Purpose:To assist students in organizing information while differentiating between hierarchies of importance Description: Power notetaking is a strategy used to record essential information while denoting its level of importance. Students who use Power Notes will be differentiating between levels of importance by designating a Power level to each information bit recorded in their Power Notes.
Procedure:
Model the Power Notes strategy with a common example like animals: Power 1: Animals
Power 2: Domestic
Power 3: Dogs
Power 4: German Shepherd
Power 4: Dalmatian
Power 4: Cocker Spaniel
Power 3: Cats
Power 4: Calico
Power 4: Siamese
Power 2: Wild
Power 3: Indigenous to Africa
Power 4: Giraffe
Power 4: Hippopotamus
Power 3: Indigenous to India
Power 4: Elephant
Select an appropriate, information rich reading, video, or other source of information to share with the students.
Pass out a Power Notes structure with Power 1's and 2's already filled out
Allow students to use the Power Notes organizing structure to take notes, filling in the remaining levels of Power with information from your primary source of material.
Hint: For advanced students or those familiar with Power Notes, eliminate the provision of the Power Notes structure. Allow students to create their own structure from scratch as they read, view, or listen for information.