Five Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks

Having science notebooks in the classroom seems like a very beneficial practice that I would like to incorporate into my teaching. To get started, I liked how the teacher in the beginning of the article guided the first observation in order to model how students should write and get them excited. It reminded me of a discussion in my Language Arts Methods class when we talked about getting kids started in a writer's notebook. The teacher would tell a personal narrative (one which all the students could relate to their lives) and then told the children to think of their own stories about this topic. Before everyone was able to unleash their narrative verbally, the teacher said, "Now I want everyone go back to your desks and write down your story." Without this excitement, students often just stare at a blank sheet of paper with no idea what to write, and the same would probably be true for a science notebook.

I think that the first benefit listed by the article--that science notebooks are thinking tools--is the most important. The science notebook is a great place for students to express their "wonderings" and practice writing accurate observations. Since all the students have to write in their notebooks, they will be more likely to be really engaged in thinking about science (which may not happen if the teacher just called on a few students). Also, if students simply fill out a worksheet, they are not required to do as much of their own scientific thinking. When students think about how to word and organize their own observations, the concepts are much more meaningful. Also, their attention to the topic is heightened because the notebook is tailored to their own unique interests.

I also agree that notebooks would be very useful for the teacher because he or she can see the level of understanding of each student. Misconceptions will be more likely to show themselves and get cleared up. Another important benefit listed in the article was that science notebooks enhance literacy skills. Last semester, I had a reading and writing buddy who absolutely hated writing. Science, however, was his favorite subject. For a student like my buddy, science notebooks would be a great way to ease into the writing process through nonfiction writing. Differentiation is also supported through science notebooks. Students can write at their own level, and I really liked the idea about allowing ELLs to write in their native language and slowly work towards switching to English. That way, these students aren't losing any valuable scientific information while they learn English. Finally, I thought that meeting with a group of teachers would be very helpful for exchanging ideas about organization. That way, students have more possibilities and are more likely to find the organizational strategy that best facilitates their learning.

One thing I wondered about as I read this article was how I would incorporate a science notebook if my students already used a writer's notebook during another part of the day. I think it might actually be beneficial to have both notebooks (or to include them in the same notebook) because students need to understand that writing is not just confined to language arts. Writing extends to the descriptive, procedural, and explanatory texts one writes for science and other subjects. The two could even overlap when, for instance, a student decides to write a fictional story about one of his or her scientific "wonderings," creating a science fiction tale.