Guidelines for Interactive Notebooks

What are Interactive Notebooks and how will they help me? The goal of the Language Arts Interactive Notebook is to allow you to record information about language arts in an engaging way. As you learn new ideas, and review previously learned ones, the notebook uses several types of writing and graphic techniques to record them. You will then process those ideas by transforming them into your own creative works. For example, you might transform written concepts into visuals, find the main idea of an article or discussion, or organize events into a thematic web. This encourages you to use critical thinking skills to organize information and ponder essential questions developed in class. As a result, you will become a more creative and independent thinker. You should expect to use your notebook EVERY day to help you learn new concepts and make connections to those concepts. Your Interactive Notebook becomes a portfolio of individual learning. These personal, creative notebooks become a record of each student's growth. The teacher, students, and even the parents can review a student's progress in writing, illustrating, recording, thinking, and organizing.

What materials will I need for my notebook? •a 100 sheet hard-cover 9x7 composition book or one-subject notebook •a variety of pens, pencils, & erasers •colored pencils (no markers please) •highlighters •scissors  Glue stick / bottle of glue

How will the Interactive Notebook be organized? The RIGHT side of the notebook - the "input" side - is for your guided learning. It will be used for recording class notes, discussion notes, and reading notes along with certain worksheets that we will tape into the

notebook. This side is used for the work that you do in class with your teacher and with other classmates. It will contain the essential knowledge that all students need to know. The LEFT side of the notebook - or "output" side - will mostly be used for student processing of new and reintroduced ideas. This is where you show your understanding of the concepts we are learning in class. This is also the higher-level thinking, or meta-cognitive, side of your notebook. Here you will have an opportunity to work out an understanding of the material covered in class by using illustrations, diagrams, charts, poetry, cartoons, organizers, and the like. You will explore your opinions and clarify your values on topical issues, wonder about "what if" hypothetical situations, apply content from class to new situations, and ask questions about new ideas. The left side of the notebook also allows you to see how individual lessons fit into the larger context of theme, unit, or benchmark. All added pages should be neatly trimmed to fit and TAPED (not glued) down into your notebook. The better each page fits into your notebook, the longer it will last and the neater it will look. What are the elements of an effective notebook (i.e. a notebook that works for me)? An effective notebook includes the following: •Table of Contents – written in the beginning and needs to be updated frequently •Student Guidelines - these are informational sheets that will need to be glued onto the first several pages of your notebook. Your teacher will provide them for you. •Unit Cover Pages - for each new unit, you will complete a cover page with a unit title and 3+ illustrations that represent the topic. This page needs to be colorful from corner to corner. •Self Reflection Activity - this page will complete the unit by reflecting back on what was learned, usually in the form of a journal entry.

How will I keep track of what goes in my notebook? We will maintain a Table of Contents of our finished work in class. You will be responsible for keeping up with all assignments listed on that table of contents. You can also follow our daily assignments on the Weekly Schedule which is available in my classroom as well as posted on my website. What if I lose my notebook? Don't! If your notebook is lost, you will need to redo any work that was not evaluated already. There is a class notebook available for you in the classroom to use as a model, but this must be done on your own time. How will I be graded? Notebooks will be checked in several ways on an ongoing basis. You, your peers, and your teacher will check your notebook for thoroughness, quality, organization, and visual appearance. Your notebook needs to be neat, organized, and in class every day. Each entry should be titled and dated, and included on the Table of Contents. You can expect that you or a peer will evaluate your notebook regularly and I will grade it on an ongoing basis. There will be a rubric as part of your Student Guideline pages, but be prepared for random spot checks - so keep it up to date! What happens if I am absent? Follow our set procedures for absences. YOU will be responsible for all class notes and notebook assignments, even for the days you were absent. The Table of Contents will be posted in the room and updated constantly, and handouts will be available as needed.

Please see me if you have any questions or concerns. Your Interactive Notebook will be a wealth of information and a huge accomplishment when finished. I am looking forward to a creative and rewarding year. – Mrs. Nagel

Interactive Notebook Unit Cover Pages - Guidelines 1.Students are expected to write the unit title (i.e. Persuasive Essay) in large letters on the page so that it is very easy to read. 2.Students must hand-draw (or trace) a minimum of THREE pictures that represent the title for the unit. 3.Students must color the entire page, corner to corner, using crayons or colored pencils. Please do NOT use markers because colors will bleed through to the opposite side.

This is a summarization strategy I found online call "the incredible shrinking notes" where students start out writing a summary of a reading selection on the large index card. Students are then given the medium sized card and have to take the information from the large card and condense it onto the medium sized card. Finally, students are given the small card and must then take the information from the medium sized card and condense it down either further onto the small card. This is a great way for students to get to the

main point/idea of a selection.