#TMC14 Interactive Notebooks

Presented by Jonathan Claydon

Structure

• Color each class with colored duct tape on the spine.
• Manila folder pocket in back notebook to keep assessments
• Write grading scale on pocket
• Track progress throughout year, first attempt, second attempt; two 4's equals a sticker
• The level of organization  is up to you, match your notebook to YOUR style 
• Flips the culture of the class to everyone is doing something
• Let's them use them on tests to motivate ownership
• Students use their genius to hide their lack of skills: literacy, organization, note taking, etc. We can unlock the "mystery" of note-taking and organizing for students through interactive notebooks.

Grades

• 10% notebook
• 20% problem sets, class work; makeshift spreadsheet on clipboard, checks more than one thing at a time
• 10% projects
• 60% tests
• Health inspection: Shake test, check assessments, check tracking sheet
• Can grade during tests 
• Spot check: choose a few problem towards the end of an assignment and write answers under a time limit
• First notebook check is usually the worseNotebook checks are not up for reassessment 

Take Them Home? HW?

• Doesn't give homework
• Subscribed to the idea that math is done better with people to bounce ideas of
• Goal is more student engagement, not necessarily 100%

Storage

• 16 quart tubs from Target
• Holds over 30 notebooks 
• Each tub has same color of tape as notebooks per period
• Usually one student per group gets the notebooks for the group

Don't Have It?

• Mostly they keep it in the room because they don't have homework and they can use them on tests
• On the off chance they don't have it, they usually create their own system by borrowing paper and adding it in to the notebook

Logistics

• Can create handouts in the notebook more than running off handouts
• Do we send the message that everything of value has to come from us?
• Print half pages
• Have students write more than you print
• Students can work problems on whiteboard and then chose 3-4 to record in the notebook
• Condense your old handouts by deleting space because they have space in the notebooks
• Supplies needed: scissors, glue sticks, clear tape, staples; check bulkofficesupply.com

Absences

• Keep extra copies 
• Check their notebook if you know they were there for the activity
• With unpredictable absences, it's hard to micromanage
• Organize hanging file or crate
• Put extra copy in absent student's notebook

Geometry Unit 1: Transformations Interactive Notebook

Unit 1: Transformations

Pg 7-8 These two pages come from the lovely Sarah Rubin. I basically shrank them to fit in an INB.

pg 9-10 These pages were not really necessary I suppose since we made a page about each type. But I saw it here and got really excited. The pink triangle is tape on side it can reflect. The blue pentagon is paperclipped so it can translate. The purple hexagon rotates around the brad, and the squares are dilations of each other.

Pages 11-16 came straight from Mrs. Hester. I really like all of her ideas for this unit.

Pages 17-20 come from a Common Core Geometry Curriculum that my school purchased for me (only $90) and which I highly recommend.

Here are the files:

Algebra 2 Unit 3: Factoring

Unit 3: Factoring

I want to say from the beginning that I did not do a good job of including the GCF in these pages. We wrote down examples using the GCF but we didn't make it plain in our steps. So, that's an edit for next year.

pg 25-26 X-Factor is what I call factoring x^2 + bx + c and this is taken directly from Sarah Hagan.

pg 27-28 Factoring ax^2 + bx + c was introduced to me this year as slide, divide, bottoms up. This page again stolen from Sarah Hagan.

pg 29-30 For difference of two squares I used a discovery type lesson I had and turned it into an INB page. Students have to analyze the two columns to figure out what makes a problem the difference of two squares then circle the ones that apply. And the RHP, from Sarah Hagan.

pg 31-32 I mimiced the lesson before and went for a discovery type approach again with perfect square trinomials. As expected, I had to heavily lead them into noticing the second step about the middle term. The RHP lists the steps and worked out examples.

To end this unit I tried a sorting activity where students had to sort the problems into the different types and then factor. Click here to read the post.

Here are the files:

Algebra 2 Unit 2: Linear and Absolute Value Interactive Notebook

Unit 2: Linear and Absolute Value

pg 19-20 These handouts came from my Algebra II bestie Brooke Seals. We highlighted the definitions with the parts of the formula to match. Then practiced writing the formula and identifying the point and slope. On the RHP we practiced writing the equation from a graph.

pg 21 This foldable is a modified version from Sarah Hagan.

pg 22 I found this on the Internet somewhere, not a blog, but I can't find the original link.

pg 23 Piecewise functions page came from Mrs. Hester. Underneath this we made colored t-charts that helped us graph the functions.

pg 24 This practice part came once again from Brooke Seals where students continued to use color to evaluate and graph again.

Here are the files:

Trig Unit 4: Unit Circle Interactive Notebook

Unit 4: Unit Circle

pg 41 Our previous unit was right triangle trig so I used this same "flippable" to introduce the reciprocal functions so that students would see the connection. And at the top we drew how right triangle trig now transfers to the unit circle.

pg 42 I used the CamScanner app to take pictures of the textbook that we used for the RHP practice.

pg 42-43 Quadrantal angles followed nicely from reciprocal functions. These two page ideas came from here.

I let students make up their own mnemonic and they came up with All Students Talk Crap. lol

pg 45 This idea comes once again from the fabulous Shireen. We did reference triangles all the way around the unit circle. We drew degrees on the circle itself and wrote radians on each triangle. We use our special triangles index card from unit 1 to write the leg lengths.

pg 46 This is a modified worksheet sent to me by my trig mentor Meg Craig. On the inside we first went through and labeled the quadrant for each problem. Then we went through and labeled it positive or negative (I'll be switching step 2 and 3 next time). Then we determined the reference angle for each and used the chart on the outside to find the answer.

pg 47 The Unit Circle in all it's glory. We filled in all the degrees first. Then I taught them the hand trick to start filling in the ordered pairs. I think the radians were actually the hardest part. Over time we used the chart from page 46 (sin/cos/tan of 0-90 and the unit circle itself more than the hand trick to memorize the values.

Students figured out their own patterns to help them remember. My favorite was what they noticed for radians. In the second quadrant, it is one 'slice' away from halfway/180/pi. So the fractions are all one away from the denominator 2/3, 3/4, 5/6. In the third quadrant they are one over so 4/3, 5/4, 7/6. And in the fourth quadrant they are almost double/360/2pi so double the denominator minus one: 5/3, 7/4, and 11/6. Hooray for patterns!

They had to fill in the entire unit circle without a calculator for part one of their test. Part two they had to fill in the sin/cos/tan of 0-90 chart and then use that chart to find the exact values of other degrees/radians all without a calculator.

Here are the files: