Science Notebooks in the Primary Classroom!

Science Notebooks are my favorite part of science lessons in my classroom!  They are low-prep, can be used with any science curriculum or STEM activities, and are so meaningful and full of amazing thoughts from my 1st graders.  As a new teacher many years ago, I kind of dreaded science because I was always looking for response sheets or activities for them to do.  Later, I took a great professional development class on Science Notebooks and it made me fall in love with teaching science.  It’s so important to expose our students to science, technology, engineering, and math at a young age so they will be ready for their future schooling and careers.

Here are SIX easy steps for you to get started with Science Notebooks in your classroom.

1.  PREPARE YOUR NOTEBOOKS

Make a cover that tells what the unit is and has a place for the student’s name.  You can use store-bought notebooks, but those generally have too many pages.  I usually use 10-15 pieces of blank copy paper, choose my cover, and staple them together as my notebook.  I do this for each science unit…3-5 per year.  You can make a construction paper cover by folding the large size (12×18), but I stopped doing this a while ago to save prep time.

2.  HAVE CLEAR RULES THAT ALLOW FOR QUALITY WORK TIME

During our first Science or STEM lesson, I introduce our science rules.  We discuss what each one looks like and does not look like and why each is important.  I write them on a small chart that we review before each lesson.  Our rules are:

• Level 1 Voice (Partner Talk)
• Talk only about Science
• Stay at your spot (sometimes this changes if they have different activities to move through)
• Treat supplies carefully
• Draw, write, and label in notebook
• Please do not call the teacher’s name

They always think the last rule is so funny, but with excited little ones, it’s SO necessary!!  I remind them that I am constantly circulating around the room and when I get to them, they can show me their amazing discoveries!

3.  INTRODUCE AND DISCUSS NOTEBOOK EXPECTATIONS

I am very explicit with my notebook expectations from day one.  I start the discussion by talking about what scientists do when they are studying or researching.  Generally, first graders bring up things like doing experiments, taking notes, and working in a lab.
From there, I introduce our rubric. I give them a small copy to glue into the front of their notebook for reference.  I review the rubric before notebook work as well.
I talk with my students about “scientific” drawings and what they should look like.  The drawings should show what they did and which supplies they used.  We also discuss the fact that scientists sketch and draw so they can refer to their work later and they do not draw pictures of friends, decorations around the room, rainbows and hearts, etc.  Therefore, we will need to produce accurate, detailed scientific drawings because we are scientists as well.  Here is what we have on our notebook expectations chart or rubric:

• Date at the top of the page
• Sketches and drawings show scientific observations
• Words, labels, and data are used to describe
• Science vocabulary is used when appropriate
• Supplies and equipment used safely and correctly
  

4. DISCUSS AND LIST FINDINGS AND KEY WORDS

During or after observation/exploration/experiment time, we generally pause to discuss our work and findings.  Students tell me any important scientific words to add to our chart that they may want to use in their notebooks.  If there are important concept words, I make sure those are posted.  Often, I will underline “must use” words that I expect to see in their writing. During this time, if there is something that may be challenging for them to draw, I show them how to make a simple sketch so they will not spend too much time stressing over the drawing.

5. GIVE THEM TIME TO WRITE AND DRAW

Students ARE able to write in their notebook while they are working on an activity, but I’ve noticed over the years that young students generally like to focus on the activity at hand (ie. aren’t able to focus on writing if there are cool science supplies at hand! 😊 )   So, after they’ve had time to complete the activity or experiment and we’ve posted important words on our chart or board, I give students 10-15 minutes or so of quiet response time.  I’ve found this is the best way for young students to produce meaningful entries.  For closure, I may share a few that had very accurate drawings, a few kids will read what they wrote, or we may meet back at the carpet and share out with our partner…just a quick five minutes, sometimes less, when they have a chance to see what other people found or made during work time.

Discovering vibrations during our study of sound!

We took science outside to make shadows!

Students had a great time making their shadows dance, have extra arms, and making animal shapes!

6.  PROVIDE MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK

I circulate during their response time to remind them of important components of science writing.  If someone has a drawing, but no words, I encourage them to add labels or write a sentence about what they worked on.  If someone has sentences and words, but no sketches, I encourage them to draw and label a simple sketch to show their work for the day.
Formal feedback is given to them via my rubric labels.  My labels are simple, kid-friendly, and match up with our classroom rubric.  The kids are always excited to see their “grade” or my notes.  If they left out some important parts, we talk about how they could improve that during the next session.

Exposing our young students to authentic science and STEM activities from the start is so important because of our ever-changing world.  Their careers are likely to be very different from career choices even a few years ago.  Just reading about science or doing a science activity each Friday isn’t enough any more.  They need the chance to dive in to hands-on activities, devise a plan, make and test predictions, make mistakes, work both independently and collaboratively, build, revise and make changes to their designs, experiment, and write and draw about it.  You can check out my SCIENCE NOTEBOOK COVERS AND RULES PACK to get you started.  I hope these tips will help you begin science notebooks in your classroom if you haven’t before!

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