Blog, She Wrote: Ten Ways to Use Ordinary Notebook Paper

Showing posts with label Ten Ways to Use Ordinary Notebook Paper. Show all posts

Friday, October 26, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 10: Planners & Assignment Books

Today's notebook paper topic is: Planners and Assignment books. No series on using notebook paper would be complete without another look at my simple spiral planner and the assignment books I use with my kids. I started out with a store bought college ruled spiral and now I make my own with the ProClick and some of my favorite 8.5 x 11 Staples college ruled notebook paper.

The assignment books allow us to lay out the day's work for each student and it's a place for them to write down the other things they do for the day. Here's an excerpt from my first post on assignment books- "We all love the new assignment books. The kids like to see things laid out for them and I like giving them the target for the day and being able to dialogue with them about it. One of the things I like best is the simple lined paper format for each day. Once again, it's very freeing and it's been very effective so far." Click the link on the original post to read more about how we came to using this format.

Of course my planner is plain notebook paper as well and I still adore it even after I made the modern edition two and a half years ago. Very early in our homeschooling I used a spiral notebook and after years of forms and organizing formats, I decided to simplify again and it's one of the best homeschooling decisions I've ever made. The link will take you to all the posts on my notebook paper planners. Some are the more recent style, but this link will take you to my first post and you'll see where I was and how I arrived at the picture above. I invite you to read it and experience the freedom of a simple planner!

I mentioned a bonus post and you'll see it sometime soon. I'll place in the category here with the other notebook paper ideas. I appreciate your feedback during this Hopscotch series and I hope this series has been helpful to you.

Thanks for joining me!
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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 9: Engineering Paper Upgrade

Today's notebook paper topic is: Another Close Relative- Engineering Computation Paper. Once again departing from the purest approach, I thought it might be enlightening and entertaining to fill you in on "engineering computation paper". We started using this with our oldest son when he started getting more advanced in math. Not because he needs engineering paper, but because we thought it would help him to treat it more seriously. In short, it's a motivational tool.

What's engineering computation paper? I knew you'd ask! It's a yellow shaded paper with a blank front and a graph paper back. The paper is light enough that the graphing lines on the back are noticeable on the front. So you can use them there as well. The margins are specific and the top has sections for properly labeling the assignment. Apparently, there is a format for engineers to use it and Dan knows how it's done. He taught E14.

As you can see, we are Life of Fred users and our text right now for ninth grade is Advanced Algebra. Engineering Paper is the notebook paper of choice for our advanced math students. It comes in handy when you have to graph lines, for example. It also makes your math look complex. Even simple addition looks amazing on engineering paper. What's not to love?

In fact, it might make a great motivational tool for J7 who considers himself an engineer already. He wants to skip formal math and go right to tinkering and solving issues. I think I'll put the paper to the test tomorrow!

Only one day left of the series, but I'm going to do a bonus post. Stay tuned.

Thanks for joining me!
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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 8: First Cousin to Notebook Paper

Today's notebook paper topic is: First Cousin of Notebook Paper- Primary Paper. I debated a bit on whether to include two closely related relatives to ordinary notebook paper because they may not be considered so ordinary. But, I simply could not leave them out! I'll feature one today and one tomorrow.

Primary paper is a MUST for younger students and my favorite of all time is the paper printed from Startwrite software. In fact, I love it so much it's one of the very few products for which I am an affiliate. It is so versatile and I use it everyday. It's the ordinary notebook paper I use with my second grader and I typically use it through third grade. Before you think your kids are too old for it, consider using it for cursive writing for your older kids.

Startwrite

I use the Startwrite primary paper in a variety of ways. Here are a few:

Copywork- With the software I can type out any copywork I'd like. It can be traced on dotted line letters or copied. I can type it out in solid type (of varying fonts) and have my student copy it on the following lines. In the picture above, I made a page of copywork from our current FIAR story- Pumpkin Runner.
Plain half sheets of paper- I can make copywork or just plain paper in half sheet for so my students can draw pictures above it. This works splendidly with programs like Draw, Write, Now.
Plain whole sheets of paper- As they get older and can write longer but still need bigger lines, this is very useful.
Notebooking Paper- You can do full or half sheets and add pictures or glue pictures or elements to the page and still have lined paper for younger students to write on. This is my chief complaint lapbooks. They usually do not account for the less refined fine motor skills of younger children.
Narration- I love to make copywork from my students' narration to me. Simply type as they narrate to you and when you are finished you have a copywork sheet made from their own words.
Notebooks/Assignment Books- I can use my ProClick to bind these papers into a spiral notebook for younger kids. I think I'll do a bonus Hopscotch Day this week to remind readers of how we do assignment books here. Of course it uses plain notebook paper!

