A Month of Using Interactive Notebooks

We have spent a lot of time working on the Interactive Notebooks so far this year. I look back on previous years' and realize how much more I'm doing now. It's GREAT!!

Even though I teach Honors English 8 and regular English 9, I have found Erin Cobb's "Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebooks" such a fabulous resource!! (It's written for grades 4-8.)

I've followed along with her suggested lesson plans and my kids are really getting it! I think we assume they learned different things in previous years so we don't need to teach it. Or...we assume they remember what they were taught but they don't have any resource to refer to that will help jog their memory. This is it!!!

Throughout Erin's pages of information, I've added some of my own supplemental information. For example, I thought they needed more details on the "SUMMARIZING NON-FICTION" pages. I know I searched Pinterest and gathered the information but can't find it for the life of me! (So frustrating!! So...if you know where I might have found this, please leave me a comment so I can give credit where it's due. I don't want to be accused of plagiarizing or violating copyright!)

I also added more information to the TEXT STRUCTURES pages. I wanted some definitions and key words. For that page, I purchased Deb Hansen's "Nonfiction Text Structures" packet from TeachersPayTeachers and tweaked the graphics to fit what I needed. I LOVED coloring them with my many colored pens. (Don't you just hate seeing everyone using "adult coloring books" and/or "Colorfy" on their phones and you don't have time? I took a picture of the things I color at school and sent it to my daughters who all love to color. I captioned it with something to the effect that while they are making pretty pictures with Colorfy, I'm coloring school stuff. One daughter commented back that my stuff was "much more satisfying." I hadn't thought of it like that...it made me feel a lot better!!) Anyway, here are the pages I put on the left side of my notebook then put Erin's practice page on the right page; the two pages created a "spread" of information for each structure.

This is on the left side...Deb's graphics added to a WORD document I created.

Erin's page from her packet.

We did quite a bit of simple practicing with Erin's examples which helped solidify the ideas in the kids' minds.

Then, I needed to figure out a way to teach NON-FICTION TEXT FEATURES. Erin has a little "toolbox" in her packet but I wanted something a little more detailed and more age appropriate for my kids. I couldn't find anything designed specifically for the Interactive Notebooks so I created my own by putting two different sources together with my own design. Here's what I came up with...

(Sorry...I couldn't get the stupid picture to rotate!)

First, I downloaded Tangstar Science's fabulous "Interactive Notebook Templates FREE Sampler Pack" from TeachersPayTeachers. I used the "Hexagon 7 panels" template. I enlarged it 155% on our copier and cut it in two sections: one section of four panels and one section of three panels. I added a tab at the top of the three panel section so they could glue them together. 

Then, I downloaded Deana Kahlenberg's FREE DOWNLOAD of "Non-Fiction Text Features Posters" from TpT. They're GREAT!! I printed them nine to a page and then reduced them another 85% on my copier. This made them the PERFECT size to glue on the panels foldable. I made the header using WordArt in Word and printed it all out. The kids had a fabulous time cutting, gluing, and singing to Pandora. (Whatever makes the little dumplings happy, right??)

Honestly, I don't know what we did before TeachersPayTeachers, Pinterest, and Google. I've only been teaching for 14 years but, seriously, how did we survive without being able to share ideas with anyone who cares to search? You all should get on TpT and check these talented ladies out! They have wonderful stuff to share. Even though a lot of it is written for lower grades, I'm able to adjust it to fit the needs of my junior high kids. They LOVE IT!!! (I've had some of my honors kids from last year come back and tell me how much they wish they had me again this year. Their friends in my regular 9th grade classes are showing them what we're doing and how much it's helping them. They're jealous!! Secretly...it makes my heart happy!!)

On to the practice activities now!! 

Interactive Notebooks and Back to the Basics

I LOVE INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS!!! 

There are so many GREAT resources out there for different pages and how to use them in your classroom. I still have kids come back and tell me how grateful they are for the notebook because they use them in high school! That, in itself, is a reason to do them! Yes...they may whine and complain while putting them together...but...if they USE them the way I intend, it becomes an amazing resource!!

This year, I plan on starting with them the second day of school. Rather than having the students purchase them and have to wait until everyone is prepared (or supply them out of my own funds), I asked the office to get one for every student. THEY SAID YES!!! So...we'll start the second day!

I'm going to do the first few pages just like I did last year. You can find the information about that HERE. I'm also going to post a copy of our school's plagiarism and cheating policy as I explained HERE. That takes me through the first nine pages and, I figure, two days.

