Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Using Interactive Notebooks in the Classroom


Have you ever heard of an interactive notebook? I hadn't until a couple months ago. But after finding out more about this tool and the different ways it can be used in the classroom, I think it is a great way to make learning fun and interactive for students, giving them ownership over the material and choice in demonstrating their knowledge.

An interactive notebook is designed to be used in your typical marble composition notebook. Generally, the right side of the notebook is for the content knowledge, whether class notes, a reading passage, vocabulary words, or diagrams. The left side of the page is for student interpretation and demonstration of that knowledge. This can take many forms - drawings, answering questions, making observations or predictions, written summaries... the possibilities are endless.


Interactive notebooks are used primarily for science and social studies but could be adapted for language arts, math, or other subjects. They are most commonly used in the upper elementary grades and require few materials (pencils and pens, colored pencils, glue sticks, scissors).

If you are interested in using an interactive notebook in your classroom, there are some great resources on the web to check out:
Interactive Student Notebooks Wiki
Sparks Fly: Interactive Notebook
Interactive Notebook Resources for Teachers
Teaching Social Studies: Interactive Notebooks
Science Notebooking
Note taking and Interactive Notebooks

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