Grading Interactive Notebooks
Sometimes I hear people say that they do not use interactive notebooks because the grading is so difficult. I would agree that it can be challenging but I have devised a few ways to keep it manageable.
First of all I would give students a very clear rubric of what you are looking for. A sample rubric will be included later in this post.
Do Not Grade Every Page
Teachers, you do not need to grade every single page of an interactive notebook. Everything we do does not need to be an assessment! You can have students select their best work from a particular unit or you can tell students which page is going to be graded. When I tell students which page is going to be graded, I give them very specific directions for for what is required for that page. The rest of the pages can just be glanced at for completion.
I have students put a post-it note or tab on the page to be graded. This saves me a little time in locating the correct page. Then have them tab the following sections which makes it easier for me to grade.
Reflections
Ideas to write about include:
- What you learned
- How you learned
- What aspects of the work were high quality
- What you would do differently and why
- What makes you proud of the work
- What made the activity worthwhile
- For pre service teachers I have them also comment on what they have learned about science
Includes illustrations, graphs and charts
Reflection included and there is a response to all of the prompts
Paragraph Three
You can select the item ahead of time that you will be grading or you can have the students select the item for grading. In other words, do not try to grade everything. Some items can just be checked and given credit for participation. You can assign points as you feel appropriate.
Incomplete
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Completed
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Table of Contents is Accurate and Includes All Assignments
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Concepts and Learning Articulated
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Reflection Included on Best Entry for the Unit
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All Entries Included
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Two Foldables Included for this Unit
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Two Graphs or Diagrams included in this Unit
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What grade do you teach?
I teach pre-service teachers in a teacher preparation program at a university. I am a former elementary school teacher.
I love reading about the grading. I started notebooks this year but was intimidated by the table of contents. I teach science and social studies to 4th graders. The science part went pretty well.
I linked up with Manic Monday…but I cannot find your freebie in the post. Am I missing something?
Sidney
Teachingisagift
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Thanks for updating! I really liked the post and now I have some awesome freebies to use too! Thanks!
Sidney