Interactive Notebook FAQs
What is the purpose of the interactive notebook (INB)?
The INB is designed to enable a student to become a creative, independent, organized thinker and writer. INBs will be used for class notes, homework notes and class activities where the student will be asked to express his or her own ideas and process the information presented in class.
How will this help with a student’s academic achievement?
- Students use both their visual and linguistic intelligences
As they grapple with new ideas, students will use several types of writing and graphic techniques to help better understand historical concepts. - Note taking becomes an active process
Students will take the key concepts they have learned in class and in homework and process the information into their own words and visuals. - Notebooks help students organize as they learn
During the course of the year, many different organizational techniques – topic headings, colored highlights, different writing styles, etc… will be used. - Notebooks become a portfolio of individual learning
These personal, creative notebooks become a record of each student’s growth. Parents and teachers alike can review a student’s progress in writing, graphic, recording and organizational skills.
What materials are needed for the interactive notebook?
- Wide or college ruled spiral notebooks (2 or 3 for the semester)
- 1-subject Spiral bound – stay away from perforated types if at all possible please!
- 8 ½ x 11 or 8 x 10 ½ inches with 70 to 100 sheets of white lined paper.
- 1-subject Spiral bound – stay away from perforated types if at all possible please!
I suggest the Mead Five Star or equivalent plastic covered notebooks |
 |
- Pencils, blue and black pens
- Highlighters – different colors if possible.
- Gluesticks (buy a whole bunch!)
- Scissors (possible depending on the type of notebook you purchase.)
How should the INB be set-up?
A student’s notebook will be organized into a right-side, left-side orientation.
The right-side pages of the INB will be the teacher or student input side.
On this side will be all of the class and homework notes.
Normally, all quizzes and vocabulary charts will be on the right side of the notebook.
The left-side pages will be the student input side.
Here is where the students will process the ideas and concepts presented on the right-side pages. A variety of activities will show up on the left-side pages including illustrations, diagrams, poetry, cartoons, journals, postcard activities, etc. NOTE – not every left-side page will be coordinated with a right-side page!
What happens is a student is absent on the day of an INB assignment?
If a student is absent, it is the responsibility of the student to check for missing work in the absent work folder. A missing homework assignment that needs a stamp needs to be shown to Mr. Hinze at the start of class as soon as the student returns back to class.
