Science notebooks have traditionally been used for recording science lab activities, but they can be used every day, in many ways, to help students develop their writing, thinking and inquiry skills, and for teachers to assess student learning.
Summaries and Questions
Each day, have students summarize what they have learned during science. Structure this by having students record three to five facts or observations, and one or two questions they are pondering. The questions can be gathered on a classroom chart for discussion and further study. Assess summaries for misconceptions or omissions.
Comparisons
There are many opportunities for students to observe and compare. For example, students can compare individual organisms, animals from the same eco-system, structures different animals a use for mobility, food gathering or defense. Students can use grids, Venn diagrams or T-charts to find common attributes between seemingly different things.
Sorting or Categorizing
Whether studying plants or planets students can sort objects, ideas, or vocabulary related to the study. Working in pairs or small groups, the students decide the categories for themselves, and record their work. There is no right or wrong way to sort, as long as students can defend their thinking. To encourage fluid thinking, ask students to sort the same objects a second, or even third time, using new categories each time.
Diagrams
Share a variety of diagrams from textbooks and trade books with the class. Note that diagrams are more than drawings. They have titles, labels, and usually some means to show scale or size. In addition, diagrams emphasize the important aspects of a subject, and often omit nonessential details for the sake of clarity. Initially students should draw and label simple objects, such as feathers, leaves, or simple machines.
Graphs
Students can graph data from observations, information gathered over time, experiments and more. Initially, when adapting data to graphs the teacher may need to help students decide on the best type of graph to use, and how to organize and label the graph, but the ultimate goal is for students to do this for themselves.
Sequential Steps in a Process
Use digital photos or key words to help students recall and record the sequential steps in a process they have participated in or witnessed such as planting a tree or watching a monarch caterpillar go through its life cycle. A list of transitional words such as first, next, later, finally, etc., can help younger students develop vocabulary for describing a sequential process.
More Ideas
Many classroom science kits come with worksheets that can be used as a starting place for science notebook activities. When students organize their own data, explain experiences and observations in their own words, diagram what they see, and record questions that puzzle them, rather than filling in blanks on a worksheet, they not only learn science content, they learn to think and work like scientists.
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