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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder and FREEBIE

Would you like a quick and simple binder set up for your students?  How about a set up that encourages self-reflections and easy organization?  Then this post is for you!

Even though they are older, the more simplified we can make organization for school subjects, the easier it will be for middle-schoolers to perform, study, and find what they need.  It is with that in mind that I design my binder setup each year.


Tips for easy set-up:

Start with a Composition Book OR a 3-Ring Binder:
I personally prefer a 3-ring binder with loose-leaf paper because papers can easily be added or taken out without disrupting the whole notebook.

Include a Table of Contents:
I find a table of contents to be absolutely necessary for students to easily look up information or tell what's missing from their binder.  This one is from my ISN setup pack, but you can easily have the students copy the headings on notebook paper and keep that in the front of their binder.

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Table of Contents


Use dividers to organize the other papers from your class.
I include the following:
  • Table of Contents:  Put about 10 pages of blank notebook paper under this tab.
  • Vocabulary:  Put about 15 pages of blank notebook paper under this tab.
  • Notes: Put the rest of the pack of blank notebook paper in this section AFTER you place the required pages under the “Table of Contents” and “Vocabulary” tab.
  • Labs
  • Study Tools 


The following is the ENTIRE list of setup materials from my Interactive Science Notebook pack.




Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Materials






After the general set up, you'll want to give students a way to demonstrate their understanding of what you've been teaching.


In my Interactive Science Notebook ISN Setup Freebie, you'll find ways for your students to demonstrate their knowledge such as:

Note-taking strategies

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Notetaking Plan




Creating Flowcharts

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Concept Map

Other output methods included in my complete ISN pack:
Cornell Note-taking
Textmapping
Thinking Stems
Question Starters
Acrostics
3-2-1
T-Chart (compare and contrast)
Venn Diagram
RAFT writing
Vocabulary

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Acrostic

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder: Venn Diagram



How do you set up your binders?  What else is important to you that's not part of this post?  I'm always looking to make my set-up better each school year!





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