Students in grades 3-8 can use these workbooks to practice reading and listening skills in taking notes and outlining subjects with activities that guide them through the processes. Reproducible.

Note taking and outlining are critical study skills that apply to every facet of a student's academic life, from test preparation, book reports, science projects, and creative writing to oral reports, speeches, and class debates. Students need sound study habits to keep pace with grade level requirements and to do well on standardized tests. Taking useful notes and properly outlining assignments can save a student precious study time as well as increase his or her confidence and academic success. The activities in this book offer students a myriad of opportunities to work with many resources such as fiction and nonfiction, newspaper articles, advertisements, recipes, and more! By learning to classify data, determine fact from opinion, take notes in a variety of formats, and write effective outlines, your students are certain to gain valuable skills that they can use throughout their lives, whether in school, at home, or in a career.

Updated and revised edition As every student quickly learns, merely sitting through a class and paying attention is usually not sufficient to ensure good grades. The proper taking of good notes is essential. Note-Taking Made Easy tells why the student should take his or her own notes (rather than buying them or taping lectures), and tells exactly how to determine what is worth noting, whether during a lecture, classroom discussion, even from a book or during a meeting. The authors describe the two most successful methods of organizing notes—outlining and patterning—and provide shortcuts to really make note-taking easy, from shorthand devices to abbreviations. Special sections are devoted to taking notes from texts, fiction as well as nonfiction, and handling charts, graphs, and photos. A final chapter shows how to tie together notes from various sources. This STUDY SMART reference guide series, designed for students from junior high school through lifelong learning programs, teaches skills for research and note-taking, presents strategies for test-taking and studying, provides exercises to improve spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, and reveals secrets for putting these skills together in great essays.

An interactive, multimedia text that introduces students to reading and writing at the college level.

When it comes to writing books, are you a “plotter” or a “pantser?” Is one method really better than the other? In this instructional ebook, author Libbie Hawker explains the benefits and technique of planning a story before you begin to write. She’ll show you how to develop a foolproof character arc and plot, how to pace any book for a can’t-put-down reading experience, and how to ensure that your stories are complete and satisfying without wasting time or words. Hawker’s outlining technique works no matter what genre you write, and no matter the age of your audience. If you want to improve your writing speed, increase your backlist, and ensure a quality book before you even write the first word, this is the how-to book for you. Take off your pants! It’s time to start outlining.

THE STUDY SMART SERIES, designed for students from junior high school through lifelong learning programs, teaches skills for research and note-taking, provides exercises to improve grammar, and reveals secrets for putting these skills together in great essays. Test taking is a skill apart from learning course material, a skill every student must acquire in order to survive. Test-Taking Strategies is the book for anyone who has ever dreaded an exam. Strategies for taking every kind of test are dealt with—objective tests (multiple choice, true/false, matching), essay tests, and oral exams. The authors also offer help for handling anxiety, explaining relaxation and desensitization techniques that help students control nervousness and keep it from detracting from performance. There are tips for managing time during the test, knowing when to guess, and for pulling answers out of your memory even when the question drew a blank at first glance. Essay tests and oral exams are particularly gruesome for most students, and until now there has been very little advice for handling such tests. Test-Taking Strategies includes plenty of advice for developing ideas while under pressure.