Interactive Notebooks

Editor's Notes

• #2: Your notebook is going to be a significant portion of your grade and an essential tool for your learning in this class. If you have had me as a teacher before, I should explain that this notebook is different from one you may have kept in a previous class. It is my suggestion that if you are not given a format for keeping a notebook in your other classes that you consider using this format in those classes as well. I think you will find this method of organizing your notes will help you be more successful in your classes.
• #3: I call these notebooks interactive notebooks. What are they? Well, first, like any notebook, they’re a place to record information. However, unlike other regular notebooks, they are also a place to enable you to process ideas and make connections and will help you become more independent and creative thinkers and writers.
• #4: The main way this notebook differs from other notebooks is that it consists of two separate sides. The right side of the open notebook pages are for information in class and class work. For example, you might take notes, define literary terms, or do an assignment with a group or a partner. Anything that can be tested or quizzed would be on the right hand side in your notebook. The left side is more for you. It’s a place for you to make connections. You will records your responses to and interpretations of what you learn.
• #5: The right side includes but is not limited to a record of notes from class and group discussion and lectures. You might also take notes from your reading assignments; for example, a reading journal, summary, or paraphrase might be required for certain texts we study. I might also show you a video or ask you to listen to a piece of audio. Any notes taken from video or audio would appear on the right side. Literary terms you need to know should be defined on the right. Assignments, whether individual, with a partner, or group work, should be on the right hand side.
• #6: The left hand side may include some teacher prompts, especially at first, but as you begin to learn how to use the notebook to benefit you, it will be more and more your own creation. You might write responses to what you’re reading. KWL charts might be a handy tool for you to try, especially when we begin a new major work of literature or unit. You might draw or glue in pictures, cartoons, songs, or poems that help you remember things or that help you connect in some way to your learning. You might have learned something in another class that connects to something you learned in this class. The left side is the place to discuss that connection. You might use the space to reflect on your learning. For example, you might note in the middle of a unit that you previously thought differently about the topic, or you might, for example, discuss the idea of being intimidated by Shakespeare only to find that once you started the play, you enjoyed it. You might find particularly good quotes that make you think about the subject matter and deserve a place on the left. You might want to discuss your point of view or perspectives on matters. Finally, the left is a great place mnemonic devices and other memory aids that will help you remember literary terms and other important information.
• #7: Here is an example of an interactive notebook page. Notice on the right we have two literary terms defined: tragedy and soliloquy. Notice also that the notebook has plenty of space. The person who created this page did not worry about the amount of paper he or she used, and neither should you. You are learning, and it’s important. Notice also that the page has a title and is dated. You will need to organize your information by title and date as well as number your pages. Now look at the left. Notice here that the notebook’s owner made a connection between content from his or her other classes to English. This person notes that Galileo and William Shakespeare were historical contemporaries and wonders if this connection, given the time period, might be significant. Also, look here and notice that the notebook’s owner has drawn a diagram to help him/herself remember the definition of tragedy. There’s also a mnemonic device -- the three D’s. Finally, the bottom has another mnemonic device: the acronym SAIL to remember the definition of a soliloquy. These are the kinds of clever connections you will make that will help you to learn and really internalize the material in this class.
• #8: What do you need in order to create your notebook? Well, I gave you a list of required supplies. Why don’t you take them out, as I asked that you have these supplies ready today so that we could set up your notebook. If you don’t have them as I asked, you will need to set up your notebook at home tonight so that you are ready to go for our next class. We will use this notebook every single day, and it is critical that you get off to a strong start. First, you need a 3-ring binder. Go ahead and open the binder and take out anything that’s inside for a minute. You also need notebook paper. I don’t care if it’s wide or narrow or college rule. Whatever you like is fine. Just make sure it has holes punched in it. You need a glue stick or tape. Glue or tape is not critical to have at this moment, but when you begin to find items you want to paste or tape into your notebook, it will be important. You will also need highlighters. It’s a good idea to have several different colors. You will also need these for peer editing in this class, so if you don’t have them yet, you should get them soon. You also need colored pencils or pens. Sharpies are pretty, but they bleed through the page and will make it impossible for you to read your notes on the other side. Colored pencils are your best bet, but pens that don’t bleed through the page are fine, too. OK, take out your subject dividers. We’re going to label them. 9th GCL: Label the first divider GRAMMAR. (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. OK, now label the second COMPOSITION. (Pause) Put it in your notebook, too, and put some paper behind it. Label your third divider LITERATURE (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some paper behind it. For the remainder of the year, whenever we do assignments, you will organize them according to whether they are grammar, composition, or literature assignments. 11th BLC: Label the first divider ANGLO-SAXON. (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Now label the second MIDDLE ENGLISH (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Now label the third RENAISSANCE (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Now label the fourth NEOCLASSICAL (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Now label the fifth ROMANTICISM (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Finally, label the sixth MODERNISM (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Hero: Label the first HERO INTRO. (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. Now label the second ILIAD. (Pause) Put it in your notebook and put some notebook paper behind it. We will add more labels afterward depending on some choices we make about the direction of the course.
