Classroom is almost ready.

The class Cognate and Synonym Word Wall is ready to be filled.

We will be preparing our interactive notebooks this week. These foldables will hold the class expectations my students decide will help us have a safe and respectful learning environment in our classroom community.

Update 8/20/18

* The post above is from a couple of years ago. After reflecting on how I used these notebooks I feel I would do things differently. Yes, the cut outs were cute and the kids liked them, and it kept them busy the whole class period, BUT what was the objective? What were the kids really learning? Sure, it provided an opportunity for following directions, but did we ever go back to reread the rules, goals, or expectations? No. We did not.

If I decide to use interactive notebooks in the future, I plan to read about the proper way to use them and attend professional development training that will help me better understand how to use them in the classroom efficiently. I found the following book at Heinemann.Com and plan read it in order to be better informed of the proper way to support students through the use of interactive notebooks: