Want to do interactive science notebooks?  Not sure where to start?  No problem!

Really.  really.

When you want to use scientific notebooks with your students, for notetaking, assessment, recordkeeping, whatever… all your problems have been solved by someone else.  That’s right, as we teachers know, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks by Kellie Marcarelli is a terrific resource for designing (or redesigning) a course that has interactive notebooks as its heart and soul.  So, step 1: go buy/order this book.  

Great.  What do you do while you are twiddling your thumbs waiting for your book?

Time to plan.  I learned from a local biology teacher that the best way to keep kids using their interactive notebooks was to have all the tools handy.  So STEP 2 is to get all your supplies.  What are the supplies?

1.  Composition notebooks (though some teachers prefer spiral notebooks) for each student.  (Ask your school, put them on your class supply list, or whatever way works for you.

2.  Shared desktop office supplies.  For every 2 or 3 students, get a pencil box and inside keep the following supplies: colored pencils, tape, scissors, post it notes.