After finishing the series I couldn't stop thinking of more ideas that I wanted to share! I will continue to update this post as I think of more bonus teacher tips that helped me use interactive notebooks smoothly in class.
What if a student loses their notebook?
I found this happened way more often when they were taking them home (see the next section). Once we left them in the classroom it became more rare. If a student loses their notebook I have them start their next set of notes on a piece of paper, hoping it turns up! It usually does, but when it doesn't the only thing they can do is start a new one. It's a painful process but I would have them copy all notes from our current unit at the very minimum. This happens before/after school and usually includes a call home to let adults know they will need the extra time. A few students who couldn't do that extra time took pictures of my notebook and did it at home.
Let's think realistically though, those are students who want to be successful. If a student loses their notebook and isn't interested in making it up you can just start them where they left off with a new notebook or stapled notebook paper. When they count their stamps it will be painful for their grade!
Do students take their notebooks home?
No. Well yes and no. I provide a safe place to keep the notebooks in my classroom. If students want to take their notebooks home or put them in their binder each day that is their choice. I would say 80% of students leave their notebooks each day. On Fridays I encourage them to take their notebooks home to review and do the adult input pages.
How do they study?
For my Spanish class we take notes one day and then almost always make flashcards the next day. Those flashcards will go home with them each day and they are expected to study them. Other big ideas they need to learn are reviewed in class and don't really make sense to study at home. For example, grammatical structures aren't really something they can just "study" at home. It's best to practice in class anyways. They can always take pictures of their notes or take notebooks home if they choose.
How do you store notebooks?
I dedicated a large area for notebooks. I have shelving on the wall and each period has a section and within the period there are group names. Our group names are colors in Spanish so "rojo" will have their section on the shelf, students enter the classroom and go grab their notebook based on their group.
What not to do - I learned the hard way not to crowd the notebook storage because students will wreck whatever stack there is to find their notebook. For example, one year I tried to do the storage alphabetically by last name. Well there was a stack of 12 notebooks in the "R" section and they were scattered around each day. Fail. Stacks of 4-5 MAX.
Our school used interactive notebooks in every class so I saw other ways to store notebooks and one really popular way was to use "milk crates." This seemed to work well for others who didn't have the storage space like I did.
Each milk crate was designated to a period and within the crate was a hanging file for each student. At the end of the period students would put their notebook in their hanging file. I can't speak to the logistics of this but it is an option! (I linked each)
How do students keep their place in the notebook?
The tabs along with page numbers were enough for my students. I have seen tips of cutting the corners of pages, folding them, or even taping in a string. Honestly this was never worth the time or energy. I say open to page 12 and they do....? Keep it simple!
What if a student is absent or behind?
I always have a notebook dedicated to each period. Even if I have 3 periods of the same class I will have different notebooks so they are updated accurately. They are kept on a stand on my desk, if students ever need them they can come and help themselves. They can copy during work time or take a picture to copy later. My notebook can not leave the class.
I would say the most common way for them to get caught up is to look at a partner's notebook. I always excuse them from the bellwork after being absent so they can use that time to copy.
One other important part of this equation is students knowing what they missed. We fill in our planner each Monday for the week and mark which days will be notes, interaction, or assignments. They should be able to see what they missed and get caught up without even talking to me! If you want a post on planners let me know below.
How do you accommodate or differentiate?
In the notebook we are either taking notes or interacting. When I differentiate for the interaction it is really specific to the activity. I can give examples below. I will say that for notes, I have done the same curriculum for 7 years so I have already created a "digital" set of notes for each set I give to students. I write it out in my notebook in front of the class but I can also print out the digital notes and give it to a student to glue into their notebook. They are still responsible for highlighting and summarizing their notes but the printed version can help with students who struggle to write legibly or if our lists are just too long to complete in one period.
Interaction Accommodation Examples:
If we are doing a foldable I give them the example I have already cut out.
I can shorten the work, if the requirement is 5 example sentences I can say 3.
If the requirement is to draw pictures I can have them cut out instead.
I can give a digital option and have students print/cut/glue in their support class.
How do you give feedback?
Students will get feedback in a few different ways. First, is the stamp grading that I do for each set of notes and each interaction. I am the only one who does this, and I can give immediate verbal feedback. Second, is the peer and class feedback. We constantly are doing partner activities and group games. If there is a mistake in their notes, they will notice very quickly! Finally, they use their notes to do assignments (that aren't in the INB). If they get a poor grade on the assignment we can address their notes or interaction to see if there are any mistakes made.
What other questions do you have about implementing or using Interactive Notebooks? I know I am forgetting something!
Coming soon..an entire series on taking notes! All 5 phases of note-taking and how to get students actually using their notes. Subscribe to get notifications by clicking the "Join CCC" button at the top of the page.
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