Interactive Notebook
A couple of weeks ago we had a great training session about interactive notebooks. I am still working through exactly what it will look like but I am pleased with the first few days of implementation. Our notebook (pictured above) is simply 20 blank sheets of paper bound together with the paper binding. The first page will be an “about me” page which we have not completed yet. Also, in our training they mentioned having a table of contents at the beginning of the book but I skipped that for this journal. I hope to add that for the next notebook.
Here are the main points I took from the training…
- There should always be input and output for each entry
- Left side is the student side (output), right side is the teacher side (input)
- Students output should reflect their thinking. This is their space to organize thoughts, share learning or ask questions.
- Notebook is not just for science, it can be used for all subject areas
- Messy notebooks are typical, it means they are being used
So I dove into this new learning tool and here are the first few experiences.
The first two examples are about seeds. I brought 10 packets of seeds as well as 8 different fruits and vegetables for the kids to explore seeds. I took a picture of all the seeds we investigated, the pots we planted them in and a simple picture of a labeled plant (for vocabulary) and the kids glued those image on the right side. On the left I asked them to show what they thought will happen to the planted seeds. Will they all grow? What will grow first? Which one will grow the tallest/smallest? Why might they not grow?
I think the grapes are going to grow and the red bell pepper and the green bell pepper.
My favorite was the sunflower.
The next day I read a big book to the class called Seed Secrets. We glued a picture from one of the pages that showed many types of seeds and also taped six actual seeds to the page. Here are some of their responses.
The seeds are big and small.
Today we tweeted with some meteorologists from our local tv stations. I printed out a few of those tweets and we stapled them onto the right side. I asked the kids to share something they learned or a question they had. One of my favorite examples of why I see this format as so valuable is the last picture. The student wrote about green screens because we learned that is how they get the map behind the meteorologist on tv. I love that each child can share what was important to them rather than what I want them to take away from the lesson.
I learned that thunder was a strike of “lectricity”
I wonder about thunder snow. I learned that… ( I took pic before she was done)
I learned about green screen.
Would appreciate comments or suggestions on how to make this even better. I know I have a lot to learn as we explore this fun way of documenting learning.
I really enjoyed your pot Matt. You are being transparent in your thinking and learning. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, it’s about the kids writing what they learned or thought instead of being about the actual object or lesson. You might enjoy @royanlee ‘s post about Thinking Books http://spicylearning.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/the-thinking-book/
I think ideally the notebook/response book/thinking book would be a book tht kids grab and record their thinking about whatever topic hits them at the moment, the reality is it’s not always to manage that, especially with young learners. I like the idea of glueing in items. I might add that to our Thinking Book.
Your posts always make me reflect on my practice too,
Thanks,
Angie
@Techieang
Appreciate the comment Angie. I will check out that book, it sounds great. The kids are really enjoying having the items glued, stapled or taped in their journals. Helps them remember the topic.
Love, love, love this! I did a learning journal last year but the journal was for one unit/theme of study. I like that this is for learning of any kind. I might give this a try after spring break which is just 5 school days away!!
Laure, Happy Spring Break! I hope
you will just jump in and try it. I posted this early in the process on purpose, it really should be a continual work in progress for kids and the teacher.
Matt, I really love this interactive notebook idea! I love the idea that the book can be used for anything not just science. I have thought of doing a learning/reflection type journal but I never thought of adding a response piece back to the child. I recently meet with my science curriculum person about using Science Notebooks with my kindergartener’s. We teach different units but she gave me the great idea of just carving out 15 minutes a week to go out in the school/backyard and let the students decide what they plan to investigate(real Scientist in action)…come back in and record in their Science notebooks. Of course I live in New England so everytime I try to kick it off we get a crazy snow storm!! I love love love how your using tweeter in your classroom. I just joined Tweeter so I need time to figure out how I can incoporate it into the classroom. I can’t wait to read more about your notebooks! Thanks for sharing! Melissa
Melissa, I appreciate the comment! You are right, sometimes just spending a few minutes outside is all it takes to spark wonder. You might like this post mattbgomez.com/exploring-nature/ Hope it warms up fast for you!
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Thanks so much, Matt. We do daily journal writing and the children either have a free write or write in response to a question or idea in the morning message. we also build a photo album for each child capturing their year in kindergarten. Your Interactive notebook is such a great way for me to combine both of our activites into a more reflective and visible learning artifact. Thanks for being so generous with your ideas. Frannie
Frannie, I love the idea of a photo album. We take 1000′s of pictures in my class but I have not used them in a journal. That might be a fun project at the end of the year. Let them pic 20 or so and write about each picture.
I’ve been using interactive notebooks for my social studies classes this year. I really like them. It lets them express themselves and make sense of the SS readings. My teammates and I got the idea from http://themiddleschoolmouth.blogspot.com/2012/08/isn-links-and-more.html
Thanks for sharing.
Matt
@dropstepdunk
http://journeyofaneducator.blogspot.com/
Wow Matt! I’m amazed at everything you do! I really like the idea of the interactive journal but do u glue down the same thing in everyone’s journal generally? I have 26 Kindergarteners and I’m wondering when do you find the time?
Great question Janice. Yes, they all have the same sheet or items glued or stapled in their journal. I let them start working on their response first and then walk around and staple or tape the items in as they work. If they are gluing the items they do that on their own. I appreciate the kind words!
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Excellent! So love this idea! I try not to be too structured BUT…..do you go from one page to the next, subject to subject. For example: science on one page, math on the other? Or do you separate pages by subject areas? Definitely am going to incorporate this next year with my 1st graders.
My kinder friend attended the conference in San Marcos back in Jan. She loved your tweeting and has set her class up. That’s another thing I’ll start next year.
Thanks for sharing your amazing ideas!
Karol Glaspy
All Saints Episcopal, 1st grade
Beaumont, Texas
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