Mini Notebook Writing Tasks

Every summer I see things that other teachers do, and I think, "that's super cool," but then I never do anything about it.  Well, this year I did something about it!  Somewhere along the line, I had seen a post where a teacher had cut composition books in half to use for different subjects.  I wasn't sure how I could use them, but I kept them in the back of my mind for future years.

Before I go into details, I will tell you how I came to decide this year was the year to try this.  During the year I teach four sections of sixth grade literature.  These classes only meet four days a week, and the fifth day is a study period.  Well, last year I only taught one period of study, and I found that for sixth graders who have never had a period to manage their work on their own, this can be a struggle.  As it turns out, this year I am the study teacher for all four of my classes.  I decide to have an "I-don't-have-anything-to-do" assignments that will be part of their literature grade.  I decided to do collaborative journals that would reinforce concepts from lit class.  I chose theme, characters, and quotes (citing text).  AND, because I am completing my master's project on mindset, I made sure that two of the journals include mindset analysis.  Mini notebooks seem like the perfect size for this type of activity.

OK, so here's what I did.... well, my dad did it, I'm just claiming it as my own...

First he cut the notebooks on his table saw.  I handed them to him.  That's all I know...

Then I made cover plates that are the actual writing prompts.

Ok, yes, I chose themes from each house of Harry Potter, and yes, I put them on notebooks that match the house colors, but this does not mean that I have a problem....

By the way, these are all themes that we will be exploring in our class novels, so totally relevant and helping to activate background knowledge.  And supporting HP.

Then I added bookmarks to the notebooks by taping a ribbon to the back.

This is the back of one and the inside of another

I also made one for our study hall lists (similar to other school's detentions), as well as a hall pass.  The hall pass sign out is my favorite.

I wish it wasn't blurry, but it was the best I could do tonight between making dinner and dropping over from back-to-school exhaustion.  If anyone wants these cover plates, I will post them as a freebie on TPT; however, probably not tonight.  Must sleep.....

In other news, I posted a new note-taking, graphic organizer on TPT earlier this week.  I designed it for my classes, so it may be too specific for others to use, but I posted it anyway.  The front side is focused on the basic information from the book, and the back side is all critical thinking with mindset as the guiding topic.  I know, I know, more growth mindset, but it really is such an important skill, and our students need to learn young how to make positive changes.

Here it is:

Here is a preview pick of the back side.  Sorry that is says "preview" across it.  Can you believe someone took one of my blog posts and posted it as their own on TPT?  It makes me sad, but I will still share.  Right now it says preview until I feel good about it again!

Hope everyone is having a good "back to school" season!

~L

Note Taking Graphic Organizer for Literature