I have been using Reader’s Notebooks of one sort or another for quite some time now. Years really. I used to use spiral bound notebooks for them. But they never really worked just right for me. For one thing, the wires always tangled with another notebook and had to be pulled apart. Another problem that I had was anytime I wanted to add a page, it had to be cut smaller to fit and then glued. Messy and time consuming!
So now I use 3-ring notebooks for the students. And let me tell you how much easier, nicer looking and organized it is!! Plus, by using a 3-ring binder I can have different sections in an easier way. I like color coding my sections and I couldn’t do that as well before.
The notebook I use now requires minimal coloring, cutting and gluing. I like the way the notebooks look that use all that, but I simply do not have time for that with my groups. I need something streamlined, easy to use, but still engaging and motivating for students.
My first section is for word work. Word work is so important for students. We do a lot of word sorting so I have different word sort pages for this.
I use different word sort pages because sometimes we sort into more than two groups.
Got to have a word wall for students to have a place to add words- sight words, thematic words, domain specific words, etc… We even use sound boxes.
My second section is My Thoughts- the comprehension section of our notebook…the heart of reading.
This is the section that we use the most. Where we put our thoughts about what we read, our Sticky Note Thinking, Prove It To Me answer frames, etc…
The third section is our vocabulary part. Learning new words, what they mean, and how to use them is more important now than ever.
This is just one of the vocabulary pages we use. Another one helps the students use context clues from the text to determine the meaning of the vocabulary word.
I wanted to try something new this year. I want my students to take more responsibility for their learning. Students can keep track of the genre types of books they are reading, their goals for reading, fluency, student conferencing, etc… The more involved they are in their own learning, the more aware they are of what they need to do to improve and take their reading to the next level.
You can click any picture above to see this notebook in my store or just click here to be taken there.
I am teaming up with some other top notch teachers and their language arts materials for an Educents bundle for 3rd and 4th grades! My Reader’s Notebook is included along with 14 ELA materials that you will just love!
Some of the other products in our bundle to get your kids learning are centers, printables, vocabulary, book studies, interactive notebooking and so much more!
After you finish here on my blog, hop on over to the lovely Laura’s blog: Love to Teach. She has something for you on her blog too!
But that’s not all! I want to give you a chance at winning my Word Collector- Personal Dictionary. Just pin the Educents picture or any of My Reader’s Notebook pictures and enter the pin into Rafflecopter. Easy, peasy!! Good luck!
The deal won’t last long so head over now!
Tina Crofts says
I am SO glad you posted about using binders for your interactive notebooks! I have been a slacker and dragging my feet about getting our notebooks going. Each of my students have a binder and I LOVE them! Now I am going to switch up their sections and use them for their interactive notebooks for each subject! Thank you SO MUCH!
Tina
Crofts' Classroom
lorivines4 says
Tina, you are so welcome! I love the binders- makes things so much easier and neater. Good luck!
Tammy says
Your notebooks are very organized, user-friendly, and full of great resources!
โ Tammy
Forever in First
lorivines4 says
Thank you, Tammy! You know I have to have things organized to survive with so many students. ๐
Aylin Claahsen says
Wow, Lori- this looks like such an amazing pack for your students! I have never done a binder that includes everything in one spot- I generally have lots of different journals that I create and use with my students to cover all the things you have in one spot. Thanks for the inspiration because I think I need to try your method out soon! One question- do you use this with your K/1 groups too? I think maybe mine could handle it…but just wondering what your experience has been!
Thanks!
Aylin
Learning to the Core
lorivines4 says
Thank you, Aylin! I need everything in one spot or it gets too hard to keep up with since I have so many students. I don't use this binder for kinder groups. First grade can do a lot of what is in this binder and it helps time wise to have it all in one book. ๐
Lori Moldenhauer says
Like Aylin I would love to do this with my first graders. I would like to get just your binder material and not the large packet for 3rd and 4th grade. Will you sell this separately?
Little Priorities
Lori Moldenhauer says
I found it on your TpT!! Thank you!
lorivines4 says
Thank you, Lori! Glad you found the link at my TpT store. ๐
Miss Ellis says
Such a great way to keep track of student progress! Thank you for sharing. I would love to read about how you run a guided reading group/guided reading schedule. I just found your blog and can't wait to read more!
lorivines4 says
Thank you Miss Ellis! Welcome to my blog and thank you for your kind words! I will be thinking on what to post about your idea suggestions. Thank you for suggesting them. ๐
Barbara says
Lori, I REALLY like the way you set up your reading notebook. I'd like to set up something like that for next year with my ones. I might add their weekly poems in there, too. Thanks of sharing!
lorivines4 says
Thanks Barbara! I think adding the poems would be great!
Lisa's ESL Site says
Lori, these notebooks are beautiful, thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas! I noticed that you have the cutest borders for your worksheets, did you make them yourself?
lorivines4 says
Thank you so much, Lisa! I didn't make the borders. A lot of them are from Creative Clips. You can find them on TeacherspayTeachers. ๐ Hope that helps!
Tonya says
Do you have trouble with the hole-punched papers falling out? How do you keep the papers from tearing out when used frequently?
lorivines4 says
We haven't had too much trouble with the pages falling out. A couple have fallen out and I just put them back in and put a little tape around the holes so they would stay in. Thank you for coming by to visit!!
Deb Weeks says
I am in awe of your organization and ability to 'get things done'. When I grow up, I want to be just like you. (LOL…….I'm already 56)
lorivines4 says
Deb, loved your comment- it made me laugh! I so appreciate you stopping by to visit and comment! ๐
BJP235 says
This is amazing! Do they leave all of the papers in the binder for reference? Or clean it out each week? How do you manage grading and adding new papers?
lorivines4 says
BJP235, thank you! I have students leave most of the papers in their notebooks. That way I can see the progression they have made and so can parents during conferences. But I am one that does not have my students do a ton of papers so that works for me. You could collect the ones you want to take grades on. For adding new pages, I keep extra copies filed so it will be easy to add them in when needed. Hope this helps you! Thank you for the questions!
Nancy supper says
Hello – I teach high school and am needing to be able to edit these. Is this possible after I buy it?
Lori says
Hi Nancy! I am sorry, but this notebook is not an editable file. Thank you for asking!