Interactive Notebook Freebie

Ok, I've been tardy to the party on the whole interactive notebook thing. I just didn't get the whole hoopla. It seemed like a lot of cutting, gluing and a major time commitment and I wasn't sure if all of that input was worth the output. I was totally that kid whining "I don't geeeettttt it".

Well, my friends, I am now a believer. After researching a bit, I was starting to see the benefit  and then when my kids were working on my Fall EZ-Prep Center, I was getting lots of questions: What's a singular? What's a plural? What's a proper noun? Sound familiar?  It was then that I really felt the lightbulb go on and I realized if they had their own little notebook with this information in it, they could help themselves without waiting for me to help them. Well, hello interactive notebooks! Problem solved!

Hard at work on Fall EZ-Prep Centers!

The biggest benefit of the interactive notebook is that after all that cutting and gluing, the kids will have their own reference book at their disposal all year long. I can even see them keeping it at home to help with homework next year! So yes, it took me a while but I'm totally on board!

I have made some great purchases, which I'll include in the links at the end of this post but yesterday when I was searching around,  I found a super cute seasonal pack from Collaboration Cuties. It was perfect because it covered the basic parts of speech which are missing from another great pack I bought but something my kids totally need. Here's my example, which I had too much fun making!

My kids already had the basic knowledge of nouns, so this a great first activity. I had them trace around the ghost before we wrote on the notebook paper so they knew exactly how much room they had to write, then I let them decorate the background a bit while they took in the whole idea of having their own notebook. Under the first ghostie, we just wrote the definition for a noun. Then I had them take their notebook with them for Read to Self. I asked them to read an entire page, then write down two nouns from the page they read. (If I just crucified the Daily Five, please forgive me. I'm a rebel) They really got into it!

Then when it was time to for Read to Someone, the first thing we did was read our lists to each other. If someone found a word they didn't think was a noun, they discussed it and made any necessary changes. The instantly fell in love with their notebooks and were so proud of them!

Tomorrow we'll be adding the common and proper noun bats from the same pack. 

There is also a great activity for singular and plural nouns, but I was so excited about the whole concept that my creative juices started flowing and I had to try my hand at making my own. One of the things I'm finding is that the intricate cutting involved in some of the activities can be a bit taxing and time consuming. So, I made this one a bit easier to cut out. I think it came out pretty cute! Who knows, maybe some more interactive notebook making in my future!

 In the free download, you'll see this version and another version that does not have the square around the top for ease of cutting. I like having options. 

Hopefully I've convinced you to take the plunge and try interactive notebooking, but if it still looks a bit overwhelming for you right now, I have a suggestion. Try doing an activity or two on a sheet of construction paper, just to test the waters. That way you you can get an idea of the time it takes and your students' level of engagement before you make a decision - and your kids will still definitely benefit from the activity!

From Me:

Plural/Singular Freebie 

Fall EZ Prep Centers

Halloween Pack from Collaboration Cuties

Other Interactive Notebooks I love:

2nd Grade Interactive Language Notebook  - Nicole Shelby

Hands-On 2nd grade Interactive Math Notebook - Yvonne Crawford

 Just in case you missed it, check out the first of my 12 part series - My Truth Monday. 

There's still time to link up!