It's the FIN!!!

Freehand Interactive Notebook Guidelines 

• To create a portfolio of your learning 

• To enable you to be a creative, critical, independent thinker

• To strengthen organizational skills

• To have less loose random paper floating about

•   For class notes, exercises, assignments, reflection, and other activities

•   For you to express your own ideas and synthesize information

• As an excellent study and reference tool

• Composition notebook is preferred

  • NOTE: composition books are much sturdier than spiral notebooks.

• Something to write with... pencils or pens will do.

  • NOTE: PENCILS are Mr. Bloom's preferred writing utensils, regular and colored.

    • WARNING: Use gel pens/markers/sharpies/highlighters in the notebook at your own risk because they tend to bleed through pages. 

      • NOTE: Occasionally, students who do not heed Mr. Bloom's warnings about pens bleeding through pages feel sad when their markers bleed over previously completed assignments.

• Very occasionally, we may attach something with tape... which I generally have in the room.

• Glue is messy and is, therefore, not needed for this notebook.

• Most of what we do for this class will be contained in our FIN.

• Most of what we do in the FIN will be freehand. 

• Color is strongly encouraged throughout the notebook.

• Big ideas should be contained/shaded/circled/highlighted/underlined with color... Mr. Bloom recommends using colored pencils to allow key points to be more easily spotted.

• Each topic should be titled at the top of the page.

• If you run out of space on a page, NO WORRIES! Just continue onto the next page.

The notebook should be:

• Thorough

• Organized

• Neat

Each assignment will be graded:

• individually (5 points)

  • on completeness, neatness, effort, accuracy, clarity, content, and timeliness… not artistic ability.

  • Some things to think about when writing in your FIN...

    • Is there a topic title on the top of your page for each assignment?

    • Have you done your sketchnotes/assignment?

    • Have you written a decent summary (if asked)?

    • Have you written a question (if asked)?

    • Have you added color for purpose (ALWAYS PREFERRED!)?

  • I will explain and model more specifically in class. Plus, I will have an updated sample FIN available to view as we go. It will show up soon under the daily POD.  No worries! 

• There is a topic title on the top of the first page of the assignment.

• The sketchnotes/assignment has been completed.

• A decent summary has been written. (when asked)

• A question has been written by the student about their learning. (when asked)

• Color for purpose has been added.

• All assignments are complete/accurate.

• All reflections/expressed ideas are complete.

• Color is (hopefully) used throughout the notebook to provide clarity.

• Big Ideas/Key Points are contained and/or highlighted to be more visible.

• All entries have a title.

• The Freehand Interactive Notebook (FIN) is organized and neat.

• Oooh... Did I mention NEAT? 

• a creative form of notetaking

• an individualized form of notetaking

• notetaking that uses visuals/drawings and words

• unique and personal notetaking, allowing the info to stick

• can work even if you "can't draw"

  • NOTE:  NO WORRIES!!! We will be practicing in class, too!

• It's fun notetaking that can work anywhere!

It is your responsibility to make up notebook assignments. You can get help, hints, and more info from the following sources:

• Mr. Bloom’s Google Sites page. (this site!) 

• Mr. Bloom's Google Classroom page.

• Mr. Bloom's sample/example notebook.

• Aspen

• A HW partner.

• The teacher...send me an email... I am happy to help!

No worries!! The only silly question is the one you don't ask!

• Contact Mr. Bloom via email at wesley.Bloom@dodea.edu

• Contact Mr. Bloom through Google Classroom

• Or call the school and I will get back to you ASAP!