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Interactive Notebooks were introduced to the educational world through the History Alive! Interactive Student Notebook publication in 1999. This valuable learning tool is now being used across academic disciplines and in multiple grade levels, including college courses.
For students, Interactive Notebooks become a collection of evidence of learning, as well as a reference tool. For educators, Interactive Notebooks can be an efficient learning structure that helps students organize and archive their learning.
There are many variations and formatting structures that can be included in an Interactive Notebook, allowing educators an opportunity to tailor their notebooks to relevant content and students’ ability.
Interactive Notebooks are structured by the facing pages in a notebook. Typically, right-side pages are used for teacher input (notes, texts, handouts, etc.) while the left-side pages are designated for student processing and reflection on the content on the facing page.
Right side page generally include notes, which are one component that appears frequently in Interactive Notebooks. The left side of the the notebook encourages reflection and student input from the notes on the right.
STEPS:
SET PURPOSE: Evaluate the purpose of each lesson, strategy, chunk of instruction, or investigation and how the INB note-taking and processing will lead to an application of the learning in students’ continued content work.
CREATE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE INFORMATION: Formulate and communicate the types of information that can be used as input (right-side information) and the types of processing strategies that can be used as output (left-side processing opportunities).
CREATE EXPECTATIONS: Define notebook expectations while considering scaffolding support or increasing rigor based on grade level or developmental level of student population groups.
INSERT COLLABORATION: Determine how collaboration can occur while students develop the sections of the Interactive Notebook (notes, questions, summary, reflection, charts/tables, processing strategies).
CREATE A PLAN: Create a consistent plan and schedule to allow for assessment of notebooks, including students’ self-reflection and peer evaluation.
SET UP:
Select a Notebook: Determine the size of a Notebook that is suitable for your students: 1-5 subject, Composition Book, spiral bound, packet of papers stapled together
Determine how pages should be organized:
Table of Contents: Create a Table of Contents page to organize work.
Page Numbers: Have students number pages
Reference Pages: Students can leave few pages blank at the beginning to include necessary or helpful information. This could be classroom information, Interactive Notebook Grading Rubrics, Score sheets, Vocabulary or a Glossary, or an Adult Input Page.
Begin Use: Students will write complete their notes on the right (writing directly on page or gluing a worksheet on the right). Next, students will interact with notes on the right with actions or activities to the direct left of the assignment. This could also be directly written on the page or glued in.
ASSESSMENT of Interactive Notebooks:
Informal Assessment: “Walk-by” checks for completion can be done by commenting on, initialing, or stamping specific pages on a daily or weekly basis. During these informal reviews, you can note positive comments or ask questions on the pages. Allowing students to use their notebooks for open-note quizzes is another method of informal assessment.
Formal Assessment: It is most appropriate for formal assessments to be based on rubrics with which students are familiar. The rubric may specify categories and scores for specific content, the format of the notebook, or holistically evaluate the notebook based on completion and the degree to which expectations have been met.
Self-Assessment: Students can self-assess through a reflection response on the critical thinking and mental processing of their learning in a unit or chapter or on selected elements of the notebook. Students can choose several of the lessons or processing strategies that represent their best work or deepest learning, and a lesson or concept that was problematic for them, and then respond to provided reflection questions. Educator Resource: Interactive Notebook Reflection Questions
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