Quick Notes®: INFORMATIONAL TEXT for Interactive Notebooks

Quick Notes®: INFORMATIONAL TEXT (Anchor Charts for Interactive Notebooks)

Quick Notes® for Interactive Notebooks are simply 2D pages that match the information from each lesson in the Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebook. They come in 3 versions: 2D student-filled templates, 2D pre-filled templates, and digital interactive notebook templates. These ELA Quick Notes can work right along with my interactive notebooks, or even in lieu of - please read the Q&A near the bottom of the description for details!

I created this resource after listening to your most common woes with interactive notebooks. I hear you! I hear that absent students are still one of your biggest pet peeves, even with the suggestions I’ve given. I hear that you have students who need stronger accommodations than the notebooks themselves provide. I hear that many of you, like I did, teach the same students multiple years in a row and need to keep the material fresh.  I hear that sometimes, interactive notebooks just eat up too much time. And I hear that some of you need a way to make this work with Google Classroom or digital interactive notebooks.

I hear you, and I have created the solution!

Need Quick Notes for all of your interactive notebooks? Purchase the growing bundle here.

Here’s more information about how this resource can solve your biggest problems.

Quick Lessons

Sometimes, you might find it necessary to get information into the interactive notebook without a full-blown interactive notebook lesson. These Quick Notes offer the perfect solution for an interactive notebook lesson that won’t break the clock. Since the templates are all 2D, the student has only to simply fill in the missing information for each page. You can have them copy the information right off of the pre-filled template, or provide the information yourself. And for the ultimate quick lesson, simply provide students with copies of the pre-filled templates.

Absent Students

Accommodating for absent students can be one of the biggest pains with interactive notebooks. Well, pain no more! These templates are designed so that they can be used in conjunction with the Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebook lessons. The notes are the same and the graphics are similar. So if most of your students have the real lessons in their notebooks, it’s perfectly fine if a few absent students have the Quick Notes templates. They will all have the same exact information. Hand those absent students a blank template that they can fill in, or provide them with the pre-filled template to cut, glue, and go!

Modifications

We’ve all had students with dysgraphia or other fine motor skills who specifically struggle with interactive notebooks. Now, you’ve got two new options! While the rest of the class does the regular interactive notebook page, these students can use the 2D template where all they have to do is fill in the notes. This takes the pressure off of them to keep up with the entire cut, color, and glue procedures. Have a student with a more severe need? Simply give him the pre-filled template and allow him to color. He’ll still have the same information in his notebook and be able to participate in the lesson.

Teaching the Same Students Multiple Years

I first taught using interactive notebooks while teaching the same exact students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. It’s definitely a challenge to keep those notebooks fresh year after year! With Quick Notes, it’s now easy to pick and choose which full interactive notebook lessons you’ll complete with each grade – ideally, as you introduce those topics in depth for the first time – and then fill in using Quick Notes for the rest. They make a super-easy review for students who learned the information with the original template but need to have the information in their notebooks to review and look back on.

Digital Interactive Notebooks

With this purchase, you’ll be able to download each template in Google Drive. You’ll download them and share with your students, who can edit them with Google Slides, adding text boxes where notes should be placed.

*I have created digital versions of my interactive notebooks to include as one component in the Quick Notes resources because I've had requests from teachers who are being forced to implement an all-digital classroom. Please take the time to read my feelings on digital interactive notebooks here: http://imlovinlit.com/2015/12/05/the-problem-with-digital-interactive-notebooks/ *

FAQ

Q: Do I have to have the Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebook to use this resource?

A: No. These can stand alone, but know that this resource ONLY includes the templates and notes to fill in. Complete lesson plans are only included in the Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebooks.

Q: Will these be available for other notebooks?

A: Yes! Literature and Informational Text are available now. You can purchase the growing bundle here. It includes Literature, Informational Text, Grammar, Writing, and Poetry.