Then...I'm taking them BACK TO THE BASICS!!!!! I'm really surprised at how many kids either don't know or don't remember how to find the main idea, supporting details, how to summarize, author's purpose, text structures, etc. So...we're going to HIT THOSE HARD!! I've got to pound these concepts into their heads to help with the "end-of-year-testing"!!

Last spring, I purchased the "Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebooks" packet from Erin Cobb (imlovinlit.com) through TeachersPayTeachers. I didn't do anything with it until this week. HOLY MOLY IT'S GREAT!!! Yes...it's written for grades 4-8 but I think it's going to work as a review/reference for their Interactive Notebooks. After we review, I'll start working them through more difficult texts and will refer back to these pages often.

My plan is to work on one concept per day which will include creating the page(s) in the Interactive Notebook and an easy practice.  Then, I've found some "age-appropriate/interest-level" articles on the Smithsonian TweenTribune website (for grades 7-8) and Smithsonian TeenTribune (for grades 9-12). What's great about this site is you can get the same article written in different Lexile levels! You can pass out the same article in a lower level for the ELL or struggling readers and they'll be able to work with the "at-level" or "advanced" kids using the more difficult version. I'm really excited about this find!! There are SO MANY different exercises you can do with each article...from main idea/supporting details to author's purpose to text structure. I can't wait to use them!!

Quotations, Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and MLA source formatting

UPDATE 5/13/2015: I APOLOGIZE TO ALL WHO HAVE REQUESTED COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS FOR THIS POST. I HAVE NOW UPLOADED THE DOCUMENTS FOR YOU TO HAVE FOR YOUR OWN USE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PATIENCE!! :) 

THE DOCUMENTS ARE UPLOADED AT THE END OF THE POST.

It's my least favorite time of the curriculum...research. I personally don't mind doing research but trying to teach the process to students is so time-consuming and tedious. But, with the new Common Core focus on argumentative writing, we have got to focus on it more. Plus, it's a skill they will use in all the years of schooling that follow.

I'm all about making the Interactive Notebook pages creative which makes them more likely to be used. I also firmly believe that the more modalities you have students use when learning something, the more likely they are to remember it. So, I've pulled out the colored pencils and markers and encouraged them to have fun designing the pages.

NOTE: Our district has adopted MLA formatting as the standard for all classes. Everything I post on this subject will be in accordance with the latest MLA standards.

I started with a reminder of what is considered FICTION versus NON-FICTION:

I reviewed our school's plagiarism policy to remind them of the consequences here as well as explained the consequences if caught in college/university. I stress this over, and over, and OVER again throughout the year! (The most hateful part of my job involves cheating and/or plagiarism!!)

Then we created a page for using quotations in an essay:

The next day, we discussed paraphrasing: 

and summarizing:

I then showed them the Incredible Shrinking Notes concept of taking a piece of material, taking notes on it in the top box, deleting the lesser important items for the middle box, and then 2-3 MOST IMPORTANT statements in the smallest box. It helps give them a visual of how to pick out the most important information. I also stress using bulleted lists with sentence fragments when taking notes. This helps with making sure they aren't copying information word-for-word which leads to plagiarism.

Then we created a reference page for "MLA Format for Parentetical Documentation." This is hard for them to grasp so having a resource to refer back to always helps.

The following two pages are the basic types of sources they will be using as they research and how to create the Works Cited page. My own daughters, who are in college, still refer to this as a guide for Works Cited pages. I update it as MLA standards change. 

Then, we practiced as a group how to cite an article they had summarized the other day. I had them walk me through the citation but made corrections as needed. Next week, they will create a Works Cited page from a variety of sources I provide. It takes time but it really helps them get the hang of it.

NOTE: THE NOTES ON THE TOP OF EACH NOTEBOOK PAGE ARE ON PAGE 1 OF THE QUOTATIONS, PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING PAGE. YOU CAN EITHER PRINT THIS OFF FOR THEM TO GLUE IN TO THEIR INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS OR HAVE THEM WRITE IT. I PREFER TO HAVE THEM WRITE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE USING MORE MODALITIES SO IT GETS INTO THEIR BRAINS BETTER. (AT LEAST I HOPE IT DOES...)

QUOTATIONS, PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING

MLA FORMAT FOR PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION

WORKS CITED FORMAT GUIDE