Sample INB Unit for Biology

I've talked a lot about Interactive Notebooks and I wanted to give you some examples of how it actually looks within my classroom. I am going to walk through our Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration unit page by page! It may be lengthy, but I wanted to give you the best glimpse I could!

Many of the resources were not created by me, but rather edited to fit into the notebook from resources I already had. Check out my post on Printing Tips for INBs for how I did this!

I also added notes on how each of these was assessed and graded. Check out my Overview Post on Interactive Notebooks for more information on how I grade Notebooks!

First, we talked about ATP and its role as an energy molecule. Students received an introductory paper before instruction that required them to do some drawing, analyzing some diagrams, and do some reading. This was modified from several resources I had and printed using the "Booklet" option in Acrobat.

The following day, we took some simple notes on the ATP/ADP cycle. I modified this diagram using Google Drawings. We used color coding for ATP (orange) and ADP (purple) that we will carry through our other notes as well to help maintain continuity and help students draw connections between content.

When taking notes, I typically use Google Slides & my SmartBoard or my Document Camera. Both work great! I model good note-taking for my students and use think-aloud techniques as we go - such as "I'm drawing an arrow to help show the order..." and "I'm writing a star because this is important." Even after a few units, students are able to understand the key points better because of our note-taking strategies.

Their homework after the notes was to complete the Pre-Lab portion of their lab concerning aerobic and anaerobic respiration by reading a few paragraphs and completing a comparison table. The lab was completed at the beginning of class the next day. Again, this was printed using the "Booklet" option in Acrobat. This lab was graded during their notebook check.

To help lead into Cellular Respiration, I created this flow chart in Google Drawings. I was having a difficult time finding a flow chart that wasn't too detailed for my 9th graders, which is why I created my own. Luckiy, this was super easy using Google Drawings! This was a great reference for the rest of the unit as well. We kept this color coding consistent through the rest of the unit.

For Cellular Respiration notes, I followed a similar format as ATP/ADP. I used a picture available from our textbook and our already established color coding. These notes were using Google Slides & my SmartBoard. Between each step, I would pause and utilize informal questioning to review the previous content. At the end, students were answering questions from the entire page.

We took a quiz on Cellular Respiration & ATP/ADP. I created the quiz in ExamView, ensured the questions were on three pages, and saved it as a PDF. From the PDF, I printed it as a "Booklet" in Acrobat. When taking the quiz, students had a bubble sheet they turned into me (for data collection) and they also wrote their answers on their quiz copy to keep for their notebook. After the quiz, we reviewed the questions together.

Photosynthesis notes looked very similar to the others - color coding, think-aloud note taking strategies, and similar formatting.

A big focus for our standards is the interdependence of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration. After learning both processes, we completed a sorting activity for the two processes (they were not required to color - but some students do anyways!). This was an example of a "Sticker Check" activity where I would give them a sticker for having the correct answers to give them approval for gluing it down. It also makes grading later on MUCH faster since the stickers are evidence of a 100%!

As homework, students watched the two Amoeba Sisters videos on Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis and completed a review paper. I created the cover paper with title, picture, and links and combined it with the PDF available from the Amoeba Sisters website and printed it as a "Booklet" in Acrobat - just modifying existing activities I had!

Any other Amoeba Sisters fans out there? I love their videos and they have free worksheets for so many of them! Check them out on YouTube and on their website!

The final part of the unit was our culminating lab using Elodea and bromothymol blue - a classic Biology lab. This lab paper was printed in Acrobat using the "Booklet" option. The first page was directions for part 1, setup for part 2, and predictions. Page two had a data table and explanation questions. The final page had an analysis question that students were required to write a paragraph response. This was another assignment I graded during the notebook check.

Pictures of the notes that I included are what I upload onto my class website for absent students to review. CamScanner works great for this and allows me to take a picture of the notebook and upload it as a PDF.

The tabs, page numbers, and dates are all part of our notebook routine, which I outlined in this post about Notebook Setup.

I hope this gave you some ideas for how to implement this within your classroom. What other questions do you have?

Printing Tips for INBs

The most daunting part about starting Interactive Notebooks in the classroom is the prep work - what do you do with the resources you already have? How do you modify existing things easily? Do I have to remake or buy EVERYTHING?

Absolutely not!

I have a few helpful tricks that have been an absolute lifesaver while switching to interactive notebooks.

Many teachers choose to keep their existing activities separate from the interactive notebook. For me, personally, the goal of the interactive notebook is to keep students organized and to have consistency within the classroom routine. Keeping a notebook as well as a set of separate activities breaks up the continuous routine of the classroom. To keep a consistent procedure and routine, almost everything done in class is kept in their notebook.

Tip #1: Adobe Acrobat is your Best Friend 

There are several features unique to Adobe Acrobat that will make your notebooking life so much easier! I may create something in Microsoft Word, but always be sure to save a copy as a PDF in order to use the Adobe Acrobat printing features.

