Many teachers I know are organized people. You have to be in order to manage hundreds of copies, handouts, and pieces of student work every single day. Organization comes naturally to many teachers, but it doesn’t necessarily for students. We teachers all know the student with the crumpled up papers at the bottom of their backpack!
Many students are developing organizational skills. They might also have up to 7 different teachers with different organization systems and work to manage. That’s a lot! So it is super important to me to teach students how I want them to stay organized in my class. And give them class time to do it.
One of the first things I do with my students every year is set-up their science notebooks. In this blog post I’ll share my tips for starting a science notebook that will help students stay on top of things and that they will be proud of by the end of the year:
- The best spiral notebook
- What about composition notebooks?
- How to set-up your science notebook
- Cover page
- Table of Contents
- Number all the pages
- Maintain a teacher notebook as an example
- Resources in Google Drive to set-up science notebooks
The Best Spiral Notebook
The 5 Star, 3 subject, college ruled notebook is my favorite! The pages are large enough that you can glue down an 8.5×11” piece of paper. It will fit perfectly and there will be no edges hanging out that can get snagged in a bookbag. They are more expensive, just under $5 each, so I don’t require that students get this one. Any spiral notebook will do.
With other spiral notebooks, you may run into a few problems. First, a single subject notebook may run out of pages before the end of the year. Not a huge deal, students can just start another notebook. I just love at the end of the year how a notebook represents an entire year’s worth of work. It is all in one place. This doesn’t happen when you need to start another one.
A bigger problem is that an 8.5×11” piece of paper will not fit in the smaller notebooks. With smaller notebooks, students might need to fold a paper in half to get it to fit. Out of sight, out of mind. If they can’t see it, they’re not going to look at it and they are less likely to remember it.
Alternatively, with a smaller notebook students can trim the sides of worksheets to get it to fit. This will take extra time, and you need to bust out the scissors. I don’t know about you. I prefer not to pick up those little scraps of paper off the floor at the end of every day!
What About Composition Notebooks?
I love composition notebooks for my own personal use. My teacher notebooks where I do research, take notes, and write my teacher scripts are mostly composition notebooks.
Composition notebooks are a popular choice in primary education. They are lightweight and fit easily inside a backpack. They are popular with English teachers as writing journals. They are also popular with Math teachers as a designated place to “show your work” on homework assignments.
I worked with a science teacher who used composition notebooks. She did a lot of drawing in her class, and they worked best for her. If you prefer composition notebooks, then go for it!
But in my opinion, they are just too small to use as a science notebook. The pages are even smaller than a single subject spiral notebook, which means more folding and more trimming. And don’t even think about tearing out a page. The binding comes loose easily and then pages will become loose and start to fall out on their own.
How to Set-up Your Science Notebook
On the first day of school I talk with my students about school supplies. I give them the weekend to go out and get them.
We usually set-up our science notebooks in the beginning of the second week of school. Then, we decorate them. Check out my blog post Beginning of Year Activity: Decorating Science Notebook Covers.
I show my notebook under the document camera, and students follow along. We create a Cover page, a Table of Contents, and number all the pages.
Cover Page
The cover page includes basic class information like:
- Student’s name
- School name
- Teacher name
- Room number
- Period number
Table of Contents
The TOC shows the Page Number, Title, and Date of each assignment.
The Table of Contents is one of the most important features of a science notebook:
- Students refer to the TOC if they miss class.
- They use it to improve their science notebooks.
- With it, students can quickly turn to a desired page or assignment in their notebook.
- They don’t need to guess. They don’t need to flip through page by page. They don’t need to go through everything to find what they are looking for.
There are 2 ways to do a TOC:
- After the Coverpage, students number the lines from 1-200 to create and save space to write each assignment. Label 3 columns Page #, Title, Date.
- Give students a handout. They tape or glue it in the front of their notebook. They fill it in as we go. When it fills up, everyone gets another handout that they tape on top of the first one. There are lots of versions like this online, so just find what works for you.
Number All the Pages
Students number all the pages. Right pages are odd numbers, and left pages are even. We already numbered the first 7-8 pages when we made the Coverage and Table of Contents.
Students number all the way up to 200! I think it sets us up for success when our notebooks are pre-numbered and ready to go.
- One benefit is that students always know what page they are on.
- I also like that they cannot rip out the pages. Mistakes are a part of learning. They shouldn’t be afraid to cross things out and make corrections.
Many students enjoy the task of adding page numbers in their notebook. It’s like they are on a mission and they get in the zone. But I also sometimes hear complaints. I have to go to 200?! I’m tired! My hand hurts!
They can take their time, and just finish for homework if needed. They can even do it while they watch TV! Students with IEPs or accommodations may need extra time to number the pages. It’s a great assignment to complete in a Study Skills class, if that’s available. My Special Education colleagues always tell me how awesome it is to begin an organization system like this. They always emphasize starting from the get-go. They are happy to support!
Maintain a Teacher Notebook as an Example
Each year I make a science notebook like the students. I make one notebook that I maintain and keep up to date. Even if I teach 5 or 6 classes, it’s just easier to have one example notebook. So I also try to keep every class in the same order and using the same page numbers. I update my TOC and glue things in just like everyone else. I usually do this as I show them under the document camera.
Students can borrow my notebook to get caught up. They can prepare for a notebook check. They can also use it to see what they missed when they were absent from class. I make sure all of the questions and worksheets are on the correct pages. I leave out the student work portion so they complete the work themselves. I keep the answer keys to assignments in my teacher binder, which is another classroom system of mine.
Resources in Google Drive to Set-up Science Notebooks
Check out my Science Notebook folder in Google Drive. Make a copy of the slides, template, or table of contents and tweak them to your needs.
Google Drive > Science Notebooks > How to Set-up Science Notebooks
Science Notebooks are Great!
If this is your first year using notebooks, I think it’s a great decision. You will have a lot to show for it at the end of the year. The next thing to do is decorate the science notebooks! Check out my blog post to read about that. Check out my other blog posts to learn more about how I use science notebooks in my classroom:
Beginning of Year Activity: Decorating Science Notebook Covers
Science Notebooks! Or Binders! Which One?
More Tips for Using Science Notebooks as an Organization System
My Go-To Lesson Structure and 8 Classroom Routines for Better Classroom Management
What are some of your favorite tips for using notebooks in your classroom? Let me know by leaving a comment, I would love to hear from you! Happy organizing!
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