Recently, I have had several fellow teachers ask me about my Interactive Notebooks. Last year was my first year of implementing INB into my classroom. In fact, I did not even start implementing them until Quarter 2. This year, I am ready! I have a plan! I am not sure if that plan is good, but here it is…!
My goal is to have my students set up their entire INB during the first week of school. In this way, they (and I) will be organized once we begin taking notes in class.
This is a LONG post so I have broken it into two sections:
Here are the things that you will need:
1.) A composition notebook. It is easier if students get composition notebooks with a hard cover and, if possible, get a notebook that is college ruled, rather than wide ruled. College ruled allows you SO much more writing space, but they are very difficult to find.
2.) Colored paper – Paper will be used to cover the inside and outside cover of the notebook. You could use white paper, but colored is so much more fun! Construction paper is easy probably the easiest. Each student would need 4 pieces of paper, however, I am also contemplating taking large strips of paper from the teacher workroom and just putting them in the groups.
3.) Packing Tape – Packing tap will be needed to cover the interactive notebook. Something like THIS.
4.) Glue – Okay, this is a biggie. DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT buy stick glue. It is not worth your time. Buy the white Elmer’s glue (that we all hate) but sticks really well. I used stick glue for the first half of the year and my student’s foldables and notes were falling out by February.
5.) Scissors – You’re students will need scissors to cut out many, many things. If you are beginning to use INB’s, purchase a class set of scissors. It’s worth it! Check THESE out.
6.) Table of Contents – I got my current Table of Contents from THIS blog. I just modified it slightly. You can download it HERE for free!
7.) Calendar – I downloaded my calendar from HERE. I widened the margins and stretched out the calendar to fit the page. When I printed it, I printed it two per page to use less paper and to allow it to fit in the notebook.
8.) Syllabus – I am printing off an extra copy of the first three pages of my syllabus. The students tend to lose the one I give them, but they can’t if it is glued into their notebook! (I hope!)
9.) INB Grading Rubric – I got the INB Grading Rubric from the same blog as the Table of Contents. However, I modified it a bit to fit my students and myself. You can download it HERE.
10.) Table of Contents – Per Unit – I decided to create a Table of Contents per Unit. The students will log the assignments in their Table of Contents, but also on the Table of Contents that appears at the beginning of each unit. You can download it HERE.
11.) Glossary – This year, I decided to create a pre-made glossary for my students. The only thing that they have to do is add in the corresponding page numbers. You can buy it HERE.
12.) Math Reference Pages – This is something I am so excited about! Mostly because it is so pretty. Read about it HERE.
13.) Tabs – Tabs! Do I seem to excited about that? They just look so nice in the notebook. The template for the tabs is HERE. I printed them out on cardstock, cut them out, and glued them onto the beginning of each section.
Phew! That is a lot of stuff, right? If you want to read about putting it together, go How to Set it Up to get all of the details!