1. Print 80% - any normal 8.5 x 11 paper can be shrunk by 80% to fit perfectly on a traditionally sized composition notebook page. Many copiers have the ability to shrink the size of a copy, but in Acrobat there is an option to print in that size as well. This allows you to take any single sided paper and have it fit perfectly in their notebook - no editing needed!

2. Print as Booklet - This was a game changer for me! In science, we have lots of "packets" for labs and activities - usually 2-3 pages. I did not want to use 2-3 pages in their notebook for a single lab. I would modify any activity or lab in Microsoft Word so that it utilizes three pages - being sure not to use a font smaller than 11 pt and making fonts larger as needed to use three pages. Then, save as a PDF and open in acrobat. When printing, select the "Booklet" option and it automatically prints it into a three page booklet, on one sheet of paper, that is blank on the back for gluing.

Tip #2: Adjust your Word Documents

There are also plenty of ways to modify your word documents without converting to PDF. These are tricks I use when creating new activities. Sometimes, when making these adjustments to existing documents, it can get frustrating.

1. Margins - Change the margins to 6" Wide and 8" Long. This will automatically make your document notebook sized!

2. Add Page Borders - Add page borders around the text to provide easy cut lines for students. Add borders then click "Options." Under the "Measure From" drop down menu, select "Text."

3. Fun Fonts - This is totally optional, but definitely one of my favorite things. There are tons of free fonts available online. Using fun fonts can jazz up title pages for activities. I always try to keep the directions and information in a simple font (like Century Gothic) for accessibility reasons, but love using fun fonts for titles!

Tip #3: Learn to Use Google Drive

I find INBs run so much smoother when they are incorporated within a collaborative team. It can seem like a huge amount of work to do alone, but many hands makes light work! I strongly recommend having a notebook "buddy" to work with - especially the first year of implementation!

1. Share! - Make a shared folder or team drive to share resources among all the teachers using notebooks in your team. Having an open, collaborative environment means students are getting the absolute best from the school.

2. Google Drawing - This is the least known tool in Google Drive, I think, but is one of my most used! Google Drawing is a more friendly version of paint. You can make flow charts and concept maps look professional and clean. You can modify images easily. You can create simple foldables easily (such as flaps).

3. Google Slides - Interactive Notebooks are a huge part in my overall classroom management. Almost every day in class you can see a Google Slides presentation projected on the board. It allows me to insert videos and timers seemlessly (no window changing!). It allows me to share my presentations easily with my team mates. I can edit the presentation from any computer.

Check out my post about how I use Google Slides as a part of my Classroom Management!

Google Slides Saved my Classroom Management

The months of April and May are always challenging for teachers - there are no more vacations in sight, the kids are hyped up with spring fever, and state testing makes meaningful teaching feel impossible.

Google Slides has seriously saved my sanity this year - and it's SO simple! I wish I would have thought about it sooner as it is a total game changer in my classroom.

With the dreaded "Spring Fever" comes the inability for students to control their chatter. In 9th grade, the struggle is OH so real. I have always given time limits for tasks, but I was the one watching the clock and announcing the time. I then started using timers, but I always had kids look at the timer with 2 minutes left and ask... "What are we supposed to be doing?" It was a total mood killer when I felt like I was being a rock-star.

Enter Google Slides and the Power of YouTube Timers.

Google Slides makes it incredibly easy to insert any YouTube video into a presentation. Click "Insert" at the top and choose "Video" it will give you the option to search for a YouTube video or you can copy/paste a YouTube link. You can even insert videos that are saved on your Google Drive (awesome for any personal videos or student presentations).

Did you know that YouTube has TONS of different timers available? Type in "Five Minute Timer" to the search and you will see so many different options - silent timers, timers with music, various different colors and backgrounds, and different alarm sounds. I also have yet to find a timer amount that isn't there - including weird numbers like 7 minutes.

Instead of having a separate browser tab displaying one huge timer, you can now have it embedded into your Google Slides presentation! But, we still need to solve the problem of the dreaded "What are we supposed to be doing?" question.

I like to choose the slide layout "Section Title and Description" that displays a perfectly halved, yet still colorful and cute, layout. I use one half to place my inserted timer, and the other half to list the directions for what students should be doing.

 If there are multiple tasks, I number them by priority.

This simple change in routine has been a life saver for me. While planning, I can set up multiple tasks with various timers in the order of the lesson. It helps keep class on track so we don't loose track of time, gives students a reminder on what to do, and gives students a visual cue for how much time is remaining. 

You can also use the video feature to enter other YouTube videos you may want to show to the class. For example, there's a great YouTube video about Keystone Species, but I know that through the course of a discussion I will likely completely forget to open it in another tab or window to show to students. Problem Solved! I simply inserted it into Google Slides so when we arrived at an appropriate part of the lesson, I could play it without opening anything new!

