Organization

There are many ways to organize a reading notebook.  We tend to teach students to put the date, label home or school, and write the title or chapter at the top of the entry.  You can choose an organizational system that works for you. I like for students to write in pen (so their old work doesn't fade or get smudged) and on the backs of the pages (because most students can get away with 1 notebook) but it is entirely up to you!

The most important thing is that students learn what makes a deep thought.  What is required in an entry?  At McK we determined that an entry must have a thought, evidence, and higher level thinking of some sort. Here are some charts made at the beginning of the year.

At the beginning of the year we want students to get a really good thought with evidence from the text.  After they have that down, we add the higher level thinking.