There are many ways to use primary paper and in particular Startwrite paper in your homeschool. The software is a great investment and will give your young students an skill appropriate way to complete notebooking assignments without frustration.

In fact, this is the only software I used for handwriting after my first child did a more formal program. You can choose letters that have arrows for letter formation and make nice instructional and practice sheets and I love that I can do that with my child's own words or the text from the things they are already studying.

Tomorrow I'll share another close cousin of notebook paper. Thanks for the grace on the delay of Day 8's post!

Thanks for joining me!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 7: Dictation & Grammar

Today's notebook paper topic is: Dictation. Many of you may be familiar with using dictation with students to improve their writing skills. Using copywork and then dictation for language arts is a natural extension of our literature unit studies. Using well written books is a great way to introduce children to grammar and the next best tool for the job is your well stocked pile of notebook paper!

I choose a few sentences or more typically a paragraph from a book we are reading and I read it aloud to my student. His job is to write down the sentence as he hears it and then I add a grammar exercise to it on the second day.

It may take some time for your student to catch on to listening and writing. I don't mind repeating myself as we build this skill, but eventually I will not repeat the sentence and once we've finished, I edit the paragraph. The following day I add some grammar questions to call out some skills.

I choose the paragraph based on what my student needs work on- I can always find a great example of the use of a comma or possessive nouns when I need one.

Once we go over the grammar questions and activities, I have the student rewrite the paragraph with any corrections. It's a nice way to tidy up the lesson.

If you'd like to know what resources I use as a reference tool for grammar, please see the list in this post called Thoughts on Grammar .

Thanks for joining me!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Monday, October 22, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 6: Writing with Word Cards

Today's notebook paper topic is: Writing with Word Cards. This is a little tidbit I've shared before within another blog post and I thought it would be worth mentioning again all on its own. I started using this with my then younger reluctant writer daughter and it still works today with her and with her younger brothers.

You can use this technique with creative or more technical writing- with a curriculum focus or free writing/something you put together as a writing prompt. In this example, we used Story Starters by Karen Andreola as our inspiration for writing. Actually, Karen provides a lot of writing helps already within her text, but this using word cards is just one more tool in my writing toolbox for my kids. When they are younger I like it for picking out key items they need to include in their writing. As they get older I still like them to help my kids focus on word variety.

The downside is that a set of word cards may sort of lead your kids down one path vs another depending on the words you provide. In this example, I added the word storm to the list though none occurs in the prompt- so it's definitely a leading sort of word.

How does it work? I provide the cards in a library pocket based on the prompt. The cards have words on them that must occur somewhere in the student's story ending. You can have a student look at all the cards and begin writing or you can have them choose a card one by one (from inside the pocket) and add a sentence to their story using that word- this works pretty well for reluctant writers.

Of course all the self-editing and editing parts of the process remain the same, but the word cards give some more framework for the written response. It also adds a kinesthetic approach to writing if only in a small way.

Again, this is a quick and thorough way to enter the writing process for a student and provides another way to coach your student on his writing. You can even make the word cards from notebook paper, but in this case I used index cards. Notebook paper is a flexible tool to use with word cards. I usually have my 5th grader skip lines and write on every other line- another way to modify the use of wide ruled paper with younger students. Skipping lines allows their writing to be spread out more and provides more room for editing.

I hope you enjoyed this quick writing idea using word cards and notebook paper. Join me tomorrow for another great way to use ordinary notebook paper in your homeschool!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Friday, October 19, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 5: The Dictionary Quest

Today's notebook paper topic is: The Dictionary Quest. For this one not only are we going old school on the notebook paper, but we are going old school on the dictionary as well. For this activity you'll need a good old fashioned print dictionary. The kind with those helpful guide words at the top of each page. The kind that you lose yourself in for a few minutes when you are flipping to and from the word you are looking up- as you see another word that catches your eye. Remember those? Remember when there was some browsing that went along with finding a word in the dictionary?

This idea came from an issue of Homeschool Enrichment Magazine- the July/August 2008 issue and the article was entitled, "Open Your Dictionary! The Educational Value of Your Most Common Reference Book" by Deanna Blackburn. She challenged her readers to see the dictionary as a useful resource "in the great toolbox of learning". She makes compelling arguments for old fashioned dictionary use even mentioning that online tools are sufficient for those of us who grew our base vocabularies prior to the online age. How about that?

