Worksheets... worksheets... worksheets...
They killed our love of learning science. We much prefer notebooking and we are super glad that the Sassafras team agrees. Even so, we have friends who love to fill out worksheet after worksheet.
So today, we have asked Paige to come back and explain why the Sassafras team has included notebooking instead of worksheets in the Sassafras Science program.
Thanks, Blaine and Tracey for inviting me back to share once again on the Sassafras Science blog!
I had no idea what notebooking was before we started homeschooling.
In fact, I was one of those freaks of nature who actually liked worksheets. Maybe it was the fact that my mom was a teacher, or maybe it was because I clearly knew what was required in my response.
I still appreciate worksheets as they have their place, but I have fallen in love with notebooking. I now understand how valuable it is to have a student narrate rather than respond with expected facts.
I wanted to share with you all today three reasons why we have chosen to use notebooking over worksheets.
There are no canned responses in notebooking. There are no blanks to fill in. There are no answers to match up. Instead, the students need to mull over what they just read to formulate a summary of what they learned. In short, notebooking requires that the students engage with the material before they write down a word.
Students are more likely to remember what the find meaningful. If they write it down, the chance of them internalizing this material goes up exponentially. Notebooking allows the freedom for the student to write down the most interesting and meaningful facts they found in what they read.
Notebooking has two key components - the material content and the visual component. The material content is what the students write, while the visual component is a picture that relates to the topic. The two pieces stimulate different parts of the brain, which helps to solidify the information in their minds.
We believe that notebooking leads to greater retention of the material because of the three reasons stated above. This is why we offer open-ended logbooks and lapbooks perfect for notebooking with the Sassafras Science series.
Thanks Paige for sharing today. We can't believe that you actually liked worksheets...BLEH!
We always knew there was something *special* about you, just kidding - luv ya!
Ok, seriously folks, we remember so much more when we notebook, and we are glad that some of our teachers agree! Plus we have proven that students have way more fun making a notebook page than filling out a worksheet. See what we mean:
Doesn't that look way more exciting than a sheet filled with fill-in-the-blanks? We think so too!
If you want to learn more about notebooking, check out the following posts:
Thanks for reading!
We love notebooking at Sassafras Science! And these ten posts on notebooking will help you understand the how's and why's of this super effective tool.
Stop what you are doing, drop what is in your hands, grab a book, and start reading! And don't forget to come celebrate DEAR Day with Sassafras Science.
