of important information
    • Ex: cell structures
  • Detail boxes: space where important facts, definitions, and ideas may be written throughout the lesson


You can access Charting note-taking templates for each section of Essential Knowledge by downloading the corresponding files from the ‘Downloadable Files’ section below.

Note: These PDF files contain fillable blanks so you may fill them in and save them/print out to turn in.

DOWNLOADABLE FILES

(Click on the titles below to download the PDF files) 


Click here for the Spanish version of the notes

Blank Charting Note-Taking Template

Blank Cornell Note-Taking Template

Blank Mind Mapping Note-Taking Template

Biodiversity Charting Notes Template

Biodiversity – Completed Charting Notes

Biodiversity Cornell Notes Template

Biodiversity – Completed Cornell Notes

Biodiversity Mind Mapping Notes Template

Biodiversity – Completed Mind Mapping Notes

Biomes Charting Notes Template

Biomes – Completed Charting Notes

Biomes Cornell Notes Template

Biomes – Completed Cornell Notes

Biomes Mind Mapping Notes Template

Biomes – Completed Mind Mapping Notes

Ecological Succession Charting Notes Template

Ecological Succession – Completed Charting NotesEcological Succession Cornell Notes Template

Ecological Succession – Completed Cornell Notes

Ecological Succession Mind Mapping Notes Template

Ecological Succession – Completed Mind Mapping Notes

Ecosystems Organization Charting Notes Template

Ecosystems Organization – Completed Charting Notes

Ecosystems Organization Cornell Notes Template

Ecosystems Organization – Completed Cornell Notes

Ecosystems Organization Mind Mapping Notes Template

Ecosystems Organization – Completed Mind Mapping Notes

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems Charting Notes Template

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems – Completed Charting Notes

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems Cornell Notes Template

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems – Completed Cornell Notes

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems Mind Mapping Notes Template

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems – Completed Mind Mapping Notes

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