Setup

Materials

1. 5 Subject Notebook, preferably college-ruled

2. Glue sticks

3. Scissors

4. Pens with blue or black ink

5. Highlighters and Colored pens/pencils

Organizing Your Interactive Notebook – Today

Affix the label I provide to the front cover of your notebook. Print neatly and legibly:

• your first and last names;
• my name and office room number (“Ms. Mix, Room 202”, just in case your notebook is misplaced!);
• the name of the course (“Myth Tradition”)
• the academic year (“2014-2015”);
• and the Monday period your class meets (“Monday Period X”).

Neatly number the pages of your interactive notebook in the upper, outer corner of each page. Number the pages on the left even and the pages on the right odd. Use a bright-color pen (not blue or black) to number the pages.

Count five lines from the bottom on every odd-numbered page (every page on the right). Neatly trace the fifth line from the bottom with the same bright-colored pen you used to number the pages.

• The space below this line is for vocabulary words that you learn during the course of class discussion, i.e. those words that are not necessarily intended to be part of the lesson but that make their way unexpectedly into our discussion.

Cut out the interactive notebook rubric and affix it to the inside of the notebook’s front cover.

• Refer frequently to the rubric to remind yourself of expectations for the interactive notebook and to monitor your progress.

Cut out each part of the table of contents and affix them to the final pages of your notebook.

• The first part on the final page of the notebook
• The second part on the second-to-last page
• The third part to the third-to-last page, etc.

Organizing Your Interactive Notebook – From Now On

Update the table of contents daily after every class meeting and every time you complete an activity in the notebook.

Use a blue or black pen for the table of contents. Be systematic, precise, and clear when you enter new information in your table of contents. For example:

• For pages upon which you have recorded notes from class discussion, use “DISC: [Topic or Title]
• For silent writing activities or QuickWrites, enter “QW: [Topic or Title].”
• For homework assignments, enter “HW: [Topic or Title or Quick Descriptions].”
• For reflection, enter “Reflection: [Topic or Title].”
• Head each page with the title or topic of the activity recorded or completed there and with the date. This information should be written at the top of the page.
• Begin notes for each class meeting on a clean, odd-numbered (i.e., right-side) page.

Professionalism and the Interactive Notebook

I must remind you (or inform you, whichever may be the case) that any assignment including this interactive notebook is a public document; it will be collected and graded. You should treat all assignments as such. That said, the more effort you make to convey the sophistication of your mind. Be professional in the maintenance and presentation of your notebook.

• Write neatly and legibly.
• Reserve the left margin for notation and the right margin for comments.
• Do not doodle or scribble carelessly or purposelessly in your interactive notebook. (Relevant and thoughtful artwork, diagrams, etc. are encouraged; meaningless marks are forbidden.)
• All writing is practice: follow the rules of grammar, mechanics, punctuation, etc. in your notebook.
• You must have your interactive notebook in class every day.
• You may not use the notebook for other courses.
• For additional tips, please see this document –> InteractiveNotebookLeftRight2014

PLEASE NOTE: All documents related to the Interactive Notebook were originally created by and are credited to Joseph Hill, English teacher at Carlmont High School in Belmont, CA. The documents have been modified and adapted for the purposes of this course.