Such a simple change for much more effective classroom management and time management in my classroom! Hopefully you find it helpful too!

Warm-Ups... REALLY?!

Am I the only one that leaves warm-ups as a complete after thought? Sometimes I seriously feel like the worst teacher... I have this amazing lesson planned, but do I REALLY have to figure out a warm-up too? Can't they just be all ready to go when the bell rings?!

Ha...

Tuesday Warm-Up

As a teacher of the beloved 9th graders, I can tell you that warm-ups are an absolute MUST in my classroom -- both for my students and for my own sanity. They give students something to do while I deal with the miscellaenous start of class chaos (attendance, absent students, new students, etc. etc. etc.) but I never want a warm-up to feel useless to the students.

This year, I'm taking a tip from an elementary teacher and trying spiraling review for warm-ups. If you are an elementary school teacher, this is something you have likely heard of. For younger students, major concepts like addition and subtracted are constantly reviewed throughout the entire year, not just during that particular unit. I am taking a similar approach in my classroom this year, particularly with my Biology students who will need to take an End of Course test in May.

Friday Warm-Up

The first week of Biology focused on the characteristics of life - we did all sorts of activities to reinforce this concept, but that doesn't necessarily mean they all mastered it. This week we are moving on to food chains and energy pyramids, but I want to reinforce concepts from last week. The warm-ups this week all revolve around the characteristics of life, although in various ways. I try to introduce variety, technology, and creativity whenever possible to really try stretch their brains and ensure they aren't just spitting back definitions, but actually understanding. Here's what our warmups look like this week:

Monday -- Poll Everywhere Q&A (This option is great, as students can both type in answers AND vote for other answers they like or dislike)

Wednesday Warm-Up

Tuesday -- Reviewing Unit Learning Objectives (This is the warm-up every day of the first unit)
Wednesday -- a #CheckYourSelfie quick slip that is turned in and immediately reviewed (quickly) by me
Thursday -- Vocabulary Review
Friday -- BioGram (our class version of instagram drawings) summary of concepts

Each day is different, yet on the same topic. Below are some of the templates and layouts I like to use for quick formative checks -- especially as warm-ups!

Don't ignore the warm-ups! They are a great part of a routine and provide SUCH a great time to reteach and reassess major concepts that all students may not have been able to master.

Incentive Scratch-off Cards!!

I am a huge advocate for rewarding positive behavior, but I don't want to spend the money on maintaining a "goodie box" of candy, pencils, erasers, etc. all year long! I would much rather reward students with something fun and class oriented. I have given out homework passes before, and those work well, but this year I'm trying something new -- Incentive Scratch-Off Cards!

First, I made each of my cards using Microsoft Word. I could have made them prettier, fancier, and more colorful, but I'm a fan of simplicity sometimes! I managed to fit 18 on a page and printed them on white cardstock. I chose incentives that I can use for any of my classes -- since I teach two different grades and courses. I chose +5 pts on a Quiz, Vocabulary Pass, Classwork Pass, and Lab Pass. The best part is you can totally customize the options for your classroom, regardless of grade level! You could make rewards for treats like computer/iPad time, choosing their seat or group, front of the line, etc. So many options!

I cut out each of the cards using my handy dandy little paper trimmer (what would I do without that thing, seriously...). I then covered the reward portion with scotch tape. I could only find the satin gift-wrapping type, but experiment and see if other types work! You could also use clear contact paper or packing tape. Notice I only covered the portion with the reward, not the top heading section.

Next I had to mix a very specific concoction (insert sarcasm) of dishsoap and acrylic paint - I tried to use about 1 part dishsoap to 2 parts paint. I'm not sure it matters, but I used Palmolive original green dishsoap. I used boring grey paint, but you could really use any color! Mix them together, but not too vigorously or it makes a lot of bubbles.

Paint over the taped section of the incentive cards. Only the paint on the tape will scratch off. Don't worry if it doesn't cover perfectly with one coat! I didn't want to spend the time making them into perfect little designs, but you certainly could! Give them a few minutes between coats and keep adding coats until you can no longer read the words. It took me three coats.

Let them dry completely and try one out! How awesome is this? I think my kids are totally going to love them -- and I didn't need to buy any special supplies!

I plan on giving them out as rewards for winning games, staying on task on those particularly difficult days, or doing something awesome in class. I really want to make sure these are rewards for ALL my kids, not just my "A" students!

Let me know if you are going to try this out too! Endless possibilities for all grade levels!

Blog Challenge: Day 14

What is feedback for learning, and how well do you give it to students?

This is an area I struggle with FOR SURE! In an ideal world, my classroom would operate more like a series of conversations than a sequence of events. I try my very best to communicate with students in a relaxed way to help them understand and to explain, re-explain, and explain again. I have realized that talking doesn't work for all students! My auditory kids do great, but they needed other ways to show their learning.

