Rethinking Interactive Notebooks and What I Do Instead

Are you ready to shake up your classroom routine and empower your students for success? In this video, I'm thrilled to share my approach to using notebooks in the classroom, customized to help students ace those standardized state tests!
00:00 Intro
00:26 What are Interactive Notebooks?
01:14 Guided Notes
02:17 Math Notebooks
04:23 ELA Notebooks
06:46 Science Notebooks
📚 Say goodbye to traditional interactive notebooks and hello to a whole new world of personalized learning experiences. I'll walk you through my step-by-step process for creating customized notebooks that serve as comprehensive review guides for standardized testing.
Don't miss this opportunity to revolutionize your teaching and empower your students for success. Hit play now, and let's embark on this exciting journey together! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share with your teacher tribe! 🍎✨ #NotebookRevolution #StudentSuccess #StandardizedTestingPrep
♡Mentioned♡
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Writing Notes: www.teacherspa...
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🎵 Music Cred:
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[@Lori_Gonzales]

Love this! So much wasted time cutting and gluing, and I completely agree with allowing students to use it as a resource. My students had a hard time with that because the majority had not been allowed to use any resource on tests.

[@msrachelvincent]

My students struggle with that too...I begin slowly moving away from it as we get closer to testing.

[@Ms.Colorado]

I teach middle school Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1. I have been using guided notes and mini cheat sheets in my class for a while now. Secondary doesn’t allow time to be wasted. Classes go by quickly and there is a lot to cover. I think this method allows students more individual practice which is what is needed. Great video!

[@msrachelvincent]

Thanks, that's how I feel too about this method!

[@nappyashley]

whew!! I had to pause at the 6:03 mark and play that again! "Part of my job is to get them ready for..." If more of us as teachers kept this mindset about providing opportunities for students to use the resources/skills that we are teaching while in class, that is TRUE teaching!! Thank you for saying this so eloquently!! You are proof of those of us who are not just teaching to the test. I am sure that when students leave your class, they leave with the skills to use their notes to do their best and in turn, take good notes to continue doing their best! Thanks for sharing!

[@msrachelvincent]

Thank you for your kind words! I made the decision years ago that I had to be okay with not having the highest test scores because I wasn't going to just teach to a test.

[@rooboo013]

Our district pushes interactive notebooks for ELA, but I found that the lack of handwriting skills made it impossible for them to fit the information in the composition notebooks. As it was my first year in a tested grade, we just made do. This year, I will be using a 3-ring binder. My hope is that I can spend more time on handwriting and have larger areas for them to write on. I like your idea of sending the information home prior to state testing!

[@msrachelvincent]

Yes, a lot of teachers like 3 ring binders! When I taught in a district that pushed interactive notebooks we did a lot of guided notes to help with the cutting and glueing aspect. But handwriting is a struggle!

[@susanberke-hand1374]

I’d love to see a video that goes into detail on how you set up your notebooks. I really like this idea.

[@msrachelvincent]

That's definitely something I can work on creating!

[@teachinginfifthgear]

I agree that there’s too much wasted time cutting and folding. I use guided notes.

[@msrachelvincent]

Yes...too much wasted time for sure!

[@kathleenhampton9309]

Are you planning on releasing a math notebook on TPT?

[@msrachelvincent]

Thanks for your interest. I don't plan on releasing math notebook at this time. I don't currently plan math on my team and am currently only creating products that I plan for (ELA). Maybe one day, but not at this time.

[@lauriewilliams8336]

I love this. I wish you still taught third grade! I hate interactive notebooks, and i would love this resource.

[@msrachelvincent]

I"m not sure where you teach but it does cover 3rd grammar skills for South Carolina.

[@lisak.7925]

Do you have the notes you use for reading on TPT?

[@msrachelvincent]

Not currently...my hope is to work on those this coming school year. Our ELA standards and curriculum are changing, so I wanted to wait until I dove into that first.

[@djthereplay]

Well Rachel, I would ultimately be on team interactive notebooks. Sorry. They would last longer in the end. It's always better to "hit the books" more so when it is a book that you have made yourself. - Dwight

[@msrachelvincent]

A lot of teachers are team interactive notebooks! No harm in that...just wanted to share what I do to give a different perspective.

[@djthereplay]

@@msrachelvincent Well Rachel, I'm not a teacher, I'm just sharing with you what would have worked for me when I was an autistic school student. With that said, it's good to put a spin on things. It is an interactive notebook, it's just doing it in a different, faster way. It's about student buy in not just the lesson plan and I wish that I had this kind of fine nite study guide back when I was a school student. Back in my days, My best "study tools" were Speak n Spell and Speak n Math, and the like ... at home. One of My biggest challenges in school was to remember certain philosophies in the middle of challenging tasks. It lead to me getting burnt out quicker and in effect going off task more in the classroom back in the days. Remember also that if your students don't want you to teach something or if they are not on the same page as what you are trying to teach then you will have your struggles regardless. My Teachers had to learn how I operate ... THE HARD WAY. - Dwight