---
title: Note-Taking and Guided Notes Strategies
description: Strategies for using guided notes and note-taking techniques to help students understand lessons and retain information.
---

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# Note-Taking and Guided Notes Strategies

## Our guided notes are designed to help students learn to organize and condense large amounts of information

#### **Guided Notes as Training Wheels**

- Guided Notes help newer students focus on main ideas without having to decide what to write down from scratch
- We utilize a variety of strategies, from short-answer questions, to graphic organizers, to maps, to timelines, and more

![Screenshot 2026-03-16 at 6.06.44 AM](https://help.nomadicprofessor.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.06.44%20AM.png?width=670&height=902&name=Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.06.44%20AM.png)

![Screenshot 2026-03-16 at 6.03.24 AM](https://help.nomadicprofessor.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.03.24%20AM.png?width=670&height=902&name=Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.03.24%20AM.png)

#### **Transitioning to Independent Notes**

- In the US series, we start with guided notes in US1-2, and wean students off of the guided notes in US3-4, so that by the end of the course they're taking organized and structured notes on a blank page, without support
- Other courses utilize guided notes throughout, though students could decide to wean themselves off at any transition point, such as between units or semesters

![Screenshot 2026-03-16 at 6.10.14 AM](https://help.nomadicprofessor.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.10.14%20AM.png?width=670&height=902&name=Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.10.14%20AM.png)

![Screenshot 2026-03-16 at 6.11.28 AM](https://help.nomadicprofessor.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.11.28%20AM.png?width=670&height=902&name=Screenshot%202026-03-16%20at%206.11.28%20AM.png)

#### **Supporting Different Learners**

- Choose whether your student will type their notes into our fillable forms, or print and write into the forms by hand
- Many studies suggest there is value in forcing students to write by hand, as the effort required to translate thought into words and then mechanically produce those thoughts on paper adds a step of learning and retention somewhat elided by typing, copying/pasting, or otherwise reproducing information digitally rather than by hand

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