Wednesday, July 16, 2014

My Interactive Math Notebooks

Linking up with Passion in Portable Land for her:


My teaching style with Interactive Math Notebooks has evolved over the years.  I started creating my own "Guided Note" pages that were based on color-coding to help the students see the connections in the concepts.  After the first year of implementing my new method of giving notes and seeing the difference it made in their understanding of the concepts, I knew this was the way to go.

I use 3-prong folders for my Interactive Math Notebooks, which I buy at the beginning of the school year. Each period has the color that corresponds with their period.

I also buy class sets of color pencils for the students to use for the color-coding part of the notes.  After making the copies of the guided notes for each class, I hole punch the notes. This makes it easy, the students know, if it has holes, it goes in their IMN.

I love my ActivInspire Flipcharts and my MimioPad because it makes it so easy to give my "Guided, Color-coded" notes.  My MimioPad also lets me be mobile.  I can give the notes from anywhere around the room.

I make a key of my color-coded notes prior to my lesson, so as I am giving the lesson I can focus on the explanation of the concept.   I am able to put the guided note page into my Flipchart and use the MimioPad to easily explain and fill out the notes with the students.  At the end of class I can erase my annotations and start over with the next class.  The students love taking notes this way and it makes it easier for them to understand what I am explaining.

I love the ActivInspire Flipchart because it has a lot of annotation tools. The Flipchart page scrolls and the annotations scroll with it. My MimioPad and ActivInspire are definitely my #1 duo I can't live without.... :o)

Here is an example of what the students would see on the ActivInspire Flipchart.

The students love their IMN because it becomes their own personal math journal that they have created.   And they love the color-coding because when they are looking back at their notes as a resource, the color-coding helps them easily make the connections.

Here are some sample pages from my students' Interactive Math Notebooks.







15 comments:

  1. I love your Interactive Math Notebooks! I used 3-prong folders for an interactive Social Studies Notebook last year! It worked well. I wish I had an interactive white board. My district teased me with Activeinspire and then took it away! Thanks for linking up!

    Susan
    Passioninportableland

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    1. Thanks for the Link-up.. :o) I have come to love using the 3-prong folders the best... Glad to know someone else likes them too...

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  2. The folders are an interesting idea! How many do you use per student per year?

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    1. I really only use 1 per student per year.... (126 total) I do buy extra for new students and for replacements just in case.....

      I think last year I replaced 2, and taped about 7 altogether....

      The 1st picture above is a sample of four folders from last year... You can see the orange, green and purple are in pretty good condition still... And I had to tape the red one and it lasted the rest of the year...

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  3. Do you sell the copies of the pages in your interactive math notebook?

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    1. Yes... I have 8th Grade Math, Algebra and Geometry Guided Note Pages.... :o)

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    2. What is the cost for your interactive math guided notebook pages-- for 8th grade Math, Algebra and Geometry?

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  4. I have been playing around with the idea of guided notes for the whole class instruction part of my day. It just takes too long for them to copy EVERYTHING down so I'm thinking if they just had to fill in certain things it would cut down on time. Plus I'm thinking that maybe they will be more engaged instead of just rotely copying word for word.

    Of course, all I have is a ELMO projector, and since I'm not too computer literate when it comes to typing up "math" stuff I will just have to type and then handwrite what I can't type. LOL.

    As far as your color coding- do the colors mean something significant or are they just adding color to make things stand out?

    I LOVE your ideas! :)

    Shannon
    6th grade math teacher

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    1. I agree with keeping the note writing to a minimum. My math curriculum is my “Guided Notes”, we don't use a text book. I need the students to be able to reference their notes and to be able to read their notes.

      When I use color-coding it is done to help the students make the connections in concepts with the academic vocabulary and how it relates to the math. I try to use it strategically, and keep the colors the same within units.

      For example in my Linear Relationships unit, I always used light green to represent (x), and dark blue to represent (y), pink to represent slope and the rate of change (m), and purple to represent the y-intercept (b). This really helped the students see the connections throughout the unit.

      Hope this helps... Email me if you have any more questions... :o)

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  5. With your IMN's - does the entire year fit into one folder or do you have students empty them out each quarter or each unit and start fresh?

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    1. The entire year fits into one 3-pronged folder. I do not have them empty out their folder. I need them to have access to all of the notes for the entire year... :o)

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    2. Can you do an update on this post? I used a composition notebook with my Algebra 1 students last year and it worked pretty well, but this year I am already starting making guided notes for this year and was leaning towards binders. A whole year of notes can fit in one folder? Show a pic! Oh and do you still use your mimiopad. That would be ideal for me, but I'm looking into if I can use my surface pro somehow.

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  6. I am a 4th grade teacher, but I am very interested in this concept. How often do you add notes to the 3-prongs? Do you add one resource per standard? Thanks!

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  7. Where can you purchase your guided notes????

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  8. Where can you purchase the guided notes

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