Tried it Tuesday- Reflections on Math Notebooks

Linking up with Holly over at Fourth Grade Flipper to reflect on using 3 ring binders for my math notebooks this year instead of composition notebooks. 

I liked the composition books, but my main reason for changing was I wanted larger paper. 

Composition Size: 

Binder Size: 

Pros of Binders: 

1. More paper space. 

2. Pages can be removed (this could be a con too though!)

3. When students were absent it was easy to get pages into their notebooks

4. We could add notes to foldable pages 

5. We could include worksheets, homework, assessments, data, etc... 

Cons of Binders: 

1. Binders are open so often, they lose their alignment 

2. Pages fall out (see number 1) 

3. Binders take up more room. I had plenty of space for my six classes though. Students struggled to keep them neat, but space was available. 

4. Binders were too small to hold all the work I had anticipated. I had asked fro 2 inch, but many students brought 1 or 1/2 inch. This really made a difference. 

End of the year teacher binder: 

End of the year student binders: 

This is page 7, not page 1. 

This could have a lot to do with the condition of their notebooks. 

Seriously, this is embarrassing! 

I ask daily for them to put them on the shelf neatly. Of course, that didn't always happen. 

Sometimes it never happened. 

So, I guess the question is what will I use next year? 

Actually, I don't know. It all depends on what supplies we asked our students to bring next year. We are having some changes for next year, so it's a waiting game right now. 

I think the inside is the most important part of the binder anyway. I am really proud of our notebooks this year. I think they were full of useful information and presented in a fun way. 

My students always told me how they liked taking notes because I let them use markers and/or pen. 

I love the simplicity of making them happy.