Using the article I read as a model, I can choose any page and any word. This afternoon I opened up the dictionary and looked for a page with a picture and happened upon a camel. I chose the quest word to be "cameo". It's a great word with multiple meanings and the words that accompany it on the page are fun to explore. My kids have the chance to learn more about camels- they can tell me how many kinds there are, where they are from, and a few features which distinguish them from each other.

In keeping with our theme of action, all it takes is a dictionary at hand and a quick peek inside to pull out some words to explore. Once you've chosen a word, you can ask for its meanings, have them list the guide words on the page, tell any alternative spellings for the word, and even identify illustrations found on the same page or nearby. You can find cross-referenced words and I love to send my kids on a chase with words found in a thesaurus to see if a word they have gotten from a thesaurus has the same meaning as the word they are replacing or if it is meant for another purpose. And no need for any special format! Just grab that piece of notebook paper, jot it down, and hand out the assignment!

The possibilities are endless, but it all comes down to getting kids to fall in love with words. I have a child who does not care for writing a whole lot, but she loves words and anything I assign to her with a challenge to use words, find words, or explore the subtleties of the different meanings of similar words...well she adores.

We often take for granted all the experience we've had with a print dictionary, but our children are not as inclined to make that choice with such handy electronic resources available. Just think of all the extra tidbits they miss out on when they don't flip through a thick book to find a word! When you need something for the next long trip, drop a dictionary- or two into the backseat and hold a treasure hunt!

One last thing, the dictionary you choose makes a difference. Having used this reference more than a few times already this year, I have seen huge blunders in definitions between two Webster's editions- one for "school" and the collegiate version. Make sure you have a good dictionary!

Stay tuned for some more word fun on notebook paper again next week...

Thanks for joining me!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 4: Quest of the Day

Today's notebook paper topic is: Quest of the Day! Quest of the Day is an evolved edition of The Daily Quest which we used to do daily. Daily is more difficult to do as school gets busier. However, the Quest is really a great tool to get kids engaged in what they are to discover through a lesson and pulling it out now and then has been very effective.

When is a good time to insert a Quest of the Day?

Any time you have something you want the kids to learn for the day- could be a concept or a fact and you want to change things up and make it a little more exciting.
When you have a question come up during conversation, maybe even at the dinner table, and it becomes obvious that the kids would benefit from discovering something on their own. So...when you want the teachable moment to really have some meaning.
When you want to infuse a little energy into the day, quickly put together a Quest of the Day and take a break from what you are working on. A lot of times I will assign some research oriented topic, but it works just as well with observation or treasure hunt opportunities.

Pictured above are some Quests from today. J7 has been studying The Pumpkin Runner for FIAR and he was on a Quest to find out how a mile compares to a kilometer. He loves a challenge to look something up!

Today's other Quest came up at the lunch table. Our trip to the library came up and what books were awaiting us. What followed was a discussion about classics vs junk food books. The kids were debating which of their favorites were or would be become classics. So, an idea popped into my head- let's define a classic and then see which of their choices added up. We also want to engage Dan in this one so tomorrow night at dinner, our Quest knowledge and subsequent opinion will be discussed.

The idea of the Quest is that it isn't always planned ahead of time- so what better way to get things going quickly than with a sheet of notebook paper? The theme of this series is action! Notebook paper gives us the freedom to act on our ideas without extra preparation.

Thanks for joining me!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 3: Math Journals

There are many resources available which will encourage a great math journal experience in your homeschool.

Math Journals at Blog, She Wrote- a link that takes you to posts about our math journals.
Math Journal Pinterest Board- follow the link and check out math journaling ideas from around the internet.
Books- There are a great many books devoted to creative math problem solving and puzzles. I've made a Pinterest board called resources for math to share my favorite math journaling resource books. I'll try to add some links on my living math page as well.
Magazines- I often find relevant ideas in magazines that can be used in math journaling. I like to use a local regional magazine, for example, to create journaling activities. There are many ways to incorporate some math skills with some application to magazine topics.

I tasked my kids to make a geometry journal page last year.

This journal entry was an activity to accompany my fifth grader's Beyond FIAR study of Homer Price- on highways and interstates. The book is Real World Math for Hands On Fun.

This was a favorite- making a journal page devoted to all the math skills you use when you play the game Monopoly. This was especially fun after reading some strategy and history books about Monopoly. Like The Monopoly Book

If you haven't done any math journaling at your house, I encourage you to give it a try. I enjoy seeing how my kids will make a page so they can remember a concept. It's a pretty open and creative process and although my focus is on using notebook paper, don't be afraid to make the journal page interactive and use some lapbook elements as part of the page. The ideas I've shown here are just a few and are meant to illustrate that it doesn't have to be fancy and well planned to make a great page.

