Interactive notebooks have been the rage for the last few years, mainly for younger grades. I think they are actually beneficial for students from Kinder through 12th grade and here are my reasons.
#1 – Students can take the time to reflect on what they’ve learned and come back to the concept at a later time to review. When I was in middle school and high school, math was easy for me. However, it wasn’t easy for everyone in my class. (And I have to admit I had other subjects that were difficult for me, but that’s another post in itself). Fractions and algebra are really difficult for some students to grasp. Once they do grasp the concepts, they are golden, but the initial hook can be difficult. Because of the difficult concepts taught in middle school and high school, I believe that interactive notebooks can help students to grasp the concepts. Many of my interactive notebooks have activities where students can review what they’ve learned and that is key especially when they are studying for end of the year (or course) tests.
#2 – Visual learners can learn quicker with interactive notebooks because they are so visual. Not everyone is visual, but many students are and interactive notebooks will help them to learn the concepts quicker due to the nature of interactive notebooks.
#3 – Interactive Notebooks give them a sense of achievement. At the end of the school year students empty out their backpacks and look at what they’ve done. They will probably just toss out worksheets, and they may even toss out their interactive notebook, but I guarantee that they will take a second be proud of what they’ve done.
#4 – Older students are still kids and like to have fun. Who likes to do boring worksheets? Not me and not my students, but they sure do love to do interactive notebooks regardless of their age. It’s fun to have a foldable or a cool cut-out that hides the answer or helps them to solve the problem.
Here are my Interactive Math Notebooks for Older Grades:
Interactive Math Notebook for 6th grade
Interactive Math Notebook for 7th grade
Interactive Math Notebook for 8th grade
Interactive Math Notebook for Pre-Algebra
Interactive Math Notebook for Algebra
Interactive Math Notebook for Geometry
Have a great school year everyone!
