Our last minilesson on interactive notebooks (INBs for short)! Who’s excited? I sincerely hope these last few weeks have been beneficial for you. If you have any lingering questions, please leave them down below in the comments section or shoot me an email. I’m happy to help!
Last time we discussed how student jobs can help teachers delegate INB responsibilities for easy implementation. I even provided a free download for table labels. Missed that? Click here. Now that student roles have been assigned, let’s talk materials!
The following are recommendations for supplies needed, as well as personal preferences. DISCLAIMER: I’ll be linking my favorite items within this post. If you click on an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. You are not obligated to make your purchases using these links but when you do, it supports my blog and small business. I am very intentional with the services and products I link, so know that I’ll only be sharing items I personally use and truly love.
Now that all that legal stuff is out of the way, let’s get down to business! I’ve been using INBs for almost 10 years now, so I’ve had loads of experience through trial and error. Hopefully, I save you time, resources, and sanity as you learn from my mistakes. At minimum, you will need:
- a notebook, for collecting notes
- paper, for foldable activities
- scissors and glue, for foldable activities
- colored pencils or crayons, for highlighting and taking notes
Other supplies you might consider using with INBs include:
- washi tape or stapler, for securing foldable activities
- caddy or supply bin, for your Material Managers
- small waste basket, for your Clean Up Crew‘s “tidy tub”
My Personal Preferences
NOTEBOOKS: Spiral or Composition?
When it comes to the notebooks themselves, I prefer composition to spiral-bound and here’s why: durability. Composition notebooks can seriously take a beating and still be recognizable books come the end of the year! Kids of all ages love to play with (and quickly weaponize) the metal wire of their spiral-bounds. Students are also more likely to rip pages out of these so yeah, I’m a full-fledged supporter of composition notebooks. I usually purchase these during back to school sales for dirt cheap.
PAPER: White or Colored?
Copy paper for interactive notebook foldables can be starch white or brightly colored. Which is best? That’s entirely up to you! Depending on the activity, I will mix it up. White printables allow students to add their own pops of color and truly make the notes theirs. Colored printables on the other hand bring attention to the details from the start. Astrobright packs like this set of soothing blues or this set of rainbow brights found here are my absolute favorites for funky fun!
GLUE: Liquid or Sticks?
Alright, let’s talk glue. Liquid glue can get messy, sure, but once dried, you can almost guarantee that foldable activity isn’t going anywhere! Gluesticks tend to dry out, get lost, and run out quickly. At the beginning of the school year, I spend the better half of a class period teaching students of all ages how to glue: a little dab will do! You’d be surprised how many students even in the upper elementary setting can’t handle glue bottles without explicit instruction. That said, I do provide a few gluesticks to each table group. For my liquid glue, I typically purchase the bottles during back to school sales, change the lids out to these magical ones, and refill the bottles maybe twice the whole year.
Organization
I like to keep my storage caddies stocked with scissors, glue, crayons/color pencils, and highlighters at a minimum. It keeps things organized and my Material Managers can easily distribute supplies to tablemates that might be without. All of my caddies came from DollarTree and have held up wonderfully over the years.. as in, I have had to replace ONE in the 8 years I’ve used them! At the end of the school year, I wipe them out with soapy water and a Clorox wipe. Same with my Tidy Tubs.
ACTIONABLE STEP: What do you think? Did I miss anything? What’s your must-have school supply for interactive notebooks? Let me know in the comments below!
