Organizing Notebooks for the New School Year

Notebook Organization

Every year I struggle with how to help students organize their notebooks. Students no longer have textbooks so being able to organize and use their notebook is an important skill.

I have used composition notebooks the last few years. This year I have decided to use a 3-ring binder instead of a composition book in my math and science classes to help keep students organized. I decided I wanted a notebook where students can put papers in and take papers out.

How I am Organize Notebooks

I keep notebook organization simple. My students divide their notebooks in to three sections. The first section is for Warm-Ups. The second sections is for Class Notes(hand written notes, guided notes, folded notes, etc…) and the last section is for papers(classwork, homework, tests, etc..).

I am using dividers I have created to organize the Class Notes section. I run off each divider on a colored sheet of paper or cardstock. Each divider has the unit name and a list of the lessons in the unit. Students put their notes for each lesson behind the divider. When I start another unit, I run off another divider(in a different color). .

Notebook Dividers

The notebook dividers make is a simple way to help students reference their notes. The colored dividers make it easier to see each section. The list of lessons on each divider help students find a topic they may need to reference especially when we are doing spiral review or end of year review.

The dividers not only help students they help teachers. When I am grading notebooks I look for the color divider and open to the section I need to check. The checklist on the divider is a guide that helps me check the notes in each section. It makes the task of grading notebooks easier and quicker.

The dividers can work with any type of notebook. I liked using the 3-ring binder with the unit dividers last year. I prefer to have a notebook that students can open to get paper out and put paper in. I know some teachers like to use composition notebooks. The dividers can be glued in before each new section in composition notebooks. The dividers are helpful in any type of notebook because it helps students (and teachers) easily identify sections. The dividers I have created are editable. You can change the lessons to match your curriculum. The links are below this paragraph for free 6^th, 7^th and 8^th dividers.