Interactive Student
Notebooks
Ashley Steed and Sara Ritchie
Ralph Chandler Middle School
Greenville County School District
What is an ISN?
➢The Interactive Notebook is meant to be used as a tool to help
students to become creative, independent thinkers and writers.
➢The ISN can be used for class notes and any other activities
where students are asked to express or process information.
➢The ISN is a one-stop-shop for all information that students
need for class.
➢Composition notebooks work best.
Why use the ISN?
➢ Organizes Students
➢Helps students sequence assignments
➢Encourages pride in student work
➢Facilitates cooperative interaction
➢Appeals to multiple intelligences
➢Provides opportunities to spiral instruction and facilitates
learning
➢Formative & Summative Assessments
How do you set up an ISN?
➢ Title Page
How do you set up an ISN?
➢ Title Page
How do you set up an ISN?
➢ Table of Contents
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
DATE
TITLE
PAGE #
How do you set up an ISN?
➢ Table of Contents
➢Each page after the TOC
is numbered:
○ Left pages are odd
○ Right pages are even
How do you set up an ISN?
➢ Left Side/Output
➢ Right Side/Input
➢Student Created
➢Teacher Given
○ Writings
○ Notes
○ Drawings
○ Graphs
○ Cartoons
○ Songs
○ Graphic Organizers
○ Reflections
○ Venn Diagrams
○ Texts/Readings
○ Book Notes
○ Video Notes
ISN in Science
➢Right Side/Teacher Input
➢Information given in class
➢Blue or Black Ink/Pencil
➢Lecture notes
➢Lab activities
➢Video Notes
➢Summaries
➢Textbook Notes
➢Procedures for experiments
➢Classroom specific information
ISN in Science
➢Left Side/Student Output
➢Lots of Color
➢The brain remembers things in
color better
➢Concept Maps
➢Drawings
➢Reflective Writing
➢Questions
➢Data and Graphs
➢Songs
➢Poems
➢Data from Experiments
➢Cartoons
ISN in Science
➢Left Side/Student Output
➢Getting students to think about
their learning
➢Reflection: Use guiding prompts:
○ What are you curious about?
○ What would you like to test?
○ What was the main idea?
○ What are the important
details to remember?
○ How does this relate to your
life?
○ What don’t you understand?
ISN in Science
➢Graphic Organizers
➢Notes on right
➢GO on left
○ Venn Diagrams
ISN in Science
➢ Foldables
➢Organizes Information
into chunks
ISN in Science
➢Writing in science
➢Have students
“write a little bit a
lot” -Dinah Zike
➢Have students write
smaller pieces
several times a
week
ISN in Math
➢Right Side/Teacher Given
○ Notes
○ Examples
○ Definitions
○ Steps for Solving Problems
○ Foldables
ISN in Math
➢ Left Side
○ Homework
○ Foldables
○ Writing for Understanding
○ Illustrations
○ Vocabulary
➢Students working on homework
can easily refer to notes from the
day for help
Tips for using
an ISN in ELA
(a.k.a things that drove me
nuts and how I fixed them.)
● What do I do with
starters?
o Option 1: turn the ISN upside
down and backwards to make a
starter section
o Option 2: use a separate ISN
How do I handle writing?
Brainstorming on one page
Rough drafts and final drafts are taped
in when finished.
But I don’t wanna to lug all those notebooks home!
Students are given a handout or use notebook paper. They tape it in
after it’s graded.
How do I keep them on the same page?
Students start a new one, numbers match mine
Make numbering the pages a homework assignment at the beginning of
the year. Trust me on this one.
Tips for using an ISN in Social Studies (Treat like Sci.):
Color!
Social Studies tips
Chunk notes
Ex) Instead of writing
everything about
the Egyptians, have
a page set aside for
Egyptian
government,
another page for
environment, a
different one for
contributions, etc.
Takeaways
Plan by quarter or
semester for new ISN
Make a teacher ISN
It’s changed our teaching
for the better.
Do what works for you!
Resources
➢Interactive Notebooking: https://interactive-notebooks.wikispaces.com/
➢Everybody is a Genius:
http://everybodyisageniusblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/isn-introductionpage.html
➢Dinah Zike’s Foldables: http://www.dinah.com/index.php
Contact Information
 Ashley [email protected]
 Sara [email protected]