Start by giving your students examples of good notes. You may create these examples yourself or save student work from previous years. Make sure they exemplify the types of note taking methods you are teaching them. Allow your students to look over these notes individually, then discuss what they notice about the notes with a partner.
You should explain the proper use of shortcuts and symbols like w/ for "with" or & for "and." Point these out in your example notes, and post them on your classroom wall until students become accustomed to using them. Make sure they understand that these symbols are used only for note taking and not formal writing.
Your students may tend to write down everything they read in a text or they hear you say while taking notes. Show them how the example notes only use key words, or very brief explanations, that summarize the ideas. After they have taken their own notes, have them shrink their notes by rewriting them to remove unnecessary words or information. Have them make a key word list, and give an explanation of why these words belong on their list.
When your students are finished with their rewritten notes, have them compare their notes with a partner or in a small group. This will help your students see things they may have missed in their own note taking, and give them confidence when they see notes similar to their peers. This also gives your students an opportunity to study the notes.
There are different formats for note taking that are useful for different purposes. If the notes are to organize a written assignment, you may teach them to take notes on a graphic organizer designed for that type of writing. Notes on a Venn Diagram are useful for compare and contrast essays, whereas plot diagram notes are useful for book reports. If you are making study notes for a test you can teach Cornell notes, which have a question-and-answer format.
Show your students how to keep their notes organized. For an extended project, you might make a special note book. For day to day notes, you might instruct students to keep their notes together in a binder. You should teach your students to begin a new set of notes on a fresh sheet of paper each time the subject changes.