Theory
For this class you will be required to complete work in a spiral notebook, which will be referred to as your Interactive Student Notebook. The interactive notebook should be an effective tool to help you organize and retain information on the units we study throughout the year. They allow you to record information about history in an engaging way. As you learn about new ideas, you will use several types of writing and innovative graphic techniques to record them. You will be involved in a process that requires you to use your critical thinking skills to organize and process information, thus increasing the probabilities of remembering the information. However, like most things worthwhile, the amount of effort and care that you use to construct and complete each activity in the notebook will be a large factor in determining your success.
Value
By the time you have completed the first semester you will have a portfolio of your accomplishments in this class. The notebook can aid you in your organizational abilities because almost all of the work you do in class will be recorded or pasted into the pages of your notebook. This can help you in a variety of ways.
First, it will help you make sure you are staying caught up on the assignments in the class. You will keep a calendar which lists the names and page numbers for each of the activities we complete. Each of the items listed should be finished and you should find it located on the page recorded. Through this method, you can also find out what work you missed if you were absent from class. Another way the notebook can be useful is that it will allow you to be creative in recording some of the information you have learned. By individualizing the work in this way you should increase your recall of facts or ideas. This will be the source you use when preparing for the weekly formative quizzes, measuring whether or not you have learned the main concepts learned that week.
Finally, it is assumed that parents or guardians will ask to see your notebook on a regular basis. By doing this, they will be able to see what subjects you are studying, how well you are maintaining your responsibilities, and how creative you have been in the creation of your notebook.
Expectations
I believe in the potential value of these notebooks. Because of this, I will provide you with a notebook for the start of the year. This may last throughout the first semester or you may choose to replace it at the start of any unit. If you lose your notebook you will be expected to replace it immediately. The work completed in the unit up to that point would have to be redone. Your assignment grade is mainly determined by the work completed in the interactive notebook. To increase your likelihood of success you must have it with you in class each day.
On some days I will have spot checks while you are in class to determine if you have the expected work completed. At other times you will be required to turn your notebook in to me. Since the expectation is that you have the notebook with you every day, if you don’t have your notebook on the day a grade is given you will not receive full credit. As you are completing the activities in your notebook it is expected that you do so with great care. Think of your notebook as a representation of yourself that will be viewed by the rest of the community. You need to prepare assignments carefully checking for accuracy, neatness and colorfulness.
