Hello Fellow Teacher,

Make teaching note-taking simple and effective with this ready-to-use and fully editable resource! This assignment introduces students to two powerful strategies: Core vs. Color Note-Taking and Cornell Notes. With 27 engaging slides of instruction and 17 pages of student handouts, this resource provides everything you need to teach, model, and practice effective note-taking skills.

Students learn through clear, step-by-step notes, activities, and guided practice that show them how to identify main ideas, supporting details, and organize their notes for better study habits. The editable format allows you to customize directions, examples, or activities to fit the needs of your classroom, while the ready-to-go version makes it easy to use immediately.

Perfect for middle school and high school ELA, study skills classes, AVID programs, or test prep units, this resource gives students the tools they need to become independent learners, active listeners, and organized thinkers.

What’s Included:

• 27 instructional slides with student-friendly explanations and examples
  
• 17 pages of student handouts for practice and application
  
• Two complete note-taking methods: Core vs. Color and Cornell Notes
  
• Editable and ready-to-go versions for maximum flexibility
  
• Easy-to-follow directions on every slide
  

Why Teachers Love It:
✔ Ready-to-use, no prep required
✔ Editable for differentiation and flexibility
✔ Engaging activities that work for in-class or virtual learning
✔ Builds lifelong study skills students can apply across subjects

In the first set of notes about core vs. color, there is a slide where students are instructed to watch a TED-Ed talk. Below is a link and more information about that part of the lesson. This video is supplementary. I did not create the video, but it is a supplementary tool for you to use to teach note-taking.

Instructions for Students You will begin this activity by watching the TED-Ed video “What Makes a Hero?” by Matthew Winkler (Watch here). BE SURE TO SAVE THIS LINK/VIDEO.

1. Raw Note-Taking (First Viewing)

• • Watch the video straight through.
    
  • Take notes in your usual way—don’t worry about organization or format.
    
  • Write down everything you think is important.
    

2. Core vs. Color Breakdown (Second Viewing)

• • We will replay the video, stopping at natural breaks for the first five steps of the hero’s journey.
    
  • At each pause, decide what belongs in the core (main ideas, essential points) and what is color (supporting details, examples, or illustrations).
    
  • Organize your notes using the Core vs. Color strategy to practice distinguishing between essential and supporting information.
    

By the end of the activity, you’ll see how your raw notes can be transformed into clear, purposeful notes using this method.

Teacher Description for this Ted-ED Talk:
This activity introduces students to the Core vs. Color Note-Taking Strategy using the TED-Ed video “What Makes a Hero?” by Matthew Winkler. The lesson begins with students taking raw notes in their usual style during the first viewing. This helps them capture information freely and reflect on their current habits.

During the second viewing, the video is paused at natural breaks while students sort information into core (main ideas) and color (supporting details and examples). This guided process teaches students how to distinguish between essential points and supplemental information, a critical skill for improving comprehension and retention.

Because the activity is based on a short, engaging video, it works well as an introductory practice for note-taking strategies, a standalone mini-lesson, or as part of a larger unit on study skills, active listening, or informational text analysis.

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Thank you,

Michele

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