How to Effectively Use Interactive Notebooks

How to Effectively Use Interactive Notebooks

Teacher-tested tips for effectively using interactive notebooks in secondary science classrooms by Getting Nerdy Science

Life Science & Biology Interactive Notebook Activities – INB ISN

Getting Nerdy Science: Life Science & Biology Lessons for All of Your Teaching Needs – Interactive notebooks, dissection models, full lessons & more!

Satsumas and Bees

12 Things I Wish I Had Known About Interactive Science Notebooks — The Science Penguin

Are you new to using Interactive Notebooks? After 6 years of trial and error, I made a list of 12 things I wish I had known that very first year. Set up 4 pages for the Table of Contents. Instead of drawing sloppy lines on the page, I just use the red lines already provided in the … Read more

Ideas for foldable activities in lapbooks

Making interactive notes in science is a fun way of making learning more hands-on. Lapbooks are a way of presenting information and can be made for a huge variety of science topics. They are a useful tool both in the classroom and for home school. This blog post will give you some ideas for foldable […]

Chloroplast Foldable Freebie

Want to Liven Up Your Science Interactive Notebook? Check out these 7 AMAZING foldables!! (1) Plant Cell Foldable (2) Animal Cell Foldable (3) Bacteria Cell Foldable (4) Ch…

Science Interactive Notebook – Cells

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7th and 8th Grade Math Alphabet Vocabulary Word Wall (Great for Math Bulletin Boards)

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Science Interactive Notebooks – Maniacs in the Middle

Let’s talk interactive notebooks!! To be honest, I truly don’t know if you would classify my notebooks as “interactive” notebooks! My thought process behind the notebooks is that before notebooks, my students would lose EVERYTHING. LITERALLY EVERYTHING. It didn’t matter that they had a designated “science folder.” It was as if someone would come in our class late at night & throw everything away because things magically disappeared. I started these notebooks because I wanted a place for EVERYTHING. We put all important items in here from notes, activities, reference sheets, worksheets, labs, etc . Anything that I want…

Your kids will become very in tune with the process of using the INB, taking ownership of it from day one, neatly filling out their left side “do now” and working on the meat of their lesson on the right.  Once they complete an assignment in the notebook, remind them to keep their table of contents up to date with the title, date, and page number and that each page is filled out daily.QUIZ TIME!In order to make sure students are held accountable for the work, give a short 10 question INB QUIZ every two weeks that covers the information from the notebook during that time period.   Questions on the quizzes should be EASY and only refer to the WORK from those days, such as “what was the objective from date such and such?” or “what was the answer to the bellwork question #2 from this activity?” These should not be questions about understanding or comprehension of concepts – save those for your regular assessments.  Give them the page numbers to find the answers.  This way, if students keep up with their notebooks, follow the format, and complete the in-class activities each day, they receive an easy, breezy 100 point quiz grade. If not, well, then you know who’s been completing assignments and who hasn’t. There’s also the obvious win for you as you don’t have to collect 140 notebooks to grade each week.  And of course you’ll grade any major assignments in the notebook, but the daily tedium will be taken care of with this quick grade method.WHY DID I MAKE A TEXTBOOK?!Why? Because, at the end of the year, the notebook can be used as their primary study tool to prepare for their state test.  Once you have covered all of the material for science, have the students take a MOCK state test.  Then, create a Science Skills Tracking Sheet that lists each of your standards for science and the skills and concepts to be learned for each of those standards. You’ll use that same mock test to align each question with the standard it tests. You’ll only need to do this once, but it will save you a life time of individually assessing each student’s proficiencies and deficiencies regarding the material. Where the INB comes in handy is when you align the PAGE numbers of the INB with the particular standards as well.  When students analyze their mock test, they are able to see which standards AND which pages in their INB they need to review for the big day. The best part is that students will want to use THIS tool (versus a textbook or EOCT coach book) because it is THEIR personalized journal of learning, and they are able to revisit the key concepts in THEIR OWN words and THEIR OWN way in an individualized and targeted fashion!It’s always fun to show your wide-eyed students the start and finish points for their notebooks. They can hardly believe that simple, daily assignments will make a monstrously almost 2″ thick textbook out of their relatively thin 100-page composition notebook.A few will laugh at the size.  Some will shudder in fear of the amount of work that must go into making something of that magnitude.  However, all of your students will finish the year with not only a love of science, but a true personal connection to the material and their notebook.  We were always so pleased to hear when our students moved on to high school only to come back and visit and tell us that their INB saved them in their Biology classes!   We hope these INB tips help you along the way, too!And if you’d like to get started right away and don’t know what you would need for your students to get them on board, check out our blog posts:BEGINNERS GUIDE TO INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKING and
THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS IN SECONDARY GRADES
We also offer a product on Introducing Interactive Notebooks in Science which is complete with handouts and PowerPoint to guide you through the process. If you’re looking for resources and don’t have time to make your own, we have a curriculum that’s comprehensive and ready to go! Check out our assortment of PowerPoint and handouts on every life science topic here in our store. If you’re interested in interactive notebooks, we have accompanying INB activities too!