Tips for Interactive Notebooks

I’ve implemented interactive notebooks in my middle school science classroom for a few years and, while I’m not an expert, I do have 17 tips and tricks I’ve learned that I thought I’d share with you.

What are Interactive Notebooks?

Interactive notebooks (INBs) are a hybrid between a notebook and a scrapbook. Students use them to take notes, draw diagrams, create graphs, and paste in photos or other visuals to help them better understand the material. INBs are fantastic tools for teaching and learning in the classroom.

Benefits of Interactive Notebooks

• They allow students to organize their notes and class materials in a creative and interactive way, making the learning process more engaging and enjoyable.
• INBs offer a way for students to personalize what they’re learning. Being creative and expressing themselves by using color to decorate their notebook helps students learn actively.
• They help students stay organized. Gone are the torn up folders with papers stuffed inside.

Best practices for Interactive Notebooks in Middle School

Let me spare you some of the lessons I had to learn the hard way. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve picked up that make using INBs a lot easier:

1. Use a composition notebook. Papers get lost and jumbled too easily in a loose leaf binder. An old fashioned composition notebook keeps everything exactly where you want it.
2. Let students design their cover. I use stickers as incentives and rewards, and they are often used as decoration on INBs.
3. Be sure students write their names on the covers of the notebook. I also like to have students write their name on the top edge – it makes it easier to keep track when I’m grading.
4. I have students go through the entire notebook and number each page in the top corner. Then, page 1 becomes the table of contents (I use a template). As  new topics get added to their notebook, students should update the table of contents with the topic name and page number to make it easier to navigate.
5. If you’re going to collect and grade notebooks, have students glue the notebook rubric into the inside front cover of their INB. When I’m grading notebooks, I print new copies of the rubric and staple them into the next blank page of each notebook as I grade it.
6. Use glue sticks. Liquid glue was an unmitigated disaster (There was glue spilled every single day and students poured it onto their hands to watch it dry. Never again.) If students provide their own glue sticks, you can buy a case or two and give them as rewards for winning games. If you want to provide glue sticks for the class, buy the cheapest ones you can find because you’re going to go through a LOT.
7. Show your students how to use glue! Have them use the glue stick to draw a square on the back of the paper they want to glue into their notebooks. If you’re feeling ambitious, have them draw an X in the middle of the square. Then they press the paper into their notebook.
8. Use lots of color. I keep a caddy of colored pencils on each lab desk and assign a student the job of sharpening.
9. Create your own INB along with the students as a model. Create a DIGITAL INB (I used Canva) so that students can keep up when they’re home sick.
10. Find a storage location in your classroom and only allow notebooks to go home for test preparation. I used bins for each class period, but a space on a book shelf is fine too.
11. Assign a student the job of handing out/collecting notebooks each day (I call them “Notebook Ninjas”) to avoid giant crowds near the bin.
12. Minimize cutting. The range of graphomotor skills in middle school surprised me, and there are some students who will need significantly longer than others to cut things out. I do as much cutting as possible and assign an aide the job when I can.
13. Use foldables, tabs, flaps, and pockets that can be glued into notebooks for increased interactivity and engagement.
14. Include graphic organizers, graphs, charts, mind maps, and Venn diagrams as often as possible to help students visualize concepts.
15. Add QR codes that link to videos, simulations, or additional resources.
16. Allow students some choice in how they organize and decorate their notebooks to foster ownership.
17. Gradually increase the complexity of tasks in the notebook as students become more comfortable with the format.
18. Encourage students to share their notebooks with parents to involve them in the learning process. (I asked parents to use the rubric to score their student’s INB.)

Try out a free interactive notebook about minerals here.