• #9: At this point, you may be wondering how a notebook like this is going to help you. Well, for one thing, the format asks you to condense and summarize information. Both of these techniques will help you learn information because you are putting it into your own words, which is a form of internalizing content better than any other I can think of. This notebook will also help you figure out what’s relevant, to compare and contrast information and ideas, to make connections, and to keep track of writing ideas. It will be, essentially, a portfolio of your learning, and you will be asked to do some reflection. If you haven’t done portfolio learning before, don’t worry. I’ll help you. More and more colleges and even employers are asking people to do portfolios to show what they’ve learned. For instance, in my own grad school program, I am completing a portfolio rather than a master’s thesis.
• #10: If I still haven’t convinced you that this notebook will help you, let me at least explain why we’re trying this tool. First, copying down notes is not learning. You need to roll ideas around in your brain. You need to reflect. You need to think about things several ways and from several angles. This notebook will force you to be more active in your notetaking. It will also help you be more organized so you can find things. You will have permission to be playful and creative in the left hand side. In addition, the left side will remind you to take time to absorb and think about ideas.
• #11: At the very front of your notebook, you will have a title page. This page should have the title of this course, which is Grammar, Composition, and Literature CP2 British Literature and Composition CP or CP2 Hero with a Thousand Faces Your name, my name, the block this class meets, and any symbols or pictures you want to decorate it with that are related to the course. Go ahead and create your title page now. You can add pictures later.
• #12: GCL: At the beginning of each of your tabbed sections, you should have a separate Table of Contents. On this table of contents, you will list the name of each activity, even notes, the date, and the page number. At this point, I would not recommend filling out anything except the title. I will guide you to fill it out as we begin this course, but you will gradually be responsible for keeping up with it. BLC, Hero: Right after the title page in your notebook, you should begin a table of contents. Right now, just write the title Table of Contents on a piece of paper and stick it in your notebook. Don’t worry about filling it out yet. We will fill it out as we go. Gradually, you will learn to do it on your own.
• #13: You must have wondered at this point, what about handouts? When I have a handout, where do I put it? Well, I’ll let you know what section it should go in if it isn’t obvious when I hand it out. If the holes on the handout are on the left, then it will be a right hand side page, and you should immediately date it and number it according to your page numbering system and put it in your notebook. All handouts should be placed in your notebook in the correct place, with the date and a page number on them. At first, I might add page numbers to these documents to help you out, but as we move through the year, you need to be more independent about organization. If you receive a handout with holes punched on the right, then it will be a left-hand page, and it should be placed in the notebook accordingly. All pages must be dated, numbered, and included in the table of contents. Again, I’ll help you with this at first, but as we move through the year, you will be more independent.
• #14: DO NOT USE FOR GCL BLC, Hero: At the beginning of each unit, which you are separating with tabs, you will have a title page. This title will be the title of the unit. HERO: This means the title page will the title of the unit or book. BLC: Your book uses clever titles for each unit that you will need to include in addition to the title on your tab. For example your first tab reads ANGLO-SAXON. On the first title page, go ahead and write ANGLO-SAXON. OK, now under that write FROM LEGEND TO HISTORY. You can use your book and go ahead and create title pages for each unit now, or you can wait and do it as we go through the year.
• #15: Each time I collect your notebooks, which will be about every four weeks, you must have at least one entry in your notebook on the left-hand side that is completely initiated by you. It cannot be a topic I asked you to write about. It cannot be a graphic organizer I asked you to use. It must be completely generated by you. So what should it be? Well, first, it needs to be related to what we are studying at the time. It must demonstrate some critical thinking. What’s that? Well, I need to see some evidence of your thinking about ideas. It can be putting ideas together or picking them apart. It can be evaluating these ideas. It can also be about how these ideas apply to the real world. You might find a newspaper or magazine article that relates to our study. If so, you can paste or tape it on the left and write a summary and personal response that shows how it connects. Like I said, you need at least one each time you submit your notebooks. It might be something you want to complete when you are especially engaged in what you’re learning, or it might be something you want to do right before the notebook check to reflect in a summarizing kind of way. I want it to be at the end of the notebook section you’re currently working in, and it should be dated and numbered and appear on the table of contents like everything else.
