Hi friends! I have been in SUCH a fog lately between work and personal life commitments. My saving grace this week in the classroom has been the familiarity of our interactive notebooks. Speaking of, did you enjoy last week’s post? If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can easily find it here.
Continuing with this four-part miniseries (halfway there!), this week we are diving into the benefits of interactive notebooks, particularly all the different school community groups that benefit from INB use.
Truth of the matter is that EVERYONE benefits from INB use. Trick question, I know! But it’s true. Students benefit. Teachers benefit. Parents benefit. The community benefits. Literally, everyone and anyone can benefit from using interactive notebooks in the classroom and for very different reasons. Let’s get to it:
Students benefit.
They’re the reason we’re here! We want our students to do the best and have the best. INBs align with those desires. Students, and I mean ALL students, can greatly benefit from interactive notebook use. Through INBs, students learn to take ownership of their academic growth.
One of the main things that help students buy into (and love!) INBs is the ability to make them their own. When students know, and are allowed, and are expected to decorate and color in their INBs as they see fit, academic material comes alive.
Using bright paper, markers, colored pencils, and other creative materials makes it easier to process information for better retention. The creative nature of INBs sparks ingenuity and visual references for a later date.
Teachers benefit.
For the classroom teacher, interactive notebooks should be seen as a blessing, not a burden! INBs can do wonders for classroom management, organization, and lesson effectiveness. Personally, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, three-ring binders are my nemesis. At the middle school level, cramming all those binders into lockers almost guarantees they’ll never see the light of day again. INBs reduce much of the paper clutter found in classrooms and, let’s keep it real: a student’s backpack.
By having kids complete all of their notes, practice problems, and reflections in one centralized location educators can foster organizational and executive functioning skills necessary beyond the scholastic years. As teachers, we know education is about the whole child. We care about content knowledge, yes, but we also care about producing well adjusted, 21st-century global citizens. The earlier students are held accountable and explicitly shown how to manage responsibility, the better they become at it.
Sorry, I went off about kids there again, because, well, it’s why we’re here! But back to teachers. Teachers looooove data and so do administrators. We want rock-solid evidence of student growth, proof we’re making strides in the curriculum, and research to drive instruction. An INB is a living portfolio showcasing your craft. Day by day, nothing seems to change, especially when you’re in the thick of it all. INBs allow anyone to walk into your classroom at any given time and see just how far you’ve come as an educator and where you still need to go take those impressionable minds entrusted to you this school year.
My time in the classroom has mostly been in the capacity of a special educator. While all teachers today are bogged down by paperwork, special education teachers have quite a bit more at stake. Individualized education plans (IEPs) and annual meetings with parents discussing a child’s academic progress call for loads of data. Interactive notebooks can help teachers show a steady progression in sequential order for those legally binding contracts, annual goals, and learning objectives.
Parents benefit.
The home-school partnership is built and strengthened with the use of interactive notebooks. Parents, I’m talking to you directly now so picture this: you pick up your kid from school and begin the parent inquisition: How was your day? What did you do? Any homework tonight? And now imagine this: a response other than “nothing” SAY WHAAAAT?! INBs can help facilitate conversations with your child, bridging home and school.
With INBs, parents can clearly see in one central location what’s happening in the classroom and more importantly, with their child. They can partner with educators and facilitate additional practice opportunities. “But Ms. Mencia,” I often hear, “I’m sorry I didn’t learn math like it’s being taught today.” No problem! The teacher input pages of an INB have anchor charts and worked out examples for both student and parent to reference at home, making homework a breeze (wishful thinking it was that simple, but I digress). Parents can feel more at ease and confident in academically supporting their child at home with an INB in hand.
BOTTOM LINE: Everyone benefits!
Other community members can reap the benefits of INBs, too. Afterschool childcare programs can leverage that time helping children with homework. Tutors can have a better understanding of how students are being taught in class. Child study team members can look through INBs and see tiny yet significant changes in student handwriting or understanding of a topic. Struggling students can be referred for intervention services with a paper trail of supports and evidence. Anyone looking to learn, grow, and reflect could honestly benefit from interactive notebook use.
Are you thinking of starting an interactive notebook in one of your classes? Great! Over the course of my tenure with INBs, I’ve compiled several different resources to help others get started with ease. Maybe you already use INBs and want to enhance some of your lessons with already-created, tried and true resources. Wherever you are in your journey implementing INBs, I’m sure we can work together. Next week I’ll be posting ways to implement INBs into the classroom in ways that allow you to work smarter, not harder!
ACTIONABLE STEPS: Comment any questions you have surrounding INBs. If you’re ready to implement and looking for resources, check out the INB section of my TpT store.
