I’m tired of using a textbook. I’m tired of the students going home and having absolutely no idea what they learned in school. It’s ridiculous how they literally forget everything that was taught. I finally decided my students need math notes. I am always looking for ideas for math notebooks and figured- you may be as well!
Why are math notes important?
Math notes have become a staple in my classroom. In fact, teachers all over the world are using them. The number one question I constantly get asked about is “how the [heck] do you use math notes?” A lot of times teachers talk to me and tell me they are stressed and don’t know how to implement, how to use, or when to use them.
5 Ideas for Math Notebooks
The first thing you need to understand is…are all of these notes the same? The short answer is nope. I have so many different notes just for my class alone. Why? Well…I need one for ESE/SPED students, a digital one for distance learning, one where they can practice, one where they can take notes, and one where they copy straight into their notebook.
Math Notebooks 1:
Paper based math notes are where I first started. In fact, they started out with just notes in their composition notebook. It was great for my students…however, I noticed that my students with bad handwriting never could reread their notes. Some of my students always needed more of a template for their math notes. These notes were good…but not the best. How can we as educators do better without working harder?
Math Notebooks 2:
One of my absolute favorite notes were the template ones. There have been many updates on my notes but in the beginning, they had blank spaces to write, an I do section for the teacher, a We Do section to complete as a class and a you do section for the students.
How was this helpful? The students were able to take notes and I could take a template and provide it to my SPED students. I could also provide the parents with a teacher’s note so that the students can actually work with their family at home on the skill. I also really did enjoy doing this because I was able to write helpful hints/notes to my students.
The downside of these notes is that I spent a ridiculous amount of time waiting for the students to copy the notes. The students can be so slow and sometimes need a push. This ended up leading me to option #3.
Math Notebooks #3
This year, my math notes needed an update. I know- why would I update them? Well- I needed a way to save time. The kids need more time to practice the skill not just take notes.
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What did I change? Well- I added the words in there for the steps. How will this help me? Now, the handwriting is clean (it’s typed) and will be able to glue this into his notebook and take it home to use. I love that it still has the teacher I do…the class we do…and the student you do. The parents will be able to actually read the notes. They will be able to work through the notes together and practice the skill together.
Math Notebooks #4
At the time of writing this, my school district is going with distance learning. I needed a way to make my available during this time so I ended up creating my notes in a digital version. I plan on using my notes during distance learning. When we return, I may keep these notes so that I don’t actually touch the students paper (or their germs). I love that I can attach these in Google Classroom and then the students can refer to this as often as they need to.
Math Notebooks #5
Last but not least, are notebook sorts. A notebook sort allows student to practice the skill and then find the answer from a cutout.
How are these helpful? Well, these will actually be used as a math rotation. Students will need something to use when they are doing small groups, but they are remaining at their
Why do we need notes?
- Support student learning
- Review notes when they forget something
- Refer to at home
- Support parent learning
- Help support ESE students
- Quick help with accommodations
Math Notes = Life
This is my 5th year using math notes in my classroom. Each year I get better at using the math notes. I use a variety of them in my classroom and all of them support the learning of the children in my room.
How can you get notes?
One thing that you can do is create them. Start small. Work only by writing the notes in the notebook. It’s where I started and I love it. After that, you can progress to typing your notes. If you want to try the notes out yourself, you can check them out on my store or you can download 3 lessons for free below!
