Effective Science Notebooks

Effective Science Notebooks Must Have:
· Date and title for entry
· Table of Contents
· Pages numbered
· Take and make careful notes, observations and measurements.
· Use evidence to support conclusions.
· Read and respond to teacher and peer comments
· Revisit information/reflections for discussions.
· Add ideas and thoughts to their entries after discussion and reflection.

Grading Notebooks
Science notebooks are tools for inquiry that allow children to frame questions and seek answers….They are to be used to identify student understanding and misconceptions about science concepts and to inform further practice. Each notebook should have the following.

Date every entry
Title every entry
Prediction
Material
Procedure
Diagrams and labels
Chart or data table as it corresponds to student results
Conclusions as they relate to data
Must be legiable

Many teachers confusion science notebook writing as a means to grade the actual writing skills. I believe this is a place for children to explore, formulate ideas and concepts without the worry of a structured writing grade. That does not mean they are free to ignore good writing, it simply means they do not have to have complete sentences, or paragraphs in order to relay their thoughts.