How to Set Up Your Math Interactive Notebook

I started using math notebooks in 2010. I wanted one place for my students to keep all of their notes and work so that they could use it as a reference whenever they needed it. It evolved over time into what I am sharing with you today.

I let the students make a cover page to personalize their notebook.

They then use the next four pages for the table of contents where they write the date, topic and what page that topic can be found on.  After those four pages, the students start numbering their pages.

The last five pages are used as an index for vocabulary words.  The pages are folded into fourths and each column is assigned a letter.  The students list the vocabulary word and the page that it can be found on.

I would stock up of tabs and each new unit would get a new tab that students labeled with the topic. I taught them to use only a 1 in. piece of tape to add the INB page to their notebooks (although they often used larger pieces...)

Almost all of the student notes are taken on foldable notebook pages. Here are a few examples of pages I used in my class. 

Note: you'll notice that the following page is on graph paper. Many of my students chose to use the gridded notebooks as it was easier to do their problems within the grid.

I hope this motivates some of you to start using a notebook for math.  If you already notebook, tell us some ideas that work for you.  

You can find the pages seen here, plus many more in my TpT store.