Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks

What are Interactive Science Notebooks?

• A thinking tool• A place for students to organize what

they have learned• A place for students to write questions

and inquire about what they are doing• A way to use writing, drawing and

labeling to think about science• A way for you to know what students

understand

Why Should Students Use Interactive Science Notebooks?• To Improve Organization• To Improve Critical Thinking• To Express Ideas Creatively• To Connect Thinking and Experiences with

Science Concepts• To Engage Students in Collaborative Inquiry• To Develop Academic Language• To offer student choice, to encourage

creativity and to help them make connections-All of this creates ownership

The Impact of Interactive Science Notebooks

• Research shows that student understanding, literacy skills and writing improve when students discover hands-on, minds-on science and use interactive notebooks to make sense of what they are learning and investigating.

How Does it Tie Together?

• At the beginning of each unit, develop an overarching question or problem that all learning can be linked back to

• It should be tied to real world issues or problems

• Follow the Learning Cycle: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate/Extend, Evaluate

• i.e. 3rd Grade: Pollution and Conservation-What ecological footprint am I leaving behind in this world?

Engage

• Engage: Set the stage by introducing the essential question and using a hook to solicit interest– Introduce the unit and discuss briefly

with the class– Have the students complete a trigger

assignment to generate questions about the topic (think pair share, reading assignment, etc)

Explore

• Explore: Students engage in inquiry, raising questions and developing hypothesis– Students complete the first investigation– Teacher models how to write a summary

statement– Students begin recording information

related to the activity on the input pages

Explain

• Explain: Teacher leads processing strategies and discussions for students to make sense of their work– Students begin recording their output– Encourage multiple ways for students to

make connections (pictures, cartoons, poems, etc)

– Students can answer one of the big six questions

Elaborate and Extend

• Elaborate/Extend: Students extend or apply learning to new and real world situations– Students complete homework to extend

learning– Additional lab investigations are

conducted

Evaluate

• Evaluate: Teacher brings closure: helping students summarize their work, make connections and assess their learning– Teacher models how to write a self

reflection paper or thesis paper

What do You Need to Set up a Notebook?

Right Side

• Teacher Input/Content-Blue or Black Ink or Pencil– Information Given in Class– Lecture Notes– Lab Notes– Video Notes– Summaries– Textbook Notes– Procedures for Experiments– Any other Information the Teacher Provides

Left Side

• Student Output with a lot of Color:– Concept Maps– Drawings– Reflective Writing– Questions– Data and Graphs– Songs– Poems– Data from Experiments– Cartoons and Cartoon Strips

More on the Left

• When Using Reflection, Use Guiding Prompts:– What are you curious about?– What would you like to test?– What was the main idea?– What are the important details to

remember?– How does this article relate to your life?– What don’t you understand?

Getting Started

• On the cover, write your first and last name• Under your name, write my name• Using the white paper, markers, and colored

pencils in your box draw any picture that you would like

• Take that drawing and glue it to the front of your notebook

• For students to personalize: Take a picture of them to glut to the front cover and allow them to decorate it

Page Numbering

• Starting with the first page, number the first fifty pages. Numbers should be small and at the top outside corner of every page

1

Back Side of Cover of Notebook

Table of Contents

• Begin with page 2 and glue in the table of content pages found inside your plastic tub

• You will need to fold the page for it to fit in the notebook

• You can have students paste additional table of content pages on 3-4 if you would like

Reflection Questions

• On page 1, write down the following open response questions:– What are you curious about?– What would you like to test?– What was the main idea?– What are the important details to

remember?– How does this article relate to your life?– What don’t you understand?

Interactive Notebook Agreement

• After you and your parents have read and signed this sheet, you will glue it on the back side of the front cover of your notebook

Back Side Cover of Notebook

Writing in Science

• Types of Science Writing:– Hypothesis– Procedural Writing– Questions– Results– Summary Statements – Opinions or Reflections– Final Conclusions– Essay or Thesis

We are Ready!

• This afternoon, you will be using the interactive notebook you created while participating in discovery lab stations.

• Remember the purpose of the left and right sides of your notebook

• Your grade level leader will provide more information before and during the activity

Are you interested in learning more?

Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks

By: Kellie Marcarelli