Knowing how to take notes is something that any learner will find useful. It is a skill that everyone can continue to use throughout their lives. Making shopping lists, writing down directions on how to get from one place to another, or planning a talk, are all types of notes. Mostly, people associate taking notes with the classroom, and for most young people this is probably the case. Taking good notes and organising and re-reading them to help remember what was learnt is one of the best preparations for tests and exams.

In this unit, learners are shown several different examples of how to take notes, from bulleted lists to information organised in tables, and encouraged to think about when each method would be most appropriate. They can see model examples of each type and can practise the method themselves. This unit also has audio, so that the experience is as close as possible to a real-life situation in which a learner would make notes.

Learning how to make notes is a real skill, but this should go alongside knowing how to use them effectively, organising notes and reviewing them. Other units in this series that support these skills and can help your child to become a more effective learner are 'Learn from lessons' and 'Revision'.

You can work through this unit with your child, or ask them to show you some of their notes and explain something to you. Becoming the teacher and showing someone else is a good way of learning something and of checking how good the notes are.