I sank with planning my Interactive Notebook

My students will be using a spiral notebook for class, so I thought I would start creating a sample/planner Interactive Geometry Notebook for myself.  Everything was going great until I realized I wanted to reorder a few lessons.  Ugh! 

I decided to use a 3-Ring binder with loose leaf and page protectors for my "Master" Interactive Notebook.  This way I can reorder pages and completely revise a page if an idea pops up or I've made an error.  We'll see how this works.  My hope is to add my own reflections on what worked, what didn't and what I would like to change for next year.  I wasn't sure if I could do that in a spiral notebook.

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Diving in with Interactive Notebooks

**I'm still getting the hang of this whole blog thing.  Sorry for any inconveniences.**

This year I am going to require my Geometry students to take advantage of an Interactive Notebook.  I am VERY excited and a bit nervous about this adventure.  I have spent hours searching the internet for resources. 

THANK YOU to the following websites and their authors/contributors!  I learned so much and without your knowledge I wouldn't have known where to begin.

Middle School Math Madness

Tales of Frogs and Cupcakes

Everybody is a Genius

Ms. Dyer’s Class

I compiled, printed, and sorted countless resources from various sites. Then, I adapted them to fit my classroom and personality.  Again, THANK YOU!  I feel more confident and comfortable with the idea of Interactive Notebooks.

My goal is to post as many printables, activities, foldables, and ideas as possible.  (My students will be using a college ruled spiral notebook.)

Please visit often and share your thoughts.  I would love any advice you have to offer.  Let the journey begin .....

Explanation of Sides and Cornell Notes

These will be taped into their notebooks.

Grading Rubric & Notebook Reflections
I am going to print these back-to-back and will be grading after each unit of study.

Self-Evaluation & Peer-Evaluation

I'm going to print these back-to-back and will be use periodically before the end of each unit.

Key Parts to the Interactive Notebook
I really like this as a first lesson.  Print back-to-back.  Try one first to make sure it copied correctly.  Prints two per page.

Cut Solid - Fold Dotted 

My students are going to get tired of me saying the above phrase.  LOL.  This activity was adapted from Math Teacher Wiki which also has a picture of the finished product. 

You can download all documents here.  Thanks for visiting!

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Important Piece of the Puzzle

August is quickly approaching and that means school is right around the corner!  Eek, where did July go?  Starting to think about school and lesson planning.  For the past few years, I have my students participate in a Classroom Scavenger Hunt.  (You know the sheet with a bunch of questions that start off "Find someone who ....".  I'm not sure what the actual name of the activity is.)  This works great in the morning, but by afternoon, many students come in and say "Oh, man!  We just did this activity last hour."  As I was helping my daughter put together a puzzle, an idea popped into my head!  It's perfect.

Each student will receive a puzzle piece.  They should fill in their puzzle piece with words, phrases, drawings, photos, and/or magazine clippings.  It should represent who they are.  I'm going to have students stand up, introduce themselves and briefly talk about their puzzle piece.  Once everyone has had a chance to speak, we are going to glue the pieces together on a big sheet of paper.  (I did not create corner or edge pieces so new students can be added easily to our classroom puzzle.)  There are so many talking points regarding this activity.

• Create a discussion on how we are all different and yet are connected in some way.  (Physically connecting the pieces.)
• Let students know there is always room for a new friend.  (Adding pieces when new students arrive.)
• As part of a connected team (giant puzzle) we can still be individuals (small pieces) 

I can't wait to try this in my classroom!  How are you going to use the puzzle piece in your classroom?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

You can download this activity and a blank puzzle piece for FREE here or visit my TPT store here.

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