Social Studies Notebooking-Freebie

Do you use "Notebooking"?

Several years ago, I was “nominated” ~ ‘cause no one else wanted to do it ~ to be a part of the Teaching American History Grant that had been received by my district.  I reluctantly agreed to be the representative for our school.

Man am I glad that I did.  I have been attending in-services for the last three years.  The in-services are intended to teach us the content so that we can, with confidence, teach the content.  I’ve learned so much history in the last three years that I feel like I could run a history museum…ok, not really.  Still.

During each set of in-services (three days in the fall, one day in February and a week in the summer) there are three professionals who come to teach us.  One of the three instructors is a master teacher who teaches us how to apply what we have learned to lessons for our classroom.

Two years ago, I learned about notebooking.  I know a lot of you are familiar with notebooking, so I will just give a quick summary to those of you who don’t know about it.

The idea behind notebooking is that the student has notes/study guides/ etc. on one side of the notebook and the other side has the response to the learning.  The right side is for the notes and the left side is for the “creative response”. 

What I love about using this method is that the students have OWNERSHIP in his/her learning.  In the year and a half that I have been teaching with this method, NOT ONE student has lost his/her notebook (I probably just jinxed myself). 

At the beginning of the year we spent the first few days creating our notebook.  Each student decorated his/her notebook’s cover.  I live close to the South Carolina/Georgia border so I went to both welcome centers and gathered up brochures that directly related to my standards. 

Notice the Native Americans on this student’s notebook (Standard).

I covered each notebook with clear contact paper so that it would hold up all year long.  (It does).

Then, we set up our "Table of Contents" page.  Just like any other book, this is set up for the student to again, have OWNERSHIP in his/her notebook.  On the left side you see the notebook requirements that I have established so that I can grade their notebook at the end of each chapter (gotta get those grades...geesh).  You can download it from my TpT store here.

At the beginning of each chapter, I have the students create a title page.  The students will later go back to this title page to illustrate what they have learned.

For each lesson, I have the students complete the study guide with me.  I usually use the CLOZE method, but not always.

The next day, the students complete what I call their “Left Side Activity”.  This is where it gets fun!

If you haven’t heard of foldables, this is where it comes in.  Check out A Teacher's Treasure to read more about foldables.  This post explains it all :) 

Here are some examples:

I highly recommend the book by Dinah Zike, Notebook Foldables.  

It helps guide you to the right foldable for the right lesson. 

I don't always use foldables.  Sometimes, I have a map (high on the standard's list).

The teachers at my school do a great job collaborating and finding "left side activities".   I have to give credit to a super teacher in my school, Mrs. Eberhard, for many of the left side activities that I use. 

This year, I added a new component:

This is where they store their vocabulary flashcards!  No more lost cards…yay!

Everything in one place.  Can’t. Beat. That!

Do you use notebooking?  What resources do you use to find activities for the “creative response”?


One more tiny note: 45!  Yay!  Maybe by the weekend, I will be able to have my giveaway.  Just in time for Valentine's Day...

This (or one similar since I've sold THIS one) could be yours.  Ain't it gaudy and great?

See tomorrow's post for the details and a chance to win.