What is the value of adding interactive notebooks to the math classroom?
Interactive notebooks are a way for students to add a creative element to traditional notetaking. Students can add a table of contents, graphic organizers, foldables, and other activities to their math notebooks. Processing newly acquired information in different, creative ways, helps students learn concepts on a deeper level. Organizational skills are enhanced as students set up their notebooks in a way that is easy for them to find information when studying for tests and quizzes. They also have a personal creation they can be proud of.
Many teachers love using interactive notebooks in order to differentiate with students at different academic levels. Teachers can give customized activities in order to accomodate struggling students and, at the same time, challenge their higher-achieving classmates. Each notebook will be different and unique to each student.
Rules and Procedures for Interactive Notebooks
Teaching the procedures for creating personal notebooks is similar to teaching classroom behavior. Rules must be established and repeated until procedures are in place. Many teachers prefer composition notebooks instead of regular spiral notebooks. Composition books are more durable and will last longer. Set up procedures for labeling their books with their full name, class period, grade level, or any other information that will help you identify notebooks. Students can then decorate the covers in order to personalize their books. Start with a title page, and then proceed to the Table of Contents. Allow enough extra pages to last through several months of notetaking entries. (You may want to create a teacher copy before the school year begins, so you can compile materials and have a better idea of length. You will also have a copy for students to refer to when they’ve been absent.) Walk students through the first several entries in the table of contents and have them number pages in advance. It may take awhile for students to get into the habit of completing table of content pages as they go. Spend some time at the beginning of the school year checking to make sure students are doing this correctly. They may not see the value in the table of contents at first. Later, when they need to easily find their notes on a certain topic, they will appreciate the organization.
Grading Student Notebooks
It’s important to develop a system for making students accountable for the content in their Interactive Notebook. I’ve tried points, weekly grades and, after much frustration, stopped grading them entirely. Of course that did not work! If students know they are not accountable, they will cease to complete most assignments. What I finally settled on was a grading rubric that students could glue into the back of their notebooks for reference. A rubric can make grading much easier and less time consuming. A “5” could be a notebook with a complete, accurate table of contents, numbered pages and all assignments complete and accounted for. A score of “4” might be a notebook that is 85% complete, easy to read and access, with just a few missing elements. Students scoring a “3”, might have a notebook that is 70% complete, with a few errors in activity completion. And so on… Make the rubric meet the needs of your classroom, and have it completed ahead of time so that students know your expectations and can refer to it easily.
Organize Mathematics Units
You may want to divide your student notebooks into organizational units on topics such as “Integers”. Start with some vocabulary. Students can use the Frayer Model as a graphic organizer, where students can give the definition, examples, non-examples, and a visual representation. (Look up the term “Frayer Model” for some creative examples.) Students can then take notes and show the steps in a mathematical procedure. (Cornell notes can be used to give some organization to student note-taking.) Give students some foldables to give students a hands-on visual of a math procedure. Foldables are fun to create, and students can color and decorate them to make them unique. (Make sure students have scissors, glue sticks, and colored pencils handy. Markers often bleed through the pages, so colored pencils tend to work best.) Follow up your foldable activity with some type of puzzle activity related to the concept you’re teaching. Have them glue the puzzle sheets into their notebook pages. And finally, you can follow up with a worksheet that can be graded and glued on a notebook page. Some teachers have students write in the instructions for completing a math activity, as if they were explaining it to a student who was absent that day. This forces students to think about each step, and be thorough in their explanations. Writing in math is a valuable tool for students to learn on a deeper level.
Foldables and Graphic Organizers
Where can you find the foldables and organizers to use in the student notebooks? Teacher Supply stores often have books with examples you can copy and use. I found many of my foldables and organizers on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers. Many I created on my own, so that I could choose the foldable or organizer that best matched each math procedure. If you’d like an example, I have included the link for a FREE Foldable for evaluating algebraic expressions. If this is not a concept you teach (6th or 7th grade math), feel free to use the template for another math procedure.
Learning to use interactive notebooks takes some time and organization, but is well worth the effort in organizing for a successful school year!
