Day 339

Check out this awesome crabby bow tie gifted by the generous folks at Ties.com. I decided to place the bow on top of what I refer to as our secret weapon in math class. It's our training manual, our playbook. What's the big deal about a graphing notebook, you ask? 

As many of my charter school comrades will relate to, we don't have the resources to purchase textbooks for every child. Instead, teachers must often go through the rigorous process of scouring through textbooks (and a variety of other means) to create kid-friendly packets for instructional use on a daily basis. Essentially, we are responsible for creating our own curriculum - year after year. A couple of years ago I was challenged to introduce the use of a graphing notebook that would essentially capture the day's lesson as a way for kids to have something to take home to reference on their own. I realized a few things over the last two and a half years in implementing this notebook:

1. Kids enjoy owning the process of creating their own textbook. Even though I structure the notebook and hold scholars accountable to using the same format every day, it's still something they must create on their own and use on their own when I'm not around. 

2. Kids lack the study skills they need to succeed beyond the four walls that contain my influence. The notebook gives them an opportunity to record important math-specific vocabulary (I call it "mathcabulary"), three guided problems aligned to the day's aim, and one section for the "Problem of the Day." The POD is usually a question that is not related to the day's lesson, but is a question worthy of review or further discussion.

3. Kids lack independent note-taking skills that they will need in high school and beyond. The training manual we use in math gives them a structured way that they can easily transfer to other subjects after they leave my classroom. I've had multiple former students thank me for being so strict about their playbook work because their current classes have no system by which students are allowed to retain key information. 

These are just some key takeaways from our playbook use, but I can tell you from my experience working in a variety of settings in the NYC department of education - there aren't enough classrooms where notebooks are being used to any capacity. If you have any suggestions for how to improve upon my implementation of graphing notebooks - or takeaways you'd like to share - drop me a line!