Science Interactive Notebook Parent Letters

I wanted to share this parent letter with you since I think it’s important that parents see what their students are doing in the science classroom.  As students move on to middle and high school, parents are less involved since students are more independent, but I know many still love to see their child’s work and what a great way to give each the opportunity to have a positive conversation about school work.

This letter is intended to go home with the students every 9 weeks.  I had my student all designate a page for it and glue it in before they took it home to ensure the parent was handed the notebook as well as the letter.

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Wait until you read the parent feedback - you're going to wish you started your Science Interactive Notebooks sooner!

It's Finally Here! The Complete Life Science Interactive Notebook

I can't thank you enough for your patience while I finished this project. I believe you'll think it was well worth the wait...

This Complete Life Science Interactive Notebook will give you an ENTIRE YEAR of concepts that are ALL aligned to the NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS.  I think you'll be pleased to find foldables and activities that you won't find anywhere else.  I tried really hard to be original so that you got your money's worth with this one.

Each concept has everything you need: directions, printables, photos, large print notes, templates, mini-quizzes and I've even thrown in some pages for your master notebook to save you even more time.  I know in the world of teaching that's even more precious than gold!

Here's a sampler of what you will find in this download:

Now, when I say it's the Complete Life Science Interactive Notebook, I mean it.  All you have to do is make the copies and supply the scissors, paper and glue - your students will do the rest (and I can guarantee their interest and engagement will definitely increase)!

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Interactive Notebook Pages - Part 1

I wanted to share with you some of my student interactives that I use for the student output side of the Physical Science Interactive Notebook.  Students REALLY enjoy the variation of activities and you'll love the creativity that students show in their work!  Check out what teachers have to say about using Interactive Notebooks in Physical Science:

"LOVE THIS! So helpful! My kids love the activities and I love how easy it is to prepare the activities. I feel like I don't need to go out and buy a bunch of supplies to do fun, interactive things!"

"I absolutely LOVE your units!  Since I started incorporating these my students have gone from not all that into it and doing whatever bare minimum they could get away with to my last test I had every student pass!!! You have truly made a difference!"

 The following example of a student interactive is one I made for teaching the Conservation of Energy.  In this activity students are asked to draw a scene (onto a "movie strip") that would illustrate the Law of Conservation of Energy.  They then place their "movie strip" behind the television cut-out and can slide it to show their example.

 Another interactive example is using this circle foldable to help with three-variable equations - in this case a work equation:

The final example I would like to share with you today is one I created to help explain how lightning forms during a storm.  With this lightning foldable, students cut it out then need to sequence the events of a lightning strike on each side.  Just thought it was a lot more fun then just writing down a paragraph!

You can find these interactives and more in The Complete Physical Science Interactive Notebook which covers all topics taught throughout the year!

I would love to feature some of your students notebooks on my blog if you ever want to share - I know you'll be so proud of their beautiful work!

Bubble Plasma Membrane Demo

Well, my New Year's Resolution was to start adding posts to this blog to share my ideas...it's now February so I better get my act together :)
Good old Punxsuatawney Phil gave us a few more weeks of winter, so better make the most of it and have a little fun indoors.
A great way to do this is to play with bubbles and bubbles (I think) are THE perfect tool when trying to teach the properties of the plasma membrane.

Using two straws, make a frame to use as your bubble maker:

Once the frame is complete, mix up some bubble solution in a cookie sheet or tray and start your Plasma Membrane demonstrations such as...flexible boundaries

...or semi-permeable membranes...

...or really get a reaction from the students when you demonstrate embedded proteins by taking a piece of looped thread, placing it on the bubble solution and popping the inner circle to represent a protein channel. Also, move the thread loop around to help explain to students that the cell membrane can "repair" itself when the proteins move around the membrane.

Students can also complete this activity in groups - I give students directions on how to complete each activity, then I have them summarize the comparison between the behavior of the soap bubble to that of a plasma membrane in their Life Science Interactive Notebooks.  You can find this activity and more in the Life Science Interactive Notebook - Cells: Structure and Function chapter of my Interactive Notebook series.

Setting up Science Interactive Notebook Stations

Having organized stations is a sure-fire way to be successful during the school year.  My notebook stations are the same as my lab stations so the students know which station to go to when it’s time to work on their notebooks.

My classroom was set up around a Marine theme so my lab stations included the:  Sea Turtle Station, Shark Station, Jellyfish Station, Dolphin Station, Stingray Station and Whale Station.  Each station has their own Science Interactive Notebook Bin labeled with their group animal, so it’s easy to know which bin to bring back to their table.

Here are some basics to always have in the bin.  I would assign a group member to Group Supplies, so when something gets low, they are to let you know.

Getting Started with Science Interactive Notebooks

Using Science Interactive Notebooks in the classroom is a creative and engaging tool for your students to process and understand information given by the teacher.  Unfortunately, I have seen one too many peers be defeated by one thing or another and usually give up on the Interactive Notebook by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

 A few reasons why Interactive Notebooks fail: 1. Lack of organization (not everyone is on same page number, running out of supplies, etc.); 2. Realizing that coming up with Student Output side activities takes time…and we all know that is something that teachers rarely have enough of; and 3. Student Output side activities stop asking students to be creative, so students lose interest and pride in their notebook and it just becomes another piece of school material that gets thrown in their backpack or on their bedroom floor.

Hopefully this new blog will help with all three issues so your Science Interactive Notebook endeavor does not become another statistic.  

A good place to start would be to check out my free Intro to Science Interactive Notebooks to help you with materials and getting started then come on back and check out what other tips and strategies are being used.