Something I played around with quite a bit while in the classroom were Interactive Student Notebooks. The general idea of them, being a living "textbook" the students build over the course of the class with teacher notes and a variety of assignments, colored the way I attempted organization for my middle school students each year. Some years I used composition books and others I branched out to spiral or 3-ring binders. I haven't found a favorite, but loved basic idea of them.
Here are some great ways to use an ISN:
- Classroom Expectations - I loved to include our classroom expectations in the front section of the ISN. Students can tape or glue it in and it provides a reference point when behaviors need redirection.
- Class Notes - Students can take notes from direct instruction, modeling of note-taking, or readings from textbooks or articles that can't be marked-up.
- Reference materials - When I have included reference materials, it can end up being a fairly loose definition of what fits into that section. I have included everything from district passwords for online resources to sentence starters for short responses, discussions, and exit tasks.
- Foldables - These can seem a little "elementary," however I have enjoyed incorporating at least one into the rotation each year. Foldables provide a place-holder for learning, some active, hands-on construction time, and a usable tool to review afterward. Many fit into a notebook really well.
- Vocabulary - Including a vocabulary section in your ISN can be a great way to track new vocabulary throughout the year. Adding one or two terms at a time can be less intimidating than a whole unit of terms at once.
There are so many great ways to use ISN, do you have another I can add to the list?
I love reading about other teachers who use interactive notebooks. I use them in my high school math classes and have received nothing but positive feedback from my students, parents, and co-workers. Our notebooks are mainly foldables, which help my special education students make connections and improve their understanding of difficult concepts. The first year I used these, I used scaffolded note shells to teach, and then we completed a foldable. Last year, we used the foldables instead of the shells, and I felt it worked better. I plan to post my links post in the next couple of days, and I talked about our favorite foldables. Watch for it here: https://mcleodscrowd.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear you use foldables more often. I will probably try to incorporate more when I get back into the classroom.
DeleteI loved reading your post about interactive notebooks. I would have loved reading that when I was trying to get started, its a great place to get the scoop on how to really use them! I will probably try tracking it down again when I try to get back in there! Thank you!
Katy,
ReplyDeleteI use interactive notebooks for a couple of my classes, Math and Social Studies. In my blog post this week, I talk about some failures I've had with them, the biggest one being starting mid way through the school year. However, on the flip side of things, my students loved having the ability to having something they can expand on later on as they to middle school and even high school.
Oh man, I totally did the mid-year thing my first year. I had a little success because our 7th grade social studies class was split into two different courses (Research Skills and Geography / Washington State History) but it led me to start from the beginning the next year. I will hop over and check it out!
DeleteI love the interactive notebooks. Haven't got to use many, so these are great. One I seem to refer to the most has been one about genius hour. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I will have to check that out!
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