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!