In about 2 weeks, school starts back and, while I will miss the warm summer days at home with my kids, I am really excited about some interactive notebook ideas that I will be using in my 7th and 8th grade classes this year.
The Notebook
I am going to have students use the composition books without the spiral binding so that there is no spiral to get crushed in their bookbags when they take them home. I would also love for the notebooks to be college-ruled paper, but that is just my preference. The main thing that is important to me is that each student will have a notebook. If someone is unable to bring a notebook, I will just buy some extras and give them one!
The first day, we will save a few pages for the table of contents that we will include to help keep our notebooks organized, and then we will number the pages in the notebook. Yes. Every page. Seems time-consuming, but I think it will be worth it to be able to use these numbers to find certain notes when needed. I am thinking about printing off a table of contents and having the students glue it in their notebooks to make this portion neater and easier for them (and me). I am also going to let my kids decorate their notebooks the first week so that they will be able to "make it their own." I always love this and I think it allows them to put their own personality into it. I have also heard that they really do value it more when it represents them. I plan to decorate a notebook along with my students and I think it will really help as an icebreaker activity.
We are also going to create a few lists in our notebooks. So far, I want them to include the books they have read (starting at the beginning of school) and the books they want to read. I think they will like this list idea and I might add more as the ideas come along.
I have been doing some research about interactive notebooks and notetaking in general, and I think I have a plan for how these notebooks will work in my classroom quite well. I really like the idea of having a specific spot for each portion of class, so I am going to be using the "Input/Output" method, but with my own twist.
Each day, students will have their notebooks open so that there is a clean page on the left and the right. I am going to have my students draw a line dividing the left side of the notebook in half hamburger-style). The top portion will be the Bell Work that we will do each day. I will be using mentor sentences from our literature selections for our Bell Work. I found out about mentor sentences during an in-service this summer from TNCore and I am IN LOVE with mentor sentences to teach grammar through writing. I have always heard this is the best way, but I was unsuccessful with integrating it into my class. Until now. (More on this later.) So, the bell work will be the left top and then we will move to the right hand side where we will take notes or do whatever the blunt of the lesson calls for that day. At the end of the lesson, we will move back to the left bottom side and it will either be a reflection for the lesson or a place for students to either write what the homework is (if it is too lengthy to do in this small space). If the homework is short enough to complete in that space, they will complete it there.
While I do plan to use some foldables and to have students tape in some note pages as the year goes on, I think these notebooks will really help keep everything together for me (and my kids). The past few years, I have many notes to give, but I have been horrible at keeping them accountable for their notes; I think this notebook will help them keep it altogether and research shows that, by taking notes, students will retain the information better. (I am also going to use Cornell notes, which I will share soon!)
The Folder
After thinking about this interactive notebook, I realized that I do need my students to have a place to keep the occasional handout and any other loose papers. Middle school students need someone to teach them organizational skills, and I think these notebooks and folders will help with that. So, I am also going to have my students use a folder with the prongs in the middle and the two pockets on the side. I am going to have them put blank papers in the center prongs and this is going to be their dictionary for our vocabulary words. Each week, they will record the words and definitions in this portion (between the prongs). I plan to have them create a page for each letter of the alphabet so that they can record the definitions dictionary-style to create their own, personal dictionary. On the left side of the folder, they will keep work we are currently doing. This is usually just for that specific week since I will take it up on Fridays to grade it. Then, on the left side, they will keep work that has been graded. We will clean this all out as needed (probably every 3 weeks) and I plan to have a folder with each kid's name on it in my filing cabinet. When we clean it out, they will put their graded work in this folder and I will have this to show parents the wonderful work we are doing in class.
I am currently working on some example notebooks to show my kids on the first day (and to post on here), but I am very excited for this interactive notebook integration this year! I think it will help students be more organized and it will allow me to be more organized as well.
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