Interactive Notebook MethodFrom History Alive

What is the Interactive Notebook?• Allows students to record information about history in an engaging way. They can…

*Transform written concepts into visuals*Find main points of a political cartoon*Organize historical events into a topical map*Draw whatever illustration that makes sense to them*Personalize the historic event*Organize the student*Help students sequence assignments

• Encourage pride in student work• Facilitate cooperative interaction• Appeal to multiple intelligences• Provide opportunities to spiral instruction and facilitate learning

The TASK is…• Complex• Takes patience• Requires good modeling• Must be consistently reinforced• This takes time to teach, model, and have the students master. Be patient. It is worth it!

“Many student notebooks are drab repositories of information filled with uninspired, unconnected, and poorly understood ideas.” --- History Alive

WebsiteInteractive Notebooks…• Are colorful with diagrams, bullets and arrows• Are presented in a unique, personal style• Key ideas are underlined in color or highlighted• Venn diagrams show relationships• Cartoon sketches show people and events• Timelines illustrate chronology• Arrows show relationships

Interactive Notebooks Require…• They use several types of writing and innovative graphic techniques to record history• They are forced to process these ideas• They might transform written concepts into visuals• Find the main idea of a political cartoon• Use a graphic organizer to place historic events in a relational way• Students are encouraged to use critical thinking and be more creative, independent thinkers

Interactive Notebooks encourage…• Notes to be organized, logically ordered• Information processing in the student’s brain• Better understanding of history

Why Interactive Notebooks?• Students use both their visual and linguistic intelligences• Approach understanding in many ways• Use many types of writing and graphic techniques• Each student can select their best medium to explore and learn new

content• Note taking becomes an active process• Students are invited to take notes—it’s fun!• Students will read their notes—they have to in order to process for

the left side• Students will be working with (rehearsing) the information which

facilitates learning• Students will actively be involved with history• Notebooks help students to systematically organize as they learn---

Organization is key to the notebook. They provide routine and structure.

• Topic headings---They stress the organization of a book

Why Interactive Notebooks?• Notebooks become a portfolio of individual learning• These are personal and creative• They record student growth in history. They show progress• They serve as a chronological record of the learning and are great for review.

They promote student accountability and independence.• Interactive Notebooks allow you to record information and process it to

improve your level of understanding.• As student learn new ideas, they will use several types of writing and graphic

techniques to record them. • Then the students will do something with those ideas. This process will get the

students to use critical-thinking skills to organize and process information. • As a result, the student can become more creative, more independent thinkers

and the student will have a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

The Payoff…

• Is a way for students to organize their work• Teaches students how to think• Uses reading strategies within a content area,

such as science or math• Helps students to distinguish between what

they know and what they need to focus on

…And Finally

• Students make their own meaningful connections

• It encourages pride in student work• It encourages cooperative learning• It appeals to multiple intelligences• The kids love it and learn so much!

What goes on the Right Side?• How to interact with the WOW (Words of Wisdom) side (Right side):• • This section is used in class to:

– take class notes– draw and label diagrams– draw maps– list vocabulary– use graphic organizer– teacher handouts– answer questions from text readings

• The key ideas or “gists” are highlighted or underlined• Use arrows, bullets and notes to show relationships between ideas• Write a question mark next to any concept that may seem confusing• Sometimes we will use three-columned or Cornell notes to replace the left-right

format. Both of these styles of note taking will be taught in class.

What goes on the right side?• Input goes on the right side! Input is all the information that you are supposed

to learn. • Some examples of input are: thrilling notes – lecture, guest speaker, text or

other source; vocabulary words; video and film notes; teacher questions; readings: questions and answers; sample problems; and lab information and procedures.

• Things to know about right sides• • Always start the page with the date and title at the top of the page.• The right page is for writing down information you are given in class.• Write legibly. Use highlighting and color to make important information stand

out.• Write summaries at the bottom of each page of notes to reduce the amount

you have to study.

Marking Up and Boxing In• Block in the text, make a line separating this

information from other notes • Underline key concepts and circle words you need

to know• Next, draw an arrow to the other side of the

notebook and box in• Paraphrase your notes and create your graphics

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing takes a lot of modeling and is not learned easily.

• Students rewrite teacher supplied notes in their words. This gives them ownership and makes them think about their notes.

Right Side of Notebook• Some graphic techniques:· Size of letters· Boldness of letters· Capital letters· Indentations· Underlining· Bullets· Use of colored pens· Use of highlighters· Drawings· Diagrams

Write notes in the margins

• Student Example of Right Side of Notebook

What goes on the Left-Side?Interactive Notebooks: Left Sides *The left side of the notes. demonstrates your understanding of the informationfrom the right side of traditional notes. *You work with the input, and INTERACT with the information in creative, unique, and individual ways. *The left side incorporates and reflects how you learn Social Studies as well as what you learn in Social

Studies. What goes on the left side? OUTPUT GOES ON THE LEFT SIDE! EVERY LEFT SIDE PAGE GETS USED! ALWAYS USE COLOR – it helps the

brain learn and remember.

