Study

Sensei
Student Activity Pack
Putting the skills into practice.

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Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 01

Activity 1: Note-Taking Planner

In the Study Sensei seminar, your presenter showed you how to use the course outline or syllabus to work out
exactly what was going to potentially be in a test, and then how to make notes on it. If your tests are being made
from the syllabus or course outline, you want to make sure you are studying notes that also come from it – that
way, your notes are 100% complete, and you can be confident that you are going to memorise everything that
could potentially come up in a test.

In this activity, your teacher is going get you to look at your course outline or syllabus, and make a plan for when
you are going to make notes on each of the learning outcomes. On the next page there is an example of how it
works – but here are the main points:

Step 1 – What do I need to learn?

In the course outline or syllabus, there are things called ‘learning outcomes’ that show you what is being taught
and what you need to know for your tests. You want to read these and write them down in the planner under
‘syllabus point’.

Step 2: When am I going to write notes on it?

Let’s face it – there is a lot going on each term and it’s easy to put off things that don’t seem very urgent. The
problem is, if you leave all your note-taking until the last minute, you aren’t going to get it all done – meaning
you won’t end up memorising a complete set of notes. The next step is to add in a deadline for when you are
going to write notes for the outcomes you’ve just added into the planner. Ideally, you’re going to give yourself a
week to finish the notes after you’ve finished learning the outcome in class – ask your teacher for when these
dates are if you can’t work it out from the course outline.

Step 3 – Track your progress

Once you’ve put your note-taking goals into the planner, you want to make sure that you keep tabs on how
you’re going. Each week your teacher is going to be checking to see whether you’ve made your notes or not – so
make sure you are getting them done each week to show in class!

For an example on how to complete the planner, check out the guide on the next page. Your own planner is on
page 4.
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 02

Example
Creating the note-taking planner

English 3B - Semester 2 Outline

● Cultural myths: the superiority of the white

Week 7 male
● Foreshadowing: techniques and devices

● Features of Utopian society

Week 8
● Primitivism: rejection of progress

● Features of Dystopian society

Week 9
● Intertextual referencing

● Cultural myths: analysis through visual

Week 10
conventions

Week Syllabus Point Deadline Status

Cultural myths: the

7 3/9 ✓
superiority of the white male
Foreshadowing: techniques
7 & quotes
5/9 ✓

7 Development of themes 5/9 ✓

8 Features of Utopia 11/9

8 Primitivism: rejection of 12/9 ✓

progress

8 Tone: literary elements 16/9 ✓

9 Features of Dystopia 18/9 ✓

9 Intertextual references 19/9

Cultural myths through

10 visual conventions
23/9
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 03

Note-Taking Planner

Week Syllabus Point Deadline Status

Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 04

Activity 2: Formatting Notes

In the Study Sensei seminar, your presenter showed you how to make a page of notes using trigger words, or
words that bring back a lot of memories. When you write using trigger words, not only do you end up writing a
lot less, but you also remember more from the notes as trigger words bring back a lot of memories. Think of the
words you write on your hand – you probably only write 1-2 words to remember a lot of information. Here are
some tips for writing your notes in a way that not only saves time, but makes them easier to remember when it
comes to studying for a test:

Make your Main Heading

nice and bold – it should
be the topic of the page
and the first thing you
see when you look at the
page.
OTHELLO
Make your sub-headings
bold (or in their own
THEMES
colour) and put them at ● Isolation
the top of a new topic
related to the main ● Hell & Demons
heading.
● Light & Dark

Your bullet-points
should be only a few ISSUES
words long and focus on
key words –you don’t
● Racism
need to write full ● sexism
sentences!
● Heroism vs. Love
To help you cut down the
number of words you
write or type, try drawing
CHARACTER
or imagining a line
running down the
● Othello
middle of the page that ● Iago
you don’t write past.
● Desdemona
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 05

