Outlines are very, very important for students to become more self-sufficient learners. Especially in social studies, students are required to create notes and outlines during lectures and reading. For success in older grades, mainly high school, students MUST know how to create an outline that is easy to review, is well organized, and contains key information. This is the structure that we use to do outlines, and are probably consistent with what most classes and teachers expect:
I, II, III… Main Sections of Material (typically the Dark Blue headings in our textbook)
A, B, C… Main Ideas of Each Section (typically the Red headings of each paragraph/section in our textbook)
1, 2, 3… Supporting details, facts, vocab, and any other example that helps support the Main Idea (A, B, C…)
You may also use the following:
a, b, c…
i, ii, iii…
Both are used for smaller examples, but are not neccesary or widely used in middle school.