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

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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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!

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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!)

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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

17. Thoughts…
Examples
Questions
How might you begin?