Math INBs

What is an INB?

INB stands for Interactive NoteBook

What are they?  They are just that.  An interactive notebook. :)

When I taught Jr. High we used these.  They were a huge success!  My students who don't normally take Math notes, took them!  I taught both Math and Reading.  So, my students had a Math INB and a Reading INB.  I would have my students set them up on the first few days of school.  4 pages of Table of Contents. And then they number the front and back of EVERY page.  Then, we are ready for the year.  I had a printout to glue on the cover.  If they decorated it, it was extra credit.  And then the students kept them in storage size baggie in their backpacks.  My experience with students using these is that they really take ownership of them and become quiet possessive of them.

In the Math INB, we would take notes.  We had a table of contents at the beginning.  So, every day before we began Math Notes, my students would go to the next available page in their notebook.  See what page number was next.  Then, they would go to the table of contents, put the page number, date, and note section {such as 9.4 Surface Area of a Square Pyramid etc...}

Then, when they were studying for a test or referring to their notes during homework it was EASY to find.  I would collect the student's Math INBs at the end of each Chapter and give them quick participation points if they had their math notes.  I rarely had any students not take notes because of these INBs.  

In the Reading INB, we would do their vocabulary, novel studies, etc....  Any worksheets I handed out were cut and glued into the INB {no lost papers!!}.  Glue sticks work best.  Don't recommend the bottle glue... huge mess and not a flat surface to write on.

And what an easy cost at the beginning of the the year.  A single subject notebook.  That's it.  

10 cents at Target.  Done.

 My favorite unit to teach in the INBs were the surface area and volume chapters.

My students loved gluing in the nets of these shapes and hands on folding the shapes as they try to configure the Surface Area.  How easy is it to tell the difference between the slant height and height of the square pyramid when you can actually see it!