Science Notebooks • FOSS Consumable Notebooks • Other Sources of Information

Science Notebooks

A student’s science notebook is a personal record of learning during a FOSS module.  For students, the notebook is, first of all, a place to record and organize observations and data.  Second, students generate a sequential exposition of their reasoning and conclusions that relates to the science data they record.  And finally, the notebook provides a place for students to write reflections about their thinking and the meaning they derived from the science experiences.

Science notebooks provide benefits to teachers, too.  Notebooks present opportunities for students to exercise and demonstrate skills developed in other areas of the curriculum, such as mathematics, language development, and art.  The important skills of vocabulary development, reading, and writing are applied continuously in the notebook.  The notebook record provides an authentic body of student work for assessment of written language and science content understanding.

Suggestions for initiating or expanding your use of science notebooks, or gleaning ideas for improving student understanding through the use of science notebooks, can be found in the FOSS Science Notebooks Folio. (1.8 MB PDF file)

FOSS Consumable Science Notebooks for Students

To help teachers get started with science notebooks, Delta sells bound, consumable science notebooks for students. Each notebook is specific to a module, includes a table of contents, all the student sheets (from the duplication masters in the teacher guide), and additional blank pages for students to record their data, thinking, and conclusions.  Benefits and features of the FOSS consumable science notebooks include:

• An easy way to get started with science notebooks
• Available for each K–6 FOSS Module
• Available in English and Spanish
• Three-hole drilled for inserting into a binder
• Pages are perforated for easy removal
• Class packs of 32 include the FOSS Science Notebook Folio

Science Notebooks can be ordered from Delta Education.

FOSS consumable Science Notebook, each $5.95
Class Pack (32 Notebooks for module plus Folio) $169.95

Other Sources of Science Notebook Information

Connecting FOSS and Science Notebooks: A South Carolina Experience, by Jeri Calhoun and Ellen Mintz. FOSS Newsletter, Fall 2003.

"Project Notebook," by Mintz, E., and Calhoun, J. Science and Children, November/December 2004, pp. 30–34. (Online access requires NSTA membership.)

Science Notebook website. North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP). http://www.sciencenotebooks.org/

Science Notebooks: Writing about Inquiry, by Brian Campbell and Lori A. Fulton. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 2003. ISBN 0325005680.

"Student-Centered Notebooks," by Fulton, L., and Campbell, B. Science and Children, November/December 2004, pp. 26-29. (Online access requires NSTA membership.)

Writing in Science:  How to Scaffold Instruction to Support Learning, by Betsy Rupp Fulwiler.  Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 2007.  ISBN 9780325010700.