Interactive Notebook directions

1. Notebooks must be kept for the entire year. Students are responsible for keeping their notebooks up to date with notes and assignments.
2. Notebooks must be neat and easy to read. Coloring and illustration is allowed on the left side of the notebook only.
3. Notebooks will be collected on Fridays unless otherwise noted by the teacher, but assignments will be checked on the day they are due.
4. Scoring: In addition to individual grades on assignments, the completed notebook will be graded based on the attached rubric.
5. The interactive notebook must contain: 1) table of contents, 2) author page, and 3) all assignments, as well as an envelope in the back to store works in progress.
6. All work must be your own. No copying from other students or sources is allowed.

These are the types of assignments that will be completed on the left-hand side of the book:

1. Maps – illustrate an area, its events, and importance
2. Brainstorming on a specific topic
3. Caricatures – draw caricatures to present the main characteristics of a group in history or how an individual or group was perceived by another group.
4. Obituaries – write obituaries to show the virtues of prominent historical figures or civilizations.
5. Charts and Graphs – create charts or graphs to show relationships between things or to show steps in a sequence.
1. Spoke Diagrams – create spoke diagrams as a visual alternative to outlining.
2. T-Charts – create T-charts to compare classroom experiences with historical details, to look at advantages and disadvantages of a topic, or to compare and contrast two different items.
3. Venn Diagrams – create Venn diagrams to compare and contrast people, concepts, places, or groups.
6. Forms of Poetry – write various forms of poetry to describe a person, place, event, or feeling of a moment.
7. Historical Journals – assume the role of a historical figure to keep a journal that recounts the figure’s feelings and experiences in language of the era.
8. Illustrated Timelines – create illustrated timelines to sequence a series of events in chronological order.
9. Invitations – design invitations that highlight the main goals and key facts of important historical events.
10. Mind Notes – draw and label outlines of the heads of important historical figures. Fill in the outline with quotations and paraphrased thoughts from the figure.
11. Perspective Pieces – design drawings or write newspaper articles to represent different perspectives on controversial figures, events, and concepts.
12. Political Cartoons and Comic Strips – create political cartoons and comic strips to provide social or political commentary on important historical events.
13. Posters – draw posters to emphasize key points about political ideas, a political figure’s point of view, or reasons behind important historical events.
14. Provocative Statements – react to provocative statements to introduce historical themes or to critically assess a historical period.
15. “What If?” Statements – use “what if?” statements to apply newfound knowledge to hypothetical historical situations.

How the notebook works:

Left side: assignments are completed or worksheets are glued or stapled in.

Right side: classroom notes, outlines, and assessments.

Notebooks will be completed once or twice a month and checked, but assignments will be checked as they are assigned.