Enter: Interactive Notebooks

Notebooks give us visuals to add to our conversations. We do puzzles and sorting to help the kinesthetic learners. How in the world do you give all those different kinds of kids feedback?

I typically grade notebooks on test days; however, I try to create several "check-ins" throughout the unit to see where the students are at. Sometime the check-in is sort of impromptu and I will check their notebook before they pack up to leave. Other times, I check them after school without them knowing, leaving notes, stars, and stickers for them in their notebook. For check-ins I usually just look at whether they are keeping up and will check an assignment from that day, like a short writing prompt.

For example, when we were about half-way through our Evolution unit, I gave them a diagram that had an example of natural selection with rabbits and foxes. It had pictures, but very little explanation. We had some time left at the end of the day, so students had about 15-20 minutes to write at least six sentences in response to "How is natural selection related to the diagram?". Simple. Almost no planning on my part. They could look through their notes and review what we had talked about so far. It took me very little time to read their 6 sentences, and I wasn't reading them for grammar perfection or for completeness. I just read them to see if they were grasping the major concepts. Did they mention the slower rabbits dying but the faster ones surviving? Did they say that the faster ones could reproduce? Did they say that they could pass on the gene to be faster? Kids who did a good job found underlines for the awesome sentences and stickers showing them they did a great job. Kids who gave me limited answers found comments like "Why? How? Define?" We talked about it in class the next day and they could revise their answer.

Of course I use tests and quizzes to provide more formal feedback, but I feel like that by the time we get to a test, they (and I) are ready to move on. There has to be little bits of feedback along the way. I'm working on being better at providing that feedback in multiple ways -- written and verbal.

Suggestions always welcome! What types of formative assessment do you use?

Blog Challenge: Day 3

Discuss one "observation" area that you would like to improve on for your teacher evaluation. 

I was able to get some great feedback this year, especially in the area of Classroom Instruction. One great piece of feedback I got this year on my evaluation was how I called on specific students and had them explain their answer, even if they were wrong. 

Since I read that feedback, I have been much more attentive to whether I do this during class. On some days, especially when I am frustrated, I find myself relying on choral responses which really don't tell me about what specific students think. If I call on students randomly, I find that some of them shut down or get very nervous, which are not feelings I want to stir up in my classroom. 

The area of classroom instruction is very broad and includes both day-to-day strategies as well as year-long routines. One of my goals (as I previously wrote about) is to establish a more defined routine in my classroom. I think this will help both myself and my students. 

The goal of classroom instruction is to have students learn and understand material. I want to be more meaningful in my planning and ensure that every activity we do has a clear purpose and goal. Of all the evaluation areas, I think that classroom instruction is the one that impacts students the most and is going to be my biggest area of focus this year. 

Blog Challenge: Day 2

Write about one piece of technology that you would like to try this year, and why. 

I am always one to hop on a new tech tool. I love finding and integrating new technology. One thing I would like to better integrate into my class next year is Google Docs. 

I have personally used it for years to help organize my files and create graphics, but I haven't integrated a lot of the collaboration components into my work. Since I will be the main organizational force for our instructional team, I want to really work on how to best utilize the collaboration tools. 

One thing I have already worked on, is creating our instructional calendar in Google Calendar. From there, I can easily share it with my other colleagues, edit it as needed, and even embed it onto my class website. 

My next goal is to have all our common assessments, study guides, and labs on Google Drive to be able to share them with each other. We have limited storage in our email and our school share drive is not accessible at home. With Google Drive we can all access it from wherever we are. 

I also want to use Google Forms in my classroom to have students take polls and give feedback -- especially when we try a new project. I often have students vote for their favorite project and this would be a great, easy way to do that. 

What new tech tools are you excited to try? 

Start of DNA Unit for INB

A typical unit for different teachers can vary a lot. As some of you may know, the notebooking for my class does not follow the popular left side-right side or input-output, as discussed in my previous post. Instead, we focus on creating a reference tool for students, like a personalized textbook.

To give you an example, I wanted to share some of my DNA resources with you!

First, we start with DNA structure and function. I use this organizer to do "notes" with my students. We also color code the parts of the nucleotide (sugar - red, phosphate - purple) and each different base gets its own color that corresponds to a lab we do later (A - Green, C - Pink, G - Yellow, T - Orange). We are all about color coding and carry macromolecule color coding all the way through the school year!

Below the structure and function organizer you can see the top of our DNA organization flipbook. We cut and glue it together as we discuss it as a class and we watch a video afterward about how DNA is organized (portion of this video from TedEd).