Left Side of the Notebook Paraphrase or clarify items Enter a drawing, photo, sketch, or magazine picture that

illustrates the concept, ideas, or facts Pose questions about the information Form and express an opinion Predict outcomes or next steps Create a metaphor that captures the essence of the

information/issue Formulate and record a contradictory perspective Write a reflection on the information or experience Find a quote that connects to the concept; record it and

explain your rationale Make connections between the information/text and your own

life, another text, and/or the world Create a mind map that captures the main topic and key

concepts and supportive detail Create an acronym that will help you to remember the

information covered Make connections to the content/processes of other courses

Right Side of the NotebookNotes on a:  

mini-lesson lecture lab reading film/video/documentary small group or large group discussion collaborative group process a copied excerpt of a text

          

What else goes on the Left Side?• What else goes on the LEFT side?• • Brainstorming�• Pictures�• Venn Diagrams�• Other diagrams�• Reflections�• Flow charts�• Drawings�• Concept maps�• Writing prompts�• Discovery Headlines�• Riddles�• Cartoons�• Metaphors and analogies�• Data and graphs you generate�• Graphic organizers�• Biography posters�• Drawings�• Other creative avenues�•

What else goes on the Left Side?• Samples of Interactive Notebook Entries (Left side):• One sentence summaries• Drawings, cartoons, doodles, sketches etc.• Mind maps (webs with pictures)• Graphic organizers• Creative writing• Poetry• Venn diagrams to show relationships• Timelines, story maps, flowcharts, etc.• Picture sentences• Raps, song lyrics, translation to another language, etc..• Games related to concept• Try to write a sentence or paragraph using all the key words or concepts.• Charts and graphs• Letters• Practice• Predictions• Speeches• Riddles

What else goes on the Left Side?• Witticisms or puns• Magazine or billboard ad• Lists of information to research• Humorous “Top Ten” lists• Checklists to use in the future• SOAL – sum of all learned• Paraphrase or clarify the WOW side• Write your opinion about the subject• Create an acronym to help you remember the notes on the WOW Side• Make connections with your other classes• Create metaphors to help you understand the concepts• Illustrated outlines• Power thinking flow chart• Create pictowords (pictures that show the meanings of words)• What if? Statements• Acrostic poems• Definition poems

Questions that can go on the Left Side?• Questions you want answered:

– Summarize and Synthesize– Ask questions– Make predictions– Set a purpose– Decide what matters most– I wonder why....– What caused...– I think...– This is similar to...– This is important because...– What do they mean by...– What I find confusing is...– What will happen next is...– I can relate to this because...– This reminds me of...– As I read, I keep wanting to ask...– Three important points/ideas are...– These are important because...– What comes next...– The author wants us to think...– At this point the article/story is about...– I still don’t understand...– What interested me most was...– The author’s purpose here is to...– A good word to describe (e.g., this story’s tone) is...because...– This idea/story is similar to...

Additional Questions to be written and considered on the Left Side?

• What do I already know about this topic? • What’s the BIG picture here? • What’s the author going to say next? • What are the “expert” questions? • What questions does this information raise for me? • What information is important here? • How can I paraphrase and summarize this information? • How can I organize this information • How can I picture this information? • What’s my “hook” for remembering this information? • How does this information fit in with what I already know? • What more do I need to know?

• Student Example of Left Side of Notebook

Student Example of Left Side of Notebook

Sample of Student Notes

Ocean Ecosystems

Coral Reefs

Tide Pools

Sample of Student Notes

Ocean Ecosystems

Coral Reefs

Tide Pools

Sample of Student Notes

Ocean Trench

Ocean Ridge

Estuary

Leonardo da Vinci’s Notes: Visual Explanations & Visual Narratives*Leonardo da Vinci used a vocabulary of both images and words to help him make sense and make visible the ideas in his head. *Through such “studies,” he learnedand shaped the ideas t hat lead to his final paintings.Even da Vinci used Cornell Notes as this page from his journal shows Visual Explanations and Visual Narrative

Historical Example of Interactive Notebook

Websites

• http://interactive-notebooks.wikispaces.com - this site will lead you to many other links and provide information about the positive features of interactive notebooks.

• http://www.eleven21.com/notetaker Cornell notes page

• http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/templates/summarizing_notetaking.htm –this page has many links for using diverse note taking and organizational templates from the Tucson Unified School District.

Websites

• http://engla.jppss.k12.la.us/instruction_and_assessment.htm - All subject areas are represented with lots of interactive notebook resources.

• http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/ -Interactive notebooks, Smartboards, and more.

• http://www.members.tripod.com/cynthiasparks/interactive_notebook.htm

Websites

• If you have never incorporated an interactive notebook in your classroom, this would be the place to start since the materials, directions, and resources are excellent and quite complete. All are kid and teacher friendly.

• http://www.teachtci.com

Websites

• http://www.IRNcorp.com If you want interactive notebook activities already made for ANY subject, check out this site. Although many of the notebooks are based on the Virginia SOLS, content for topic is pretty universal.

• If you are a social studies/history/government teacher, you may want to visit the web site for HISTORY ALIVE (also GOVERNMENT ALIVE).

Websites and Books

• Classroom Instruction That Works!by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollack

• History Alive! www.historyalive.com