I recently introduced another interactive notebook to my class. We use the writing notebook, the math notebook, the grammar notebook, and now. . .the reading literature notebook. I thought my kids would moan because that's what kids do when something is repetitive. Even something I would think they enjoy. They just get sick of the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I think they moan just for the sake of moaning. Have you ever had your kids copy something from the board and you have them erase a word and change it? They moan. You would think you had them throw away their papers, start over, and rewrite a ten page essay. Really all you've done is have them change a to the.
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| We just used a simple school journal. |
So, like I said, I told my students we would start a new notebook and they cheered! Whew! This handy-dandy notebook has been pretty handy. The Common Core standards can look pretty complex, but the kids are handling them very well.
At the moment we are working on comparing and contrasting two versions of the same story.
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| Two versions of the same story. Armadilly Chili is one of my favorites. The illustrations are beautiful. |
With our notebooks, we are comparing and contrasting the characters, setting, plot, and central message.
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| Here the students completed a notebook page for both The Little Red Hen and Armadilly Chili. Using that information, they completed a Venn diagram. |
My favorite part is the Central Message cake. This notebook page includes common central messages. After reading a story, the kids take out their notebooks and look through the candles to find the central message of the story. I'm going to be honest, I had trouble determining the central message of a story as an adult. When I hear kids discussing this, I'm amazed.
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| Central Message cake |
So the kids are happy because they think we're doing crafts and I am happy because they sound like high schoolers. Interactive notebooks have to be the best thing since sliced bread.