Our first lab is a candy DNA lab. This is maybe a little different than ones you have seen before. Students first string together their backbones (Cheerio phosphates and Twizzler sugars) and then add their nucleotides following our color coding rules from before. Students can even twist it into a double helix shape after. They really love this lab and it helps reinforce the structure of both the backbone and the nucleotides. Students answer questions on the lab in their notebook.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas for how to start your DNA unit!

I wanted to share some of my resources with you all! You can get copies of them by clicking the links below. 

Intro. DNA Structure and Function

DNA Organization Flip Book

Types of RNA Diagram

Blog Challenge: Day 1

I came across this Reflective Teaching 30 Day Blog Challenge. Originally it was for September 2014, but as this school year starts to wind down, I thought it would also be appropriate to start it now! I will be following the prompts listed at the following site:

Reflective Teaching: A 30 Day Blogging Challenge

Write your goals for the school year. 

I have already started thinking about the next school year (which seems insane to some, I know). I am a person that feels relaxed when I can plan, so reflecting and thinking about the school year when it is fresh in my mind helps me to do that. 

Here are some of my goals for the coming school year. 

Be more attentive to student (freshmen) need for structure. 

I would love to be able to sit and have discussions and conversations about content with students, but he reality is that my 14 year old freshmen are just not at that point yet. They are trying to navigate high school for the first time and trying to figure out the new social atmosphere. I find that my classroom works best with structure and I want to be more attentive and meaningful about providing that structure for my students. 

My plan is to have a more specific routine for the class. This started great last year, but as I made some instructional changes, this fell by the wayside. I also want to be more mindful about giving time limits and deadlines. I find my students do a great job of staying on task when there is a timer on the board and I want to remember to do that more often. I am going to be more attentive to their need for specific instructions and expectations for assignments. 

Be more organized and reduce the paper. 

As much as I love being planned and organized, after a few weeks my desk is buried in papers and a complete mess. I am going to be much more mindful about only keeping what is completely necessary and recycling the rest. 

Plan Thoughtfully for Chemistry Notebooks

This past year I started notebooking with Biology and I absolutely love it. My goal for this coming year is to also notebook with my Chemistry class. I want to focus on planning thoughtful and meaningful activities and instruction for Chemistry since I feel like those were my weakest classes this year. 

What are your goals for the coming school year? 

Interactive Notebook Setup

Interactive notebooks can be setup lots of different ways. This is what works for me in my classroom, but you may find something else that works for you. INB's are wonderful because you can customize them to fit your classroom and content!

I strongly recommend using composition notebooks. I have had students use spiral notebooks and they just do not hold up as well -- covers fall off, pages get torn. Composition notebooks are much sturdier as long as students don't rip out any pages.

On the inside cover I have students glue their Plickers code and create a pocket for holding their homework and other papers if they don't finish in class. Plickers is an awesome quick assessment tool, you should check out the link if you haven't heard of it before!

To create a pocket, have students fold over one corner of the front page, then glue around the edges. This type of pocket has worked great for us and is the perfect size to fit a sheet of paper folded in half (such as homework papers).

Then, I have students flip their notebooks over so they are looking at the back cover. They count 10-12  pages from the back for their glossary section. Students glue down a mini-post it to make a tab so they can easily find the page. These are not the sturdiest tabs, but they are easy, available, and get the job done. I have students add a few drops of glue to the sticky area to make it more permanent. You can also create tabs in Excel and print them on cardstock. I have started doing this most recently and the tabs are much sturdier.

Click here for a free downloadable version of the tabs I use for Biology!

The back portion of their notebook is for their "glossary" section. I create a Quizlet vocabulary list for each section and print a list of the vocabulary for their glossary section. The list also has a URL for the Quizlet list for easy studying.

Checkout my post on Printing Tips for INBs for ideas on how to easily print the pages to fit!

I also have students make a reference section by counting five pages before their glossary section. They also add a tab for references. I have found this so handy to include this year. We glued in a copy of the syllabus, a lab equipment reference, graphing references, and will continue to add reference pages as we go. It's a great, subtle way to give struggling students some extra support with some science basics so they can focus on the content.

When students are finished with that portion, I have them start numbering their pages. This takes a while and is a good filler for students who finish early and you are waiting for others in class. On the day we set up notebooks, numbering their pages is their homework if they don't finish. Page numbers allow for easy reference for both me and my students and allows them to complete their table of contents easily.

If you're interested in learning more about how I implement interactive notebooks, check out my other blog posts under the "Interactive Notebooks" label!

Introduction to Interactive Notebooks

Interactive Notebooks are one of the newest and most talked about teaching strategies right now. There are so many ideas and opinions it gets easy to get lost and not know where to start. I want to share with you why I decided to start notebooking, how I setup notebooks, and how they work in my classroom.

I wanted to start notebooking during my first year of teaching. I had heard so much about the Left Side-Right Side or Input-Output setup and wanted to try it out. My problem was that I was left figuring it out, on my own, during my first year. It was far too overwhelming and became too confusing for me and for my students to be effective. Only a few months into the school year and I scrapped the notebooks and went back to traditional fill-in-the-blank notes and handouts.

