In the meantime, I started a new project completely non-holiday related. I had noticed recently that my little guy was having some trouble remembering and applying old phonics lessons that we studied over the summer. Sometimes he would breeze through a passage with no trouble, and at other times the idea of "silent e" or "r-controlled" would completely stump him. So to help him out, I decided I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and create some interactive notebook activities that focused on Silent E.
I have ALWAYS wanted to do an interactive notebook, but when I was teaching full-time, I just didn't have the time or nerve to try something it in the classroom. I needed to try it out in a less stressful environment and decide what I really wanted to get out of it. This was the perfect opportunity to give it the notebook a shot with no risk and to test out my own creations at once.
So, after several weeks of work, I now have a full Silent E Interactive Notebook Package available that I am super excited to share! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Silent-E-Interactive-Notebook-Activities-4165748
I have included tons of action shots and blurbs about how J and I put this notebook to the test.
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| Here is the first activity J completed in his notebook. It includes a simple poem that we read everyday to remember our rule for Silent E. Today, I used this page to go with a mini-lesson on Silent E, since we were just starting. This page is also great for a quick review down the road! |
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| Day 2- First we review the poem and the words on page 1. Then, we cut out the picture match flip book. We decided what each picture represented, then found and cut out the matching word. |
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| Day 3- Short and Long Vowel Sort. This one is pretty self explanatory, but very effective. It's also a great activity to open up discussion about what makes a long and short vowel sound to prepare for Vowel Teams in the future! |
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| Day 4- Simple and clean. We made a flip book and drew a picture for each word underneath.I couldn't help but love J's creativity with some of the pictures! |
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| Day 5- This was our favorite activity so far! First we cut out and read the story. Then J sequenced the story by gluing the puzzle pieces in the right order. Finally, we went back and highlighted every Silent E word we read. I also had J write them out for extra practice! |
Long story short, he LOVES it and can't wait for more! Everyday after school, he comes home and grabs his notebook, scissors, and glue and patiently waits for me to explain the directions. He can't wait to get started! I've also noticed that he is retaining the lessons a lot more effectively and his engagement level plays a big part in that. I cannot recommend Interactive Notebooks enough now!
Come get the full SILENT E INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK PACK HERE! :https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Silent-E-Interactive-Notebook-Activities-4165748
Just getting started with Interactive Notebooks? Here are some tips on how to plan it!
1.Organizing and Planning Your Interactive Notebook
If you are new to interactive notebooks like I was, I cannot stress pre-planning and organizing enough. It is VERY important and will save you a major headache in the future. Do not assume that you can just go online and print out whatever you want, and have a fantastic creation in the end. That's a pretty good way to end up with a Frankenstein Monster of a notebook, eek! 😓
Take the time to plan your notebook first. Decide what's going to be in this notebook so that you don't end up with a mish-mash of lessons that are difficult to organize. I decided ahead of time that this would be a Phonics only notebook- no fluency, vocabulary, or writing would be here unless it directly related to a phonics lesson.
The second thing to do is decide on the look and organization of the notebook itself. I created several Table of Contents pages, with a clear expectation of how I wanted J to use those pages. Then I NUMBERED the bottom of each page ahead of time. I did let J help me, but he was under close supervision. I really wanted our notebook to be easy to use for review, and the Table of Contents helps out a lot! I would recommend numbering your notebooks in small group, if you have the time available.
I also took a piece of ribbon and hot-glued it to the back cover to create a bookmark for J to use. We place it on the next empty page before we close the notebook for the day. This is such a time-saver! Trust me, you will thank yourself when you don't have to help 20 kids find the right empty page (you'll still probably have to help a few, but definitely not all 20!). MAKE THE BOOKMARK!
Now, you just need to decide how OFTEN you want to use the notebook. Everyday? Every Friday? Make sure you have enough pages to fit your needs and plan accordingly. I decided not to do front and back, but you may need to!
2. In the Beginning...there was MODELING
I probably really don't need to say this, but I'm going to JUST in case. Be sure to MODEL, MODEL, MODEL your expectations and how to use the notebook! Create a notebook for yourself and model opening it, turning to the Table of Contents and filling it out, and turning to the correct page. Model how to cut out and glue the activity into the notebook. Model what to do when finished. Seriously, if you don't model it, they won't do it.
3. Planning Activities
One more thing that I did with this notebook was to divide it into easily changeable sections based on the phonics that I wanted J to learn over the next few months. I planned out 5 activities a week, and sequenced out what specific phonics he would be learning. So, for the first month he would be learning only Silent E (20 activities=20 pages). Then, I used a sticky note to label the first section of the notebook.
I went a little crazy, and planned out most of the notebook ahead of time in this manner. That is not something that HAS to be done....but it does help, if you can spare the time!
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| Here is our notebook! I used sticky notes to create tabs for an extra layer of organization. You can also see the ribbon I used for a bookmark. Simple, effective, and it's not a big deal if anything happens to it! :) |
I hope that you found something great to take away and use in your classroom or home today! As "Owlways", remember that teaching is a work of heart! <3
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