Interactive notebooks are one of my absolute favorite things to incorporate into my classroom! I start them in the beginning of the year and we use them throughout the school year. Every. Single. Day.  My students know when they walk into the room, they need to grab their folder and their notebook. Not only do we use our notebooks for organization but we also use them for tracking growth throughout the year with learning progression scales!

What is a learning progression scale?

A learning progression scale sets targets for proficiency levels within a unit. They range from 1-4 with a 1 being the lowest level and 4 being the highest. They lay out the skills and goals for students to master learning targets.

Reasons for adding these accessories to your interactive notebook:

• Makes standards, objectives and goals easy to reference at any time.
• Actively requires students to think about what they already know and do not know.
• Promotes reflection and accountability.

Having Learning Goals Accessible for Students

We all know that we are supposed to have our learning goals written on our board or presented on a wall somewhere in our classroom for our students to see but what about when students aren’t in our classroom? What if they are struggling on an assignment and aren’t quite sure what it is they need to know or demonstrate? By having students include a learning progression scale in their interactive notebooks, they can use this as a guide and track their learning. We refer to it often in the classroom throughout a unit.

Right before we begin a new lesson, I have my students complete the learning progression scale with me or I give them a copy of one they can glue into their notebooks. I review the learning goals with them as a class and we go over the levels of progression. A student would rate themselves as a 1 if the material is brand new to them and a 4 if they consider themselves an expert. Think about the kid who can basically teach the class type of expert. Each level is described for them so they know how to appropriately label themselves. After selecting a rating, they explain why they rate themselves that way.

My aim is to get all students to a 3. That’s how I know they are proficient in the material.

Reflections on Learning

So you have taught the lessons, assigned the supplementary resources, completed the projects, given the assessment, etc. Now what? It doesn’t end there… Now it is time to reflect! We go back to that learning progression scale and rate ourselves again with the same 1-4 scale. Once again, students will explain why they rated themselves this way. 

You can take it a step further and have students complete these reflections with you in a student-teacher conference setting while discussing assessment scores. The student can explain their strengths in the topic as well as weaknesses. This helps not only the student understand where they may need extra help but it is also valuable feedback for you as a teacher!

Tracking Assessment Data

An assessment tracker that students can have in their notebooks and update frequently is a quick and easy tool that helps our middle school students hold themselves more accountable for their learning. I usually dedicate the very last page of the notebook to this tracker. They can track pre and post assessment data on it to see their growth throughout the school year. Best part? It takes only a minute or so to fill out for students once they have gotten their grades back.

I truly believe that by laying out exactly what students need to know and teaching them to reflect on their learning really makes it more meaningful to them. This is what makes the knowledge stick!

Want to get started setting up interactive notebooks for success in your middle school classroom? Check out my Interactive Notebook Set Up Starter Kit! 

Learn more about my best tips for setting up interactive science notebooks here!