The lightbulb moment for me came when I met one of our new science hires at school. She had been doing notebooks for four years and had already experienced many of the growing pains that I had gone through. Almost immediately, I started asking questions to figure out how she made it work. She described notebooks in a way that made sense for me:

It's like students are creating their own version of a textbook. 

Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that students fill the pages with paragraphs and paragraphs of text, but it does mean that they are a reference tool for students and hold all the information students will need to be successful in a unit.

Why did I start notebooking?

1. Organization: As a teacher of freshmen, there is a constant battle to help students stay organized. Notebooking helps keep them organized because we do all of the organization together in class.
2. Accountability: It keeps them accountable because I ask them to go back and continue to review and reference past content. Because notebooks are kept in my classroom, I can page through notebooks at any time and remind students who are falling behind. 
3. Ownership: Students take pride and ownership of creating something that is theirs. There are lots of students who stay on task to make sure they have time at the end of class to color things just right or make their headings colorful. When students take ownership of their work, they try their very best to make sure they are doing everything correct. 
4. Brain Breaks: Notebooking allows me to build in automatic brain breaks that I often forget about otherwise. Teenagers have short attention span. Giving them a few minutes to cut and glue gives them time to refocus and get back on track when they need to. 

What does a typical unit look like?

We take some notes -- although they are simplified and shortened -- and glue down diagrams, graphs, and pictures to help the notes make sense. We color code diagrams and paragraphs. We make foldables to use as study tools. We do labs with data tables, graphs, and conclusions. We write paragraphs. We do science.

The variety within the notebook helps keep students engaged. No two pages are the same and no two days in class are the same.

I am able to use many of the same activities I have always used, I just modify them for notebooks -- usually shortening up the procedure, or printing them in a smaller format to fit into the notebook.

What does a typical day in class look like?

• Students have 2 minutes at the beginning of class to collect supplies (usually glue, scissors, colored pencils), take their seat, and answer the warm up question. 
• Take notes for 5 minutes and analyze a diagram. 
• Discuss diagram and examples while students are cutting/pasting the diagram into their notebook. 
• Give directions for activity, and students find a partner and get to work. 
• Students have the rest of class to finish activity and notebook work. 
• Early finishers can work on coloring, vocabulary, or past assignments. 

We stay busy and we stay engaged with material, but we are moving and interacting. My classroom is not the type where you only sit and listen.

How are notebooks setup in my class?

This is something truly individual to each teacher. I have done a walk through of my notebook set up in this separate post.

Interactive Notebook Setup

How are notebooks graded?

This can vary widely from teacher to teacher. I grade each assignment in their notebook as individual assignments -- even dividing them into classwork/lab/homework grades depending on the activity. I typically grade notebooks at the end of each unit (about every 4 weeks) and I am able to grade them almost 100% at school on test days. I am no longer drowning in a pile of grading!

Hopefully this gives you some confidence and information to help you decide if notebook is right for your classroom.

... I Have Struggled!

There are some topics that I sometimes feel like I will never enjoy teaching... biochemistry is one of them. 

This probably sounds odd since I teach both Biology and Chemistry -- Biochemistry should be the perfect happy marriage of the two! My problem isn't the content, but rather the delivery and reception of the audience.

Chemistry is taught in 10th grade, Biology in 9th. Biochemistry in the Biology course falls right after Ecology. The transition is difficult for my students. They have to transition from the "easy" content in Ecology that is a lot of review, to Biochemistry, which is in my opinion one of the most difficult units of the whole course. There is almost no prior knowledge of the content and it is so hard for the 9th grade mind to make the transition.

In previous years, I had "chunked" the unit into a few sections -- Atoms, Water, Macromolecules, and Enzymes. Within each of those chunks, I would give them all the information at once along with labs. It was overwhelming for them and for me! It was a lot of information for them to absorb in a short period of time.

This year, I had a different plan. We had a "transition day" where we reviewed the levels of organization again -- a topic we had previously covered at the beginning of Ecology -- and used that as a stepping stone into the levels of organization in Biochemistry. We made a foldable, gave examples, and looked at some sample molecules. It gave students a day to adjust and it gave them a preview to what we were talking about.

The other major difference I did this year was how I taught macromolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids). Previously, I taught them all at once and did lots of activities involving all four macromolecules over several days. This year, I decided to spend one full day on each one. Each day has a few components -- notes/information, mini-lab, color coding and diagram labeling, and vocabulary work. This approach gave me a full day to immerse students in the vocabulary (there is a lot of it!). Although its more work for me -- setting up four different labs in four days! -- but it is totally worth it if students are able to learn and understand the material better.

