Interactive Notebooks Debra Turchetti-Ramm Grade 4 Teacher Johnston Public Schools Dramm@johnstonschools.org Why use them? What are they for? How do you set them up?

Essential Question How do I use interactive notebooks to engage students and maximize learning in my classroom?

What are Interactive Notebooks? Notebooks are a highly individualized way for students to interact with: The content/concepts being learning Themselves and their thinking The teacher

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS WHY INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS Students use both their visual and linguistic intelligences. They can approach understanding in many ways. Teachers/students can use many types of writing and graphic techniques. Each student can select his/her best medium to explore and learn new content. Note taking becomes an active process. Students are invited to take notes—it’s fun! Students will read their notes—they have to in order to process for the left side. Students will be working with the information which facilitates learning and will actively be involved with the content. Notebooks help students to systematically organize as they learn.

The Benefits of Interactive Notebooks Students are able to organize their work. The process engages reading strategies within a content area, such as science, social studies or math. It helps students (& teachers) distinguish between what they know and what needs more attention.

The Best Part for Students Students make their own meaningful connections. It encourages pride in student work. It encourages cooperative learning. It appeals to multiple intelligences. Students love it and learn so much!

The Best Part for Teachers The format is engaging to multiple learning styles: Visual, kinesthetic, linguistic, and more Encourages application of writing strategies in variety of contexts Facilitates higher order and independent thinking

Benefits Over Time Notebooks become a portfolio on individual learning and a record of each student’s growth. Teachers, students, and parents can review a student’s progress in writing, recording, thinking, and organization skills.

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS allow students to record information in an engaging way. They can… transform written concepts into visuals find main points organize ideas, concepts, events help sequence assignments draw whatever illustration that makes sense to them personalize the notebook encourage pride in student work facilitate cooperative interaction appeal to multiple intelligences provide opportunities to spiral instruction and facilitate learning

No Two Notebooks Should Be Alike, But All Should Have… Personalized Unit Title Page Table of Contents Standards (CCSS) Vocabulary Activities Graphic Organizers Foldables (google Dinah Zikes!)

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS may include diagrams, bullets, and arrows are in pencil and crayon are presented in a unique, personal style has key ideas are underlined in color or highlighted uses Venn diagrams or other graphic organizers to show relationships

colored computer paper glue stick or bottle markers or crayons What do students need? notebook pencil colored pens highlighters colored computer paper glue stick or bottle markers or crayons construction paper scissors

SETUP On the right side—teacher input side On the left side—student output side Translate your note material into a Drawing Graphic organizer Charts and graphs Mind map Picture sentence Requires students to process information by actively doing something with the information to internalize it. Gives students permission to be playful, imaginative, experimental, and creative. Allows various learning styles to process information. On the right side—teacher input side Opportunity for teacher to model for students how to think graphically Teacher organizes the common set of information that all students must know

EVALUATING THE NOTEBOOK (in the beginning) Glance at notebooks each day for the first few weeks of the semester. Walk around and give positive comments. Get a stamp or use a symbol to monitor. This encourages timely accomplishment of assignments. Encourage notebook use. Depending on the age level—note taking must be supported and taught. Pass out a model of outstanding notes for a lecture or activity. Have students evaluate their notes as compared to the model. On occasion, allow students to use their notebooks to take a quiz.

FORMAL EVALUATION OF NOTEBOOKS Up to you but you must do it if you want the students to keep the notebooks. Don’t collect them all at once. Do a few each day over a period of time. Don’t feel compelled to grade every entry. Carefully evaluate what you feel are the most important entries. Spot-check other assignments. Clearly explain at the beginning of the semester the criteria on which notebooks will be graded. Create a notebook evaluation sheet. Require students to do a self assessment of their notebooks.

Formal Assessment Options There are multiple assessment options: Formative Assessment Progress monitoring daily/weekly/spot check Provide commentary about a concept or written response Summative Assessment using a rubric Individual assignments basis Selected sections assessed for conventions

Thoughts… Examples Questions How might you begin?