Interactive Notebooks: What’s All the Rage?

I may be behind the curve, but this past school year I discovered (and loved) interactive notebooks! At first I thought they may only work in an upper elementary classroom since they appeared so different from worksheets (blah worksheets!). In an effort to use fewer worksheets and get my students engaged, I decided to dip my toe in the water of interactive notebooks. Boy, oh boy was I missing out! My kids love them!

What are interactive notebooks?

They are a tool where students can record and organize their thinking, while receiving teacher feedback. They can cover all content areas, from math and literacy to social studies and science. The notebooks will look a bit different depending on grade level, but the general concept is the same.

Why are they so great?

1. THEY ARE NOT A WORKSHEET. Ha but seriously. If you are trying to move away from worksheet life and find a more engaging approach to recording student learning, this is your best bet.
2. Easy data entry! Any entry into an interactive notebook can be used as data. Does this student know letter sounds? Let’s check his notebook. Can this student produce a word starting with a given letter? Let’s check her notebook. Which feeds into the next point of…
3. Parent communication. Parents can get a good snapshot of their child’s learning and understanding by flipping through their interactive notebook.
4. Multiple learning modalities are used when completing activities.
5. You, the teacher, can make it what you want—and so can your students. You can make your interactive notebooks as high or low maintenance as you want. You choose how often you use them. Your students can personalize their notebooks, and take responsibility for their learning. My students have certainly been motivated by infusing their notebooks with their own personalities.

What materials are needed?

My preference is a composition notebook since they are simple and the pages don’t rip out as easily as they would in a spiral bound notebook. Durability FTW. Since I teach kindergarten, my students typically need the notebook, scissors, glue, crayons, and a pencil. I’m sure middle and high school interactive notebooks wouldn’t necessitate crayons or coloring utensils. J I’ve seen some teachers use a bowl or cup for students to put all the little pieces into so they don’t lose them. Whatever floats your boat!

Something to consider

You will need to explicitly model and teach how to use interactive notebooks. It may be hard for students to pick up on at first, but be patient. If you consistently use interactive notebooks in your classroom, your students will learn the routines and procedures quickly.

So there you have it! These are my very early thoughts on interactive notebooks. Do you use them in your classroom? Have you had success? Comment below! I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Cheers!