I am not a teacher who can sit back and do the same thing every year for every unit. Some things I was happy with and will keep relatively the same, but I am always looking for better ways to teach hard concepts. I have high hopes that Biochemistry will be more successful for my students this year, and going forward I'm going to try to plan more lessons that are student focused.

What topics do you struggle with? What are your strategies for redesigning those units?

Some of my biochemistry resources are available on my Teachers Pay Teachers store! Check them out!

Teaching with QR Codes

My husband insists that one of the reasons he loves me is because when I find a good idea, I become a bit obsessed with it. I see it as a fault, but that's not the point...

My newest "obsession" is utilizing QR codes in class. QR Codes Look like this and can be scanned with an app on any smartphone. Each QR code is specific to a link and will automatically bring up the linked webpage. There are many websites that will generate a free QR code for a link you provide.

I love them because it makes it so much easier for a student to find the exact article/website/video I want them to find. They don't have to type in a long website (and inevitably misspell some of the nonsense words) and they don't have to go to Google, search for XYZ, click link 47 on page 112... You get the idea. I find them to be faster than having them go to my classroom website for a link. They are easy and instant -- perfect for using in class!

Tonight, I was working on a CER writing assignment for my Biology class on Interactions in Communities. Part of the process is gathering evidence, so I started searching for articles, websites, or videos they could use to gather the evidence. Then I started thinking about how slim my chances of booking a computer lab for class on short notice would be... Then I thought about how lame the articles are without the stunning photos... Then I thought about the whining and groaning when I give them the articles that don't have pictures...

There has to be a better way!

Dramatics aside, this is the situation I've been in often so far this year. With a school of 3,000 students, computer use for an entire class is at a premium. I sometimes come up with ideas last minute and don't have the ability to get a computer lab last minute. Why not use the technology students already have in their pockets?

For the CER writing assignment, I decided to provide students with both the written form of the articles and the links to the online versions. I even included a few codes to videos on the topic. Since they are sharing a set of articles as a group, every person will have something to do, regardless of whether they have a smartphone. Those that do have a phone can easily share with their partner.

Utilizing smart phone technology has opened up so many possibilities in my classroom without the hassle of having to book technology.

My favorite ways to use QR codes in class: 

1. Self-Paced Videos: 

Lots of teachers (myself included) like to use a variety of videos to supplement instruction, many times providing a list of questions to answer while watching the video. We all know that students work at different paces. Why not give them a QR code to the video, have them use their headphones, and work through the video at their own pace!

2. Tutorials: 

For math-heavy chemistry units, I make tutorials on my SmartBoard for explanations on how to solve some of the trickier problems. Put a QR code next to tricky concepts on a study guide to provide easy access to remediation and help -- whether its linked to your own tutorial or another you find online.

3. Stations Labs: 

It can be tricky to incorporate variety in labs during the macrobiology units like Ecology. Try creating stations where students gather information from a variety of sources -- articles, websites, videos, text books -- and have them answer questions, create an illustration or graphic organizer at the end. You can use the QR code to provide links to any (or all) of the resources. I usually have some of them printed out, and others only online.

4. Provide Visuals: 

There are so many articles online that include stunning photography. I typically cut these out of my copies for class to save paper and because the pictures don't look that great being photo copied! At the bottom of the articles, I provide a QR code to the online version with a blurb saying "For the full article and awesome pictures, follow the link!"

These are my very basic ways of incorporating QR codes into my classroom. There are lots of teachers out there who go way above and beyond what I have just started to discover. I do not use them on everything -- although I probably could! -- but I think they provide a great way to bring technology into the classroom, give students some control over their learning and pacing, and to differentiate and "spice up" what would typically be less engaging.

Do you use QR codes? I would love to get some more ideas!

Tips and Tricks for Your Class Website!

If your school is anything like mine, then each teacher has a webpage for each of their courses. Perhaps you have your own, or share one between subjects, but regardless of how its set up, its important that your website is functional for both you and your students.

Determining the best method for providing information to students can be cumbersome, especially if you are still learning the basics of how the technology works. Because each school has their own website design and system, I can't give much specific help there. I can, however, give you a list of things to consider for your website and examples of what I use on my websites.

Our school uses D2L (Desire 2 Learn) as our website platform. In the past, I have used Moodle. It took me a while to transition from one to the other, but some of the basic design elements exist in all of them. I have two sites that I share with students -- one for Biology and one for Chemistry. These pages are only visible to me and my students. I also have a page that is shared among all the Chemistry teachers and another with the Biology teachers. It allows us to easily share resources with each other. I also have several other sites I share with other faculty groups. I spend the bulk of my time creating resources on my course pages for my students.

The landing page for my courses looks like this:

Each year I pick a new banner and color scheme (for my own personal excitement, in all truthfulness). I have the same color scheme on both pages, but the top banners are different. It helps me remember which page I'm working on, while still allowing me to share resources between them without them "clashing." 