If you already do math journaling, tell us about something you enjoy using as a resource.

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Using Ordinary Notebook Paper Day 2: Math

Welcome to iHN's Hopscotch at Blog, She Wrote! My topic for the 10 day series is Ten Ways to Use Ordinary Notebook Paper. Thank you for joining me. Please take a moment to subscribe, so you don't miss out- you can follow, subscribe by email or RSS feed (just look to the right!) and follow Blog, She Wrote on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I'd love it if you'd stay connected and visit again!

Today's notebook paper topic is: Math! How do you use plain notebook paper to do math? This might seem obvious to some, but others really get anxious about how to prepare math problems for their children. As a Math on the Level (MOTL) user, I make up a lot of math sheets. Sometimes I just make up the problems based on what I know my children need practice on- MOTL style, we call them "5-a-Days". Other times, I use other math resources to choose problems from- how do I know what my kids need to work on? That's a question for another time, but you might like to see how we use MOTL here. The short answer is that I use the Excel spreadsheet to schedule out the review problems for my children. It is a slick form and gives me the freedom to find any number of ways to approach the review with my kids. Often I use practice sheets I make up on notebook paper. It's fast. It's easy. It does the job.

Now for some nuts and bolts. That's what you're waiting for, right? Below are some examples of my children's math assignments. You'll find 2nd, 5th, and 7th grades represented here. The younger the student, the more I will help them set up their problems. Some of these are Life of Fred pages. Fred expects you'll use notebook paper and write down the problems and answer them and check them. With my second grader, I like to define the space for him. He has done these on his own, but his fine motor skills are still developing and he squishes everything together.


Making boxes is a very simple way to modify questions for a special needs or young student.

With younger students and special needs students, defining the space for answering a problem is important. It helps to show them were to focus their answer and it is an indicator for how the answer should look- long, short, digit only, etc.When I write a question, I usually phrase them specifically to use key words and I underline them. For example, in the first problem below the student was to draw. The key word there is draw. The key word cues the student into what form the answer should take. Now, these are Life of Fred "Your Turn to Plays". I'm not sure Dr. Schmidt knows about key words, but he knows what he wants the student to do. For my part, that's a little something I picked up in graduate school (my MS degree is in Curriculum & Instruction- Secondary Education) and it's one of those things that's easy to remember and apply. I use it even if I don't remember all the key words. Incidentally, while preparing to move, I ran across a laminated reference sheet for these words. I need to put my hands on it again now! Would you like to know what they are? I'd be happy to share in another post sometime. FYI- they follow Bloom's Taxonomy in terms of increasing complexity. It's a nice tool to have in your homeschool teacher toolbox.

I underline the key words that tell a student what I'm expecting in the answer. In this case, a drawing. I guess by the second one I figured he had the hang of it!

My 7th grader does pretty well now. She tends to be a tiny writer, so getting her to space her problems evenly so she doesn't get mixed up has been a challenge. She had some silly mistakes stemming from not really lining up her numbers well. I modeled it for her in the first few problems.

The boxes help to define the answer space a little bigger than the wide rule for my second grader.

Sometimes, a math problem goes in the wrong direction. And students get frustrated. What then? My go to is the whiteboard. If a student needs a stretch, he is welcome to stand up at the large whiteboard. In our old learning space (pre summer move), we had a chalkboard that was fun to work problems on. But lapboards work too and the less permanent dry erase markers help a student to step boldly into correcting a problem. Sometimes they need to attack it more than once. Then they can put the correct problem on to their notebook paper problem set.

When I teach a new concept, I talk about it with the kids and we try out some problems. It's easy to list out the problems in steps as I did with the exponents page. I staged the problem and I use my pen to make extra lines for the kids to see. This is a simple way to cue kids in on the steps of a problem that need to be completed.

Just a note- I do realize many of you use curriculum that issues a workbook. We were users of Horizons for quite a while, so I'm very familiar with the math workbook. However, we moved away from the consumable math format and notebook paper is very useful for us. It's useful for extra practice and anything math throws our way. My high schooler uses a variation on the plain notebook page. It's probably a good idea to share that too. Stay tuned!

Pretty simple, right? Tomorrow I'll be sharing on how to use notebook paper to do math journaling. Very popular and I will explain how we approach math journaling, how to find resources, and how to use notebook paper for this purpose. I hope you'll join me again!

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Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press.
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