• #16: I also will look for extra effort. Are you trying to use different means such as illustrations, maps, and cartoons to connect with your learning? Are you trying to use color and highlight information so that it draws the eye? Is your notebook clearly organized with topics and subtopics that anyone can read and follow?
• #17: As we move through the year, you will use the left side for a variety of activities. At first, I might direct what you put there, but as we go on, if you are ever stuck for ideas as to what to put on the left, consider some of these Reviewing and Previewing activities or RAPS, Working it Out exercises, Personal Responses, Here I Stand exercises, or other items you think of on your own.
• #18: Reviewing and Previewing activities or RAPs are quickwrites or drawings in response to a question or statement. They will be based around either a teacher-initiated or student-initiated prompt that will help you review information you’ve learned or preview information you’re about to learn. You may be called on to share these with the class.
• #19: Working it Out activities are where you wrestle with new ideas and information. You will represent these ideas in a way that makes sense to you. One way might be a graphic organizer like a Venn diagram or a chart.
• #20: Personal response are like journals. They may be assigned by me or they may be initiated by you. Personal responses are for expressing ideas, asking questions, exploring your feelings, and reflecting on connections between topics and your life.
• #21: Here I Stand activities are places where you state your conclusions about a topic or explain your personal position on a topic. You will be required to write concise statements on ideas you’ve been grappling with and to demonstrate mastery of the content. Conclusions should be well supported. An example of a Here I Stand might be that comma rules can be confusing because not everyone seems to agree on them. You would then explain why you believe this to be true. GCL: Have you all read The Giver? or The Outsiders? Maybe a Here I Stand on The Giver could be that censorship of ideas and hiding the truth is wrong and dangerous because people will ultimately rebel or find out, and the society will come apart. For The Outsiders, it might be that violence ultimately never solves anything, as Ponyboy said, “Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity,” he sees no purpose for it other than self-defense. BLC, Hero: Or it might be that Friar Lawrence is most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he kept quiet about their relationship and did not take pains to ensure Romeo got his message about Juliet’s faked death.
• #22: As I mentioned earlier, at least once each time you turn in your notebook, you should have one entry that’s completely initiated by you. This entry might be a question or issue or connection to “real life.” It might be newspaper or magazine clippings or cartoons with your reflections. It might be drawings or illustrations. It might be personal responses.
• #23: Ah, the big question. The one you’ve been waiting for. Yes, this is for a grade. A big grade, as a matter of fact. Your notebook will count 50 points each time it’s collected. It will be graded based on the following criteria: correctness, critical thinking, completeness, organization, and grammar. All your work must be original. What does that mean? It means that if two of you turn in notebooks with any work inside that’s identical, the work is not original. If you turn in something copied off the Internet or out of a book without reflecting on it or adding to it in any way that shows you included it as part of a connection rather than as trying to pass it off as your own, it’s not original work. If your work is not original, how do I know you learned? If I can’t tell you learned, how can I give you credit for learning? Here is a rubric for the notebook: (pass out rubrics and discuss).
• #24: If you are absent, you must make up work you missed. Just like any other kind of assignment, a notebook assignment must be made up. Notebook assignments may be on the weekly syllabus or calendar. You can check with me about what you missed during my office hours. A good time to check about work you missed is before or after school. A very bad time to check is at the beginning of class or during class time period. I like to use that time to teach and learn, rather than catch up folks who were not present the day before. You can also check with classmates about work.
• #25: I certainly encourage technology, and I think a lot of people benefit from using a computer to take notes. However, I’ve also notice a lot of students don’t organize notes effectively on a computer. Therefore, if you take notes on a computer, you must print the notes and properly insert the information into your notebook. Take time as part of your homework or during study hall to organize your newly printed notes into your notebook. I am not going to tell you that you can’t use a computer for notes. I am, however, going to insist that you use this notebook format. Your notes cannot stay on the computer, and please do not complain about this because I am firm. I will not accept work via e-mail, and I will not accept work that is on your computer. It must be printed to be considered turned in. That goes for papers, so it should go for your notebooks, too. Please do not wait until a notebook check to print and organize your notes. You may find you are confused about dates or order, and you will be really angry with yourself.
• #26: These two sites were instrumental in helping me design my own plans for Interactive Notebooks.