How to Take Notes for a "Chapter Book" Book Report

Last Updated: February 17, 2022

This is an excellent system for making certain you have the information you need in your notes when doing a book report on a chapter book. This also works very well for studying history and science.

Steps

1
Start with 25 pages in your notebook. You will need five pages labeled with the name of the book in each of the five sections of your notes. The sections are: Characters, settings, vocabulary, plot or story notes and predictions.
2
Add the name. Near the left margin on the first page of each section, write the Chapter Name (or number if it doesn't have a name) of the chapter you are working on (do not skip this step).

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3
Begin reading. As you read, you will need to watch for the names of people and places; also watch for any dates or other numbers given.
4
Record the characters. The first time you see someone's name in the book, write it in your notebook, in the "Characters" section.
1. Leave half a page for writing down things about them. You will only have two characters on each page of paper! Every time their name is used or they are talked about in the book, the author is telling you clues about the character. Be a detective.
2. Catch as many of those clues as you can and list them under the character's name. Age? Physical description? Personality? Fears? Friends?
5
Write down the Setting:
1. Do the same thing for the setting! The setting is where and when the story is taking place.
2. (You will only need a few lines for each setting though, so more will fit on each page.)
3. You don't need to copy the full description from the book, but briefly tell about it - i.e. "A cold dark cave" "Aunt Tillie's house in the city."
6
Vocabulary: As you read, you will come to many words that you don't know. Many of them you can guess at.
1. If a word is new or unfamiliar to you, write it down in your vocabulary section.
2. Write down the page number where you first saw the word, and the sentence it was used in (this is very important).
3. Leave four more spaces for adding a definition later.
7
Consider the plot. After you have read the entire chapter, close the book and think about what you read.
1. Write 1-3 sentences (in your own words) about what has happened in this chapter.
2. Try to pick out what you think will be the most important things that happened.
8
Make predictions. Take a chance here. Don't look ahead!
1. Guess what will happen in the next chapter. It's okay if you don't get it right. One fun thing to do here is think, "If I was writing this story, what would I have happen next?"
2. See if you can figure out what the author is going to do next.
9
Get a dictionary and look up the meanings of the words you wrote on your vocabulary list. Many words will have more than one meaning. You will need to copy down only the meaning for the word as it was used in the story (that's why you wrote down the sentence it appeared in, so you would know which meaning you needed).
10
Go through each of the five sections of notes and draw a double line under the last note in each section.
11
Skip three spaces under the double line and write down the name of the next chapter in each section.
12
Begin reading the next chapter.
13
Take notes in exactly the same way for each chapter.
- When you have finished the book, you will have everything you need to do an excellent book report! You will have an entire story line, descriptions of all the characters, new words you've learned, and even notes about what you thought would happen and if the author could surprise you or not!

Community Q&A

Question

How do I write a 5-page book report with very few notes about the book?

Community Answer

Try to use Google to find more information about it like reviews, dates, etc. and once you have gathered as much information as possible try to put it all together. If you have very few notes, try to put in as much detail as you can. If you find a lot of information, you can write the bigger picture, but if you put more details in you are more likely to get a higher mark.
Question

Is it okay if the chapter has both a number and a name?

Community Answer

Yes, it is totally fine. Adding a name to the chapter is much better because it creates an intense moment between the reader and the character in the story.
Question

Can I use this method to study geography?

Genevaladwig

Community Answer

Yes! Many people use the same methods for very different subjects. You can use whatever you feel would help you in your studies.

Warnings

Don't take shortcuts! It's important to do this the way it's laid out.

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Helpful 16 Not Helpful 1
This system uses a lot of paper but it's worth it for the results you get!

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Helpful 14 Not Helpful 1
Finishing a chapter completely, before going on to the next chapter is very important.

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