Now it’s time for you to give it a go. Using the template below, try making a set of trigger-word notes using
content you’ve learned in class this week:

●
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 06

Activity 3: Independent Learning File

One of the points your presenter covered with you in the seminar was how to do some extra reading each week
to help you stand out in assessments or exams. When you think about it, every single student in your class, and
every student doing your subjects across the country are basically learning the same content. When it comes to
Grade 11 and 12, everyone is learning exactly the same content. This means in an exam or test, 99% of students
are just regurgitating the same facts, quotes, ideas and examples. But if you can do just 20 minutes of extra
reading each week to bring something new to your test, instantly your answer goes to the top of the pile – it’s
something new and different. The advantage here is that teachers often reward extra reading with more marks –
and it barely takes any time at all!

Make an extra-reading file

Your teacher is going to help you create a file that you will keep extra reading in, which will help you keep track
of things you’ve read, seen or heard each week that might help you write an awesome answer in a test. Each
week, make sure you cut out and make notes on things which might help you stand out. Here are some
examples you can use with different subject types:

Notes

Make some extra notes on another text that is referenced in the book you
are studying.

Quotes

Humanities Subjects Go and find 25 extra quotes from major characters in the play you are
studying in class. Add them to your existing set of notes.

Alternative Arguments

Go and find the opinion of another author or academic that disagrees with
a common interpretation of the text you are studying. Make notes on it and
bring it up in your next essay

Alternative Explanations

Maths & Science Grab another text book and read another author’s explanation for a
process you learned in class. This is ideal for tricky maths and science
equations and calculations.
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 07

Activity 4: Mind-Mapping
In the seminar, your presenter showed you how to create a mind-map using a set of notes. Mind-maps are an
awesome way to take 5 pages of notes and condense them down to one page – this makes them easier to
memorise, and helps you understand how things on different pages of notes tie together. If you need a
refresher, here are the steps for creating a mind-map from a page of notes:

Step 1 – Main idea in the middle

The main topic of your mind-map goes in a circle in the middle of the page. For example, in biology this might
be something like ‘cell division’ if that’s the major topic you’re studying at the moment. When you are studying,
this should be the very first thing you see when you pick up the page.

Step 2 – Sub-headings branch off the middle

Next, take the sub-headings from your page of notes and have them coming as branches off the centre circle.

Step 3 – Bullet points branch off branches

Once you’ve done that, take the bullet points from your sub-headings and have them branch off the
sub-headings in your notes.

Step 4 – Link different branches together

Once you’ve put a few pages of notes into the mind-map, have a look for ways you can link them together. For
example, you can link different sub-headings together which share a common theme. Have a look at the
example on page 9, then try turning the set of notes on page 10 into a mind-map on page 11.
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 08

Example:
Mind-Mapping Notes
OTHELLO
THEMES
● Isolation
● Hell & Demons
● Light & Dark

ISSUES
● Racism
● sexism
● Heroism vs. Love
Hell & Demons

CHARACTER
Themes ●
●
Othello
Iago
Light & Dark ● Desdemona

Isolation

OTHELLO
Sexism

Issues
Heroism
Vs. Love Racism Characters
o
r a banti Othello Desdemona
B
Iago
“Black ram”

“White ewe”
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 09

Exercise:
Making your mind-map

Now that you’ve seen how the process works, turn the page of notes below into a mind-map on page 10. If you
get stuck, look through the example above and re-read the introduction to Activity 4 – or ask your teacher for
help!

REDUCING CO 2 EMISSIONS
CARBON TAX
● Command & Control
● Price Ceiling
● Broad Policy

EMISSIONS TRADING
● Market-based
● Emissions ceiling
● Broad policy

DIRECT ACTION
● No penalties
● Targeted policy
● Funds green energy
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 10

Exercise:
Create your own mind-map (Use notes from page 9)
Student Activity Pack | Study Sensei PAGE 11

Exercise:
Create a personal mind-map (Use your own set of notes)
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