So, here we go. 

Top 5 Tips for Class Websites

#1: Stick to a Theme

Much like your classroom, it's much more pleasant to look at a page that has a clear theme and color scheme. Use the same theme throughout -- including colors, fonts, and styling. Of course, some things cannot be changed (such as the colors on the Google calendar in the above picture), but if you can change it to match, do it. This will make your website clean and inviting. Students have a higher chance of looking through your website if its neatly laid out and organized than if it looks like a page of random things you found online and thought were cute. 

I tend to like things a bit more muted and calm, but if you like them bright and colorful then go for it, just make sure its still easy on the eyes and organized. 

#2: Stick to a Layout

Once you find a layout you like, stick to it. Changing things up to much will make it confusing for students to find what they need. After all, the website is for the student to use. If its confusing or changes weekly, its going to be frustrating for them -- especially students who are not so good with website navigation (those students still exist these days!). 

My website is built using widgets that can be moved around and reorganized. I play with the placement at the beginning of the year, before students are using it regularly, and look for a layout that neatly fits all necessary things -- calendar, content browser, and news box. Most other things I would want to add can be adjusted once those are in place. 

#3: Organize Your Files

Like #2, if a student cannot find what they need, it will be confusing for them. I organize my files by unit. 

Why is there only one unit folder so far? It's only the second week of school so we are still in unit 1. Although I have files on my page that are for later units, I don't make them visible or accessible to students until we are in that unit. Again, my goal is to minimize frustration. If a student sees ten folders of units they haven't heard of, they will get frustrated and not know where to look. If I limit it to only folders they have heard of, it makes it easier for them to recognize where to go and what to do. 

Typically, I keep past unit folders still visible for students after we are finished with the unit. When it comes to midterms or finals, students have access to go back and look at the previous units and I don't have to worry about hiding them and un-hiding them. 

Within each unit folder, I organize the information based on topic. I used to create a list of every single resource for that unit, but the list was huge and even though I could find that one video we watched last Tuesday in class, I knew students would not have as easy of a time. This year, I am making topic pages. When you open up the unit folder, you now see a list of topics instead of a list of resources. 

The top page says "From Class..." and is where I post a weekly synopsis with links to PowerPoints and Videos from class. I wanted this to be the go-to spot for students when they miss class or needed to review something specific from class. 

The topic pages typically have a short video on the top that highlights the topic. Some of them are videos we have watched in class, some of them are funny songs. The page needed something engaging for students, but still educational. 

Below the video is a short summary of the content. Sometimes it will have key vocabulary or an important equation. It's not a wall of text, but more like a short blurb. You don't want to overwhelm a student who is struggling with huge paragraphs of text. 

I then listed several helpful websites. Usually, these are websites that have interactive help that we don't use in class. Sometimes they are tutorial videos, other times they are educational online games. I like to link things they haven't seen before and could be both fun and helpful. 

Keep in mind that students could access the webpage from home or school, so be sure that the websites are accessible from school. YouTube videos are blocked at our school, so I provide a safeshare link for them to be able to watch them at school. 

For each topic, my goal was to create a one-stop-shop for everything that will help them learn, practice, and master it. 

#4: Multiple Links to Helpful Pages

If you notice, I have a unit 1 folder and also a "References" folder in my content browser. The references folder is full of reference pages for reoccuring topics in class such as metric conversions, graphing, CER Writing, and lab equipment. I even made a Homework Tips page. 

Of course, I hope that students will look at these pages whenever they are struggling, but I know that isn't the case. In order for them to get to the resource, I need to link to it from where I think it would be helpful for them. In my topic pages, I add links that go back to references pages and back to my "From Class..." page. 

If a student is struggling with graphing, they can click the graphing page and watch a helpful video. If they need more help, they can click the reference page. If they want to see the practice from class, they can click the classroom page. As long as a struggling student can remember which unit we are in and identify which topic they are struggling with, I try to make all the applicable resources available from that point. 

#5: Discuss it In Class

Although most students are wizards at navigating iPhone apps, text messages, and video games, not all students are wizards at navigating websites. The best way around this is to discuss the website in class. Show them what it looks like. Give them a tour at the end of class. Before a test, show them where resources are to study from. Show them the website often so they are familiar with it and learn the layout. 

The first week of school, I give my students a tour of the website. I let them know what's available online and I ask them to login and look at it for their homework (world's easiest homework?). Before a test, I remind them of what the website looks like and where to find the resources. 

Periodically I will put an online quiz or project on my website that students are required to submit for a grade. I typically give them a window of opportunity to turn it in, and at the end of class each day during the window, we review where to go to turn it in and how to do it. 

If you want students to use the website, you need to teach them how to do it. 

Class websites can be a great resource for students to supplement their classroom learning. Remember your goal is to make it easy for students to use. 

What do your class websites look like? What tips and tricks do you have?