Making Notes FUN!

I am slightly obsessed with this new resource I found on Pinterest called Doodle Notes. I was immediately intrigued by the colorfulness of the notes and purchased a few from TpT to try out in my classroom. My students loved them as much as I did ...

These doodle notes fulfill two of my main objectives for interactive notebook: active engagement and having a valuable reference resource.  I love to see students taking pride in their work , which has been my focus with interactive notebooking this year. Earlier in the school year, an assistant principal came into my class for an informal observation and one of my students asked him, "Do you want to see my notebook?" He commented on that during my follow-up conference because it was the first time it had happened to him. I love that students are so proud of their notes that they want to show them off!

I also love to see students engaged - even if it means coloring, because they are much more likely to remember these notes than any that they copied down on notebook paper.

Taking inspiration from these Doodle Notes, I've tried to make my daily notes more engaging. It's amazing how adding some clip art, a fun font or giving students an area to color or personalize their notes helps with engagement.

I saw so many students coloring this Ferris Wheel as they read through the problem, while they were creating a strategy, or when they finished.

















This clip art helped a few students remember this "trick" for turning rational exponents into radicals.

I created my own version of interactive notes for introducing Polynomials. It gives students a few places to add color and personalize their notes. Check it out for free in my TpT store.