Engaging Minds with Interactive Notebooks

Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than a passive process. -

Euripides

Thanks for Coming!!

Funny Video Clip ..Time to Loosen Everyone Up – This Means ME!!

• https://youtu.be/iXFSSwisAM8

I’m passionate about .. Interactive Notebooks!! Why?? Because they ..

• Keep students engaged• Enhances their “ownership” of the

content• Builds Student/Parent Communication• Great Blog Post Ideas• Easy Accountability for Educate Alabama

• Interactive Notebooks have the power to not only engage and interact with each student, no matter the background, but they also provide a valuable tool and resource for students to continue to use over time to reinforce skills.

Video Clip Time!!

• https://youtu.be/LB_FHMT19rk

Why do Interactive Notebooks with your class?

1. Interactive Notebooks teach students to organize their thoughts.By working with students to create a process for them to organize their thinking you will be able to teach study skills without "teaching" them.

2. Interactive Notebooks accommodate multiple learning styles at one time in (and out of) the classroom.

Whether you do teacher input activities as a whole group or a small group, student output activities give students the ability to show exactly where they are in their understanding of the subject.

3. Student-Teacher-Parent interaction is built and strengthened with the

use of Interactive Notebooks.

When students are working on homework at home with their Interactive Notebooks, not only will students be able to use them, but parents will be able to have a resource into the learning that is taking place in the classroom.

4. Students are building a portfolio that allows for teachers to track growth over time.

Reflections of what students are learning in their notebook will show how they are synthesizing the information learned in class, and as students develop further skills this will be reflected in their notebook. These reflections are great to show during parent-teacher conferences and even to discuss during student-teacher conferences.

5. Interactive Notebooks have students create a resource to use as they continue to extend their learning.

An interactive notebook works as a textbook for students that is theirs. Not only are they taking beneficial notes, practicing and reflecting on material, but they are also using that information as they work on future activities. Students are going back and reviewing the prior pages repeatedly, and therefore building exposure to the material each time.

6. Students take ownership of their learning through color and creativity.

One of the main things that helps students to buy in to the use of Interactive Notebooks is not the benefits they can see from it, but the ability for it to be their own. When students know, and are allowed, to use color in their notebooks it makes their notes come alive. Using colored paper, markers, colored pencils, etc. make it easier to sort information and group things together. This creativity also sparks the visual learning when they are expected to remember and apply the information at a later date.

7. Interactive Notebooks reduce clutter in the classroom as well as in student's lives.

By having students take all of their notes, and then also practice and reflect in one location it allows for them to be organized. This also eliminates excess papers being lost and misplaced when students would benefit from using them as they learn.

Do you use Interactive Notebooks everyday?

YES!! We use our notebook every single day during class. We record data during inquiry. We study before quizzes. We maintain records of learning during stations. We write, draw, and glue during direct instruction. We show what we learned in class each day.

Getting Started …

The important thing to remember with Interactive Notebooks are that YOU are in control. YOU decide what you want to focus on – how you want to organize it. There are many websites and teacher blogs about this – the main thing is finding what you are comfortable doing in your classroom.

Before setting up your Interactive Notebooks, REALLY think about how you want your notebooks to look.  The more organized I am, the more organized my students are.   • Subject Matter?• Notebook Appearance – I’ve seen

composition books, binders, and 5 star notebooks

• Copy of the ALCOS/CCRS per subject

Ideas for Interactive Notebooks

• Fellow Teachers• Previous Activities• Textbooks• Pinterest• Teachers Pay Teachers• Instagram• Favorite Bloggers – Science Penguin is

mine

Examples …

2nd Grade Math Notebook

History Examples …

Language Examples …

Language Examples …

Language Examples …

I like to have students make anchor charts in their notebooks.

Reading Examples …

Reading Examples …

Reading Examples …

Reading Examples …

Reading Examples …

Interactive Notebooks – New Students

• As my classes set up notebooks at the beginning of the year, I usually set up about 8 to 10 for new students.

• This means I stick our beginning of the year brochure, grading rubric, etc. in there.

• New students just begin with their notebook when they enroll.

Interactive Notebooks – Absent Students

Absent Students

• This happens a lot – especially when you are departmentalized and have 146 students.

• Everyone handles it differently, but in my class it is mandatory for students to make up missed work. They can finish during “extra” time, snack, or our “catch up” day.

• I have our pages in a basket on my back shelf, and students are responsible for getting it and completing it. They can look at my teacher notebook or another students to get help.

Interactive Notebooks – Accommodating Special Needs

Students• Accommodations depend on the student.• I have some assignments that are more

guided than others.• I grade more “participation” and look for

understanding, but I’m okay with not as many details

• For a few special cases, I don’t grade their notebooks

Interactive Notebooks – How can I make sure my students are

completing them?• At the beginning of the year, I check notebook entries

daily. I walk the room and can do quick spot checks. I usually take several daily work grades during this time – but I may not put them all in the grade book.

• I also stress keeping things on the correct page. I want to be able to say turn to page 53, and everybody turn their notebooks to the same page. This is one reason I don’t let kids number beforehand.

• You are training them to your expectations for the school year --- I expect neatness and effort.

Interactive Notebooks – Do students take them home or keep them at

school?• It is all up to the individual teacher. I have a basket for each class

in my classroom that they can leave them. Most of my students only take them home unless we have an upcoming Notebook Check or Test.

