Update on student notebooks

My students and I are still new at building notebooks that are more interactive and meaningful to them than ones filled with  note sheets created by me.  We all have much to learn and perfect, I expect.  With only a few weeks into the experiment, I have to say that they love doing the creating!  I also gain valuable feedback from seeing what they are doing with the information, seeing what misconceptions they may have, and seeing how they process the essential learnings.  It is assessment without a worksheet in site!

For their latest concept, my grade sevens chose from 4 formats to create meaning on common shapes used in structures.  They came up with some wonderful ways to sort their research and enjoyed sharing their ideas with their peers.  We discussed the many ways to organize their learning and they shared supplies with each other as well as using the common supplies I have in my classroom.  It will be interesting to see how the engagement in this process impacts their sustained learning, if at all.  At  first, I was reluctant to "give up" photocopying my notes sheets that I have constructed over the years, as I felt they were well thought out, organized and required student input.  This bit of ego was fleeting, replaced by my strong hope that the messy business of students creating their own meaning would lead to deeper understanding.  (And hopefully having them see value in their notebook and pride in the work that they created!)