Interactive Student Notebooks

I can't express how happy I am that I finally decided to jump in, feet first, and implement ISNs in my classroom! Yes, it's been a slow process getting them introduced to the concept, but now that they're getting the hang of it, it's been quite fun. As promised, I am posting some of their work. I'm already so sold on Interactive Student Notebooks that I want to spread the good news about them. :-)

This is the cover we're using. I got it from Mor Zrihen's store on TpT. Here is her website; it has TONS of information and photos. She was my inspiration! :-) I went ahead and "laminated" all of my students' books using packing tape. Very good idea seeing how often the books are handled.

This S.T.A.R. Book Guidelines packet was also part of Mor's packet I bought on TpT. I had kids go over the packet with me in class, and then I had them process what I considered to be the main idea. On the left page (student output page), students processed the ISN format. I had many creative visuals showing me they understood that the right side is for teacher input and the left is where they show me what they learned. So fun!

This is the "spread" covering their class syllabus. I chose to focus on what they're responsible for learning this year. They divided the CC standards by sections (Literature, Informational Text, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Language) and detailed more of they'd be learning in each category. These two pages were definitely all about getting used to processing and exploring their creative sides.

In this picture, one of my studetns is demonstrating her work with the prefix anti-. She got really creative.

This is the work of one of my guy students. I like that all of my kids are really getting into adding their personality into the book.

Another student's interpretation of what he's responsible for learning this year in ELA-8.

These nifty unit pages are part of Mor's packet. I tell you, if you're interested in getting started, the packet is definitely worth the price.

This page was made by me to teach them their second prefix of the year. Included in the TpT packet is over 100 pages of formats for right/left side. I just put my master ISN under the Elmo and voila! So easy and stress-free.

Yet another "left side" processing page showing my student understands the format for the ISN.

 

One of the best things I love about the ISN is that it will keep me organized for next year. Now, in one place, I have a record of what I taught when and in what order. I can't wait to see what this year will bring for me and my classes.

I am in LOVE with Interactive Student Notebooks!

Today was day 4 of working on our Interactive Student Notebooks (ISNs) and my students are really beginning to own their work. I heard several of them say, "Ooooh, Mrs., look at my book. It's so pretty!" Or, "Wow! I'm so proud of it!" Yay!

I have to admit, I was so intimidated by the thought of just starting the process. I bought a book about interactive notebooks last year, but never even cracked it open because it seemed so daunting. This summer, though, I came across something on Pinterest that made me compelled to try. It was a pin by A Teacher's Treasure; I followed it and began poking around the blog, eventually finding a great video tutorial about ISNs. http://www.ateacherstreasure.com/ I also checked out The Middle School Mouth's blog (http://themiddleschoolmouth.blogspot.com/2012/05/interactive-notebooks-yet-again.html) and found a bunch of great inspiration there.

Here's what we've done so far.

Day One: I showed my students a few websites about ISNs and gave them their cover sheets and inside cover sheets. They had class time to personalize and decorate them. I told them to make them colorful and creative. Whatever they didn't finish in class, they took home to complete. I showed them where we would be storing their ISNs (STAR Books).

Day Two: We glued and taped our cover sheets and inside cover sheets. I handed out the first Table of Contents and had them add color before taping in to the first page of the notebook. I explained how we would add future TOC pages.

Day Three: The students received their STAR Book Guidelines (from A Teacher's Treasure's TPT store). I had kids come into the room and start reading them in small groups. Prior to class, I typed out 20 question that cover important information about the STAR Book and cut them into strips. To foster a little bit of healthy competition and student engagement, I had the teams compete against each to see who could answer the most questions correctly. I would ask a question and then the teams would search their guidelines packet and try to answer first. It was fun! I had the students take the packets home and get them signed by their parents. Their task was to bring the packet back the next day. I then gave the kids about 20 minutes to cut out pictures from magazines to make a collage on the back cover of their notebooks that represented who they are and their interests. I handed out a small manila envelope and had them store their pictures in it.

Day Four: Today the kids spent time gluing their collages on teh back cover of their notebooks. I then "laminated" the books using packing tape. Afterwards, we glued and taped the envelopes to the back inside cover. This provides a place to store their flash cards, Quiz-Quiz-Trade cards, etc.

Tomorrow I plan on giving them time to tape their STAR Book guideline packet onto page 3 and to create their first left hand process page. Earlier today I made an exemplar in my Master Copy and plan on using it to show the kids what they can do. I expect to have to do a lot of scaffolding when it comes to processing, but it'll be fun and my students will be adding to their repertoire on a regular basis.

Overall, I'm very excited about our ISNs and feel pretty positive about how it's going so far. Stay tuned for further reports of our progress. :)

So Excited !

I am a big blog fan, meaning I've been reading other teachers' blogs for some time, but have yet to make my own. So here I am, two days before school starts, venturing into the vast world of blogging. My intentions are to capture a little bit of the magic that happens in middle school. I LOVE teaching middle school kids; they're funny, adorable, and so challenging! Another thing about me? I'm a big geek when it comes to best practices, learning new strategies, and implementing new ideas. Teaching is my passion, something I do because it's my path.

I look forward to creating an on-line portfolio of sorts that helps capture the strategies, structures, and techniques I am using in my 8th grade ELA classroom.

Until next time,
Village Teacher