• However, if you are a habitual “left it at home” kid then they lose the privilege to take it from the classroom. Some lost it VERY quickly last year!!

• If a student does forget (and it’s not routine) then they complete the assignments, and can glue it in the next day. Class can go on.

• I update my blog weekly with a “What’s Happening in Science” post. I almost always will post a picture of a study guide, vocabulary, or anything that I think they may need to know. Several use that to study from so they don’t have to carry their notebooks home.

Interactive Notebooks – I lost it!!

What do you do if a student loses their notebook? Thank Goodness in my 2 years of Interactive Notebooks this hasn’t happened. I’ve had two or three “think” they had lost it, but found it within a few days. Even if the student lost it – I would hold them responsible for the unit we were completing. They would need to get ready to do some catch up work!! I MAKE such a BIG deal about them – it is usually not a big issue after the first few weeks of school.

Interactive Notebooks – When do I find the time?

Interactive Notebooks – Multiple Subjects

Tips for Interactive Notebook Success!!

Interactive Notebook Tip #1

• Make your own Teacher Notebook. Model setting it up and properly maintaining it. This sets your expectations. Lots of students are not used to being neat and organized! They will follow your lead!!

Interactive Notebook Tip #2• Have students use liquid glue when

gluing things into their notebooks. Glue from glue sticks will start drying up too quickly – and you will wind up with things falling out of the notebook before long. Teach them to put a dot into each corner. The kids will become the “Glue Police” in your room before long!

Interactive Notebook Tip #3

• Dedicate a place in your classroom for the storage of your interactive notebooks. I started off with cheap Dollar Tree baskets. Those quickly became a disaster! I bought some baskets with school money. I’ve also saw lots of cute ideas on Pinterest.

Dollar Tree Disaster Baskets

Interactive Notebook Tip #4• Hot glue a ribbon to the notebook to

easily keep track of pages. When grading or reviewing, students can place the ribbon at the page needed.

Interactive Notebook Tip #5

• Prepare student materials. Students are going to need scissors, glue, and colored pencils.  Make sure you have a way to organize those things and make keeping it clean and stocked a job for a member of each team.  Each table is going to need a tiny trash can for scraps (you’ll thank me later!).  Emptying the trash can be another team member job.

Interactive Notebook Tip #6• It can be simple!! My students were learning

about technology in Science. We began by each brainstorming all the ways we had used

technology over the weekend.

More Interactive Notebook Ideas ..

• Labels on the front – NEW idea!!• Table of Contents – I don’t do this, but many

do!!• Cover Page• Rubric for Grading – will cover this• Reward students sometimes and let them use

their notebooks on their quiz/test

More Notebook Ideas …

• Visual Rubrics – lets them know what you expect and what you don’t

• Student Examples

More Notebook Ideas …• Enhance Vocabulary Comprehension

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Sticky Notes• If I want to discuss something before revealing

an “answer”, I use sticky tabs or cut up post-it notes.  These little notes are all over my ELMO because I use them ALL THE TIME.  Any time you don’t want to reveal something right away, sticky it!

Left Side/Input Section (Teacher Chosen)

• Foldables• Notes• Vocabulary• Experiment Data• Worksheets• Diagrams• Activity

Right Side/Output (Student Chosen)

• Reflection• Sentence Stems• Drawing• Connection• Concept Map• Graphic Organizer• Quick Write

Sentence Stems in Notebooks ..Because our science notebooks are interactive, I leave lots of blank spaces for students to fill in information during our discussion/lesson.  I use these even more during the beginning of the year.  Now that we are in the last quarter of school, they’re much better about forming sentences on their own.  I still offer them because of my ELLs and inclusion students.I don’t fill in the blanks in my notebook.  It’s the students’ thoughts and ideas from discussion.  I don’t want them to just straight up copy everything I write.

Thinking Stems for Reading

Grading Interactive Notebooks

• One reason I LOVE interactive notebooks is because it makes grading much easier.

• I weigh my grades – 70% Tests/Notebook and 30% Daily Work• I give a Daily Work grade weekly – this ALWAYS comes from our

notebook. Some weeks I will tell them the page I’m grading .. Some weeks it is a surprise.

• I grade their Science Notebook – and that counts as a test grade. Most of the time, it is a great grade that helps them with those harder Science Tests.

• I use a rubric to grade my Notebooks. But, I’ve seen LOTS of good ideas on Pinterest. The key is finding what works for you --- YOU are the key to making this work!!

Interactive Notebook -- Grading

Interactive Notebook -- Grading

Interactive Notebook -- Grading

Departmentalized Notebook Grading Time!!

Are notebooks good to use with independent work?

• I use notebooks for guided instruction and independent work.

• My students use their notebooks for station work. They use the “Glue Police” rule and insert their station work into their notebooks.

• I “model” at the beginning of the year how I expect stations to be conducted and the “effort” I want in their work. After a few weeks of school, I usually don’t have an issue with not completing work.

Independent Work – Stations/Notebooks

Independent Work – Stations/Notebooks

Interactive Notebooks

• Keep It Simple – especially until you are comfortable with them

• Plan out format ahead of time• Pages should be numbered• Be clear about expectations• Pages are meaningful and have a purpose