Social Studies Interactive Notebook

I am SO excited to share this with all of you.  I have such a passion for teaching Social Studies content, and as I have lamented before, it is sometimes so hard to make this information accessible to my students.

So my answer?  An interactive notebook! My students have always had a Social Studies notebook, but this is a way to make it much more organized and meaningful.

My first experience with an interactive notebooks was through my awesome friend a colleague, The Lesson Plan Diva who uses them in her classroom.  I thought the idea would be well adapted to Social Studies, and I was right!  I used the curriculum from Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade to design this notebook.  I've been using it in the classroom and the kids love it!  My favorite part is the information is organized now, and the students can reread about what we have studied. 

Grab your copy HERE! Leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Here are some pictures of the notebooks in action:

 

 

 

 

 

Magnet Madness

Physical Science is always a little more difficult to teach in the lower grades than Life Science, however the kids usually are really interested in our magnet unit!  Kids are fascinated by magnets, and usually have had some experience with them before getting to school.  I usually open my unit by allowing some exploration time with Magneatos. (If you haven't seen these, I highly recommend them, they are great for a hands-on science or math lesson).  We will then record some of our observations on a chart, and form some questions. 

It was difficult to find good hands-on assessments and activities for 1st graders that had to do with magnets, so I created this unit.  Head over to TPT and check it out for yourself!