From Scrapook to Lapbook

If you are the least bit crafty or love to scrapbook, have I got the classroom project for you! I apologize in advance for the addiction I'm about to introduce you to, but this is too good not to share. When I first got married, I scrapbooked my heart out. 12 years later, I'm not so sure I need any more scrapbooks of just me and the hubs, so I kind of lost interest. But then, I discovered lapbooks! Today I'm excited to welcome guest blogger Tabitha Caro. Tabitha is an expert lapbooker. I discovered lapbooks last year when I stumbled upon a homeschooling website. I had an entirely new and serious respect for homeschoolers after that! I would love to homeschool, but the whole not having kids thing throws a wrench in that plan. I'll be writing a second post with links to some fabulous resources. I don't want to throw you into lapbook overload all at once! Trust me, I'm saving you from my fate. I was super obsessed and was turning everything into a lapbook project for a while! Here are some pictures of lapbook inspired projects I created with my kids and Tabitha's guest post follows:

From Guest Blogger Tabitha Caro:

 Lapbooks are file folders with informative minibooks and/or games pasted inside them. They are great for organizing information that students have researched, reinforcing skills taught in the classroom, as a portfolio assessment at the end of a unit, and so on.To give you an example, I'll explain the process of the animal lapbook my students did last year (all in Spanish since I teach in a Spanish immersion program):

1) Students chose an animal and began research on that animal. I sent a rubric home to parents.
2) Students put the basics of the file folder together (parents donated used file folders - hurray for recycling!).
3) I created a few minibooks that were required to be in the lapbook, such as habitat, class, food, etc. I allowed for some research time in class on those minibooks.
4) I also provided some blank templates that they could choose from to add extra information about the lapbook.
5) The remainder of their project they completed at home.
6) We then had a "Share Day" for the lapbooks. After assessing the projects with the rubrics, I posted them in one of the school hallways (thanks, kids, for making me look like an awesome teacher!).

Here is a photo of their projects: http://www.facebook.com/flapjackeducationalresources#!/photo.php?fbid=172176332839434&set=a.172176306172770.42508.144749588915442&type=1&theater

For more thorough explanation on lapbooks (with links to templates and such), go to my Skidoo page at: http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooks-in-the-classroom. There I also have a video on how I organize lapbooking in my classroom.

Thanks, Sunnydays, for having me! I love to talk about lapbooks!

Tabitha, FlapJack Educational Resources

My TpT Store - http://beta.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Flapjack-Educational-Resources

My Blog - http://flapjackeducationalresources.blogspot.com/

My FB Page - http://www.facebook.com/flapjackeducationalresources

My Website - www.flapjackeducation.com/