In this class, it is taught by taking in information from lectures. Now I know you are probably moaning and thinking that it is going to be boring everyday but it isn't (especially the way Mr. J teaches).
Mr. Johnston does not use any PowerPoints or SmartNotebook Notes to aid his lecture of the material. Every day you will get out your lecture notebook and the textbook, of which there is a copy underneath your desk. You do not need to bring your textbook to and from school, unless you wish to read the book during study hall or something. The way Mr. J lectures is a bit unique but very helpful. He will have you flipped to a page so that you can follow along as to where the lecture is going. When there is a passage that he feels is important/well-written, he will occasionally recite paragraphs. Visuals in his class are mainly him pointing to the U.S. map or the European map with his golf club or his very interestingly, somewhat legible drawings.
Taking lecture notes is very similar to taking book notes except for the fact that Mr. Johnston talks fast! I noticed that people who did read the book took less notes and those who didn't had their hand cramp up, but here are a few pointers that I picked up:
~Write ONLY what you don't know or what you know you are going to forget
~Any passages the he recites, jot down the page number/column/paragraph so that you can reference back to them
~When he flips to a next page, in the margin, write down the page number you are on, so that when you look back at your notes and have NO CLUE what something says or a name is incorrectly spelled, you can generally find where to look
~Write in pen (so many colors to choose from ^.^) because pencil smudges and causes notes to be illegible
~In the margins, write down dates or days of lecture (Day 45 or 12/6/13) so that you can pace yourself at home with reading and terms (or to just see how many days in the school year Mr. J lectures to you :3)
~After every day, in study hall or at home, go back in your notes and make corrections to names or places, add in comments and questions, highlight important ones you know you will forget, post-it note pages that are golden for quick 3-minute studying sessions before class
~Headings or sticky notes for chapters are good to use too =)
Mr. Johnston goes off on some tangents whether its talking about some stories or another time period. They do relate (in some way, shape, or form) to the topic, but he can stray from the main point and loose his train of thought, occasionally asking, "Now what was I saying again". You don't have to write down these tangents, even though it can be hard to depict whether or not they are relevant to the test. If he starts talking about the 1800s or Reagan or any recent information (even though you are still on Pre-Colombian material) there is no reason to write it down. Also, sometimes Mr. Johnston tries to speak figuratively and make a lot of silly jokes to regain your attention. It works for...the most part (Rule of Thumb #8), but feel free to write them down because who doesn't like to look back at those ridiculous comments as a reliever for stress before a test.
A test will usually be held every 10 lectures days (a bit longer for the 3-chapter tests sometimes). That means that one chapter takes about a week. Use this as your pace for reading, which is why it is usually best to read a section and do 2-3 terms a day. Mr. J will go through the content and then before he moves onto the next chapter he will go over terms for that chapter. Try to have those chapter terms finished before the time he goes over them (or else its just embarrassing trying to look as if they are finished by covering up your notebook and still writing down the why's that he gives you).
Mr. Johnston will write down on the board when tests, papers, and terms are due. Tests and terms are usually due on the same day. All of these dates are pretty subjective and change easily. Dates for when papers are due change CONSTANTLY (I know A LOT of people (me) who started the paper (me) the day before it was due (me) because the date was pushed back and they were pretty lazy (me =P)).
That is the jist of lectures, if you have any questions or have any more tips on how to take lecture notes or something like that, feel free to comment below (you do not need an email or website in order to comment). Also, there are three lectures that were recorded and are uploaded onto this website under Document Uploads at the way bottom if you wish to get a feel of how lecture works as well. Thank you and I hope this helps!!!
Mr. Johnston does not use any PowerPoints or SmartNotebook Notes to aid his lecture of the material. Every day you will get out your lecture notebook and the textbook, of which there is a copy underneath your desk. You do not need to bring your textbook to and from school, unless you wish to read the book during study hall or something. The way Mr. J lectures is a bit unique but very helpful. He will have you flipped to a page so that you can follow along as to where the lecture is going. When there is a passage that he feels is important/well-written, he will occasionally recite paragraphs. Visuals in his class are mainly him pointing to the U.S. map or the European map with his golf club or his very interestingly, somewhat legible drawings.
Taking lecture notes is very similar to taking book notes except for the fact that Mr. Johnston talks fast! I noticed that people who did read the book took less notes and those who didn't had their hand cramp up, but here are a few pointers that I picked up:
~Write ONLY what you don't know or what you know you are going to forget
~Any passages the he recites, jot down the page number/column/paragraph so that you can reference back to them
~When he flips to a next page, in the margin, write down the page number you are on, so that when you look back at your notes and have NO CLUE what something says or a name is incorrectly spelled, you can generally find where to look
~Write in pen (so many colors to choose from ^.^) because pencil smudges and causes notes to be illegible
~In the margins, write down dates or days of lecture (Day 45 or 12/6/13) so that you can pace yourself at home with reading and terms (or to just see how many days in the school year Mr. J lectures to you :3)
~After every day, in study hall or at home, go back in your notes and make corrections to names or places, add in comments and questions, highlight important ones you know you will forget, post-it note pages that are golden for quick 3-minute studying sessions before class
~Headings or sticky notes for chapters are good to use too =)
Mr. Johnston goes off on some tangents whether its talking about some stories or another time period. They do relate (in some way, shape, or form) to the topic, but he can stray from the main point and loose his train of thought, occasionally asking, "Now what was I saying again". You don't have to write down these tangents, even though it can be hard to depict whether or not they are relevant to the test. If he starts talking about the 1800s or Reagan or any recent information (even though you are still on Pre-Colombian material) there is no reason to write it down. Also, sometimes Mr. Johnston tries to speak figuratively and make a lot of silly jokes to regain your attention. It works for...the most part (Rule of Thumb #8), but feel free to write them down because who doesn't like to look back at those ridiculous comments as a reliever for stress before a test.
A test will usually be held every 10 lectures days (a bit longer for the 3-chapter tests sometimes). That means that one chapter takes about a week. Use this as your pace for reading, which is why it is usually best to read a section and do 2-3 terms a day. Mr. J will go through the content and then before he moves onto the next chapter he will go over terms for that chapter. Try to have those chapter terms finished before the time he goes over them (or else its just embarrassing trying to look as if they are finished by covering up your notebook and still writing down the why's that he gives you).
Mr. Johnston will write down on the board when tests, papers, and terms are due. Tests and terms are usually due on the same day. All of these dates are pretty subjective and change easily. Dates for when papers are due change CONSTANTLY (I know A LOT of people (me) who started the paper (me) the day before it was due (me) because the date was pushed back and they were pretty lazy (me =P)).
That is the jist of lectures, if you have any questions or have any more tips on how to take lecture notes or something like that, feel free to comment below (you do not need an email or website in order to comment). Also, there are three lectures that were recorded and are uploaded onto this website under Document Uploads at the way bottom if you wish to get a feel of how lecture works as well. Thank you and I hope this helps!!!