Interactive Notebooks for History
Ms. Garvey
What is the purpose of the interactive notebook?
Information is most useful when it is organized. The purpose of the interactive notebook is to
enable you to be a creative, independent and reflective thinker and writer. Interactive
notebooks will be used for class notes as well as for other activities where you will be asked to
express your own ideas and process or apply the information and skills learned in this class. Your
interactive notebook will be your most important work in this class!
What materials do you need?
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Either a spiral bound notebook or a one inch 3 ring binder. You must be able to turn this
in at the end of each unit.
Highlighters—1 to 3 colors.
Glue, glue stick, or scotch tape (at home)
Scissors (at home)
Assorted colored pencils (magic markers tend to bleed through the pages)
1 ½ by 2 inch sticky notes or colored paper (optional)
Organizing Your Notebook: Each right side page must have 1-4 left side items.
Output: The Left Side
Input: The Right Side
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Creative reorganization of information.
Ask and answer questions.
Comparisons and contrasts.
Response to the essential question.
Cause effect relationships.
Left-side Cornell Notes
Summary of Lecture Notes or Research.
Analyze data and express opinions.
Apply skills learned.
Create original work on content.
Drawing Political Cartoons
Concept Webs
Illustrated Definitions
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Recording information to be learned.
Title, Unit Page, Table of Contents
Unit Organizers (pasted or taped in).
Essential Question of the Day
Term Definitions
Lecture Notes
Reading Notes
Internet Research Notes
Information Handouts (pasted/taped in)
Review Sheets & Study aids (pasted)
Video Notes
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Poems & Lyrics
Drawings
Cut & paste images, maps, art, lyrics
Essays
Etc.
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Highlighting key information in notes.
Drawing Boxes around Information
Using color to number, add arrows, etc.
Sticky Notes
Revisiting & Reviewing Input.
More about the left side:
More about the right side:
The work on the left side of the notebook
may be assigned by the teacher. Most of the
time the students will be able to choose what
they create on the left side, so long as it
relates to the content on the right side.
The right side contains the traditional
information found in a notebook, plus any
class handouts pasted into the notebook.
The most important information will be
lecture notes, terms, and research.
How will your notebook be graded?
Notebooks will be collected on the day you take your unit exams. All class notes and right-side
assignments should be included, even for days that you were absent. This includes each being
recorded in the table of contents. Each right side assignment must be complete, have a heading,
and the date assigned or completed written on it. Right side pages are checked for being
complete, plus showing evidence of being revisited/reviewed (highlighting, etc.) Each right side
page must have a left side page where students have created 1-4 applications of the information
on the right side. If the left side activity was assigned by the teacher it should be completed
according to the instructions. All left side activities should demonstrate the student’s
understanding of the content on the right side. The notebook will also be graded on the quality,
organization, and visual appeal of the material.
Examples
Left Side
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Answer to essential question.
Left Side Cornell Note questions & aha
moments.
Summary of Cornell Notes.
Answer to essential question.
Photograph of reformer pasted in.
Essay evaluating how the reformer
changed history.
Political cartoon on your reformer.
Word diagrams on the terms, or
Graphic Organizer over terms, or
Timeline of the terms, or
Comic strip on the terms
Answer to the essential question.
Rewrite the Declaration of Independence
in modern words to fit problems of
today, or
Create song lyrics out of the Declaration
of Independence.
Right Side
 Essential Question for the Day
 Cornell Notes with Heading & Date
o Highlighting of notes
o Arrows connecting related facts
 Essential Question of the Day
 Research notes from the internet of a
progressive reformer.
 Terms with Definitions
 Essential Question of the Day
 Declaration of Independence (pasted in
to the right side)
o Key passages highlighted
o Boxes Drawn around sections.