Digital Notebooks for
Ancient Civilizations Made Easy
Figuring out how to teach ancient civilizations with remote learning can be overwhelming. How can you make it comprehensive, yet straight forward for your students to understand?
It feels like lesson planning overload all over again. Even if you’ve been teaching the curriculum for a few years, throwing in the digital element can knock you off balance. There’s so much pressure to make things fancy and entertaining. When you are really just trying to find the best way to teach your students without losing your sanity.
And if you’re a big fan of notebooks in your classroom like I am, there’s an extra frustration. How can you get the advantages of a notebook when you’re teaching through a camera and everything students do is on a screen? For an old-schoolie like me, who believes in the pencil to paper, digital instruction leaves another downfall in its wake.
It feels like lesson planning overload all over again. Even if you’ve been teaching the curriculum for a few years, throwing in the digital element can knock you off balance. There’s so much pressure to make things fancy and entertaining. When you are really just trying to find the best way to teach your students without losing your sanity.
And if you’re a big fan of notebooks in your classroom like I am, there’s an extra frustration. How can you get the advantages of a notebook when you’re teaching through a camera and everything students do is on a screen? For an old-schoolie like me, who believes in the pencil to paper, digital instruction leaves another downfall in its wake.
But digital instruction doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective and engaging. Creating a resource that is engaging, straight forward and comprehensive has become the goal in terms of digital learning.
In this post, I’m going to share with you how I’ve simplified my digital notebooks for ancient civilizations.
Why Digital Notebooks
Let’s go back to why we love notebooks to begin with. They’re an ideal tool for allowing students to process information and teach them organization skills at the same time. Not to mention they serve as excellent study tools for students.
When I started teaching, I always loved using notebooks, but never really gave it any thought to the structure of the notebook itself. When I first researched Interactive Student Notebooks years ago, I discovered many in science, but very few in social studies. I think it’s fair to say that that has changed in recent years... which is great because that means more students are getting the benefit of notebooks!
As I built my own system, I adapted concepts from science interactive notebooks to my social studies class. Using a structure to plan out my notebook activities made lesson planning so much easier once I got the hang of it.
When I started teaching, I always loved using notebooks, but never really gave it any thought to the structure of the notebook itself. When I first researched Interactive Student Notebooks years ago, I discovered many in science, but very few in social studies. I think it’s fair to say that that has changed in recent years... which is great because that means more students are getting the benefit of notebooks!
As I built my own system, I adapted concepts from science interactive notebooks to my social studies class. Using a structure to plan out my notebook activities made lesson planning so much easier once I got the hang of it.
Organization Skills
Notebooks are an excellent vessel for helping students learn organization skills. And as we all know, our middle schoolers need as much help as they can get!
The structure of using page numbers, dates, and titles at the top of each page helps students learn good habits for any type of learning activity.
Even students who struggle with comprehending content, can find success with their notebook organization. This boost in confidence can help them feel good about your class (as opposed to dreading something that’s hard) and allow them to go on to find success.
These skills will also carry over into other classes. One student of mine went on to use this notebook system when they were in 7th grade. When a teacher asked about what they were doing, he replied, “I learned to take notes like this in Ms. Midgley’s class. It really helps me so I do it in all my classes now.”
If that isn’t a win, I don’t know what is!
Digital notebooks can help students with organization too. It just looks a little bit different.
You can easily create a notebook by putting together a collection of Google Slides.
Obviously, you won’t want to give them 20 slides at once for the entire unit. You’ll want to give them one at a time, as they need them. After completion, students can keep them together in a particular file, in a particular order.
The structure of using page numbers, dates, and titles at the top of each page helps students learn good habits for any type of learning activity.
Even students who struggle with comprehending content, can find success with their notebook organization. This boost in confidence can help them feel good about your class (as opposed to dreading something that’s hard) and allow them to go on to find success.
These skills will also carry over into other classes. One student of mine went on to use this notebook system when they were in 7th grade. When a teacher asked about what they were doing, he replied, “I learned to take notes like this in Ms. Midgley’s class. It really helps me so I do it in all my classes now.”
If that isn’t a win, I don’t know what is!
Digital notebooks can help students with organization too. It just looks a little bit different.
You can easily create a notebook by putting together a collection of Google Slides.
Obviously, you won’t want to give them 20 slides at once for the entire unit. You’ll want to give them one at a time, as they need them. After completion, students can keep them together in a particular file, in a particular order.
Digital Notebook for Ancient Egypt available in my TpT Store.
Processing Time
I’m a big believer that students need opportunity to process and work with information before being “graded” on how well they completed a task. This is where notebooks come in for the win.
Any activity done in class is considered an opportunity to learn and process. There is very little that we do in class that is graded – unless it’s a culminating activity.
Now you might be thinking.... Huh? But hear me out!
You can’t just present information to students and then expect them to immediately perform. They need time to work with the material and process it.
This is what I’m talking about. Students are presented with new content (maybe it’s whole class, small group, in partners, or individually) and then they are given the chance to work with the information and process it in their notebooks.
Sometimes that processing looks like writing summaries, graphic organizers, guided notes, diagrams, short answers, vocabulary work, map work, etc.
I’m not going to grade students on whether or not they processed information correctly... because learning is a process.
The notebook provides opportunity to work through and understand content. Which helps make students ready to perform on more culminating tasks like projects and assessments where they are graded for accuracy.
Digital notebooks allow for the same processing. It provides students with a place to work with the content to further their understanding.
Any activity done in class is considered an opportunity to learn and process. There is very little that we do in class that is graded – unless it’s a culminating activity.
Now you might be thinking.... Huh? But hear me out!
You can’t just present information to students and then expect them to immediately perform. They need time to work with the material and process it.
This is what I’m talking about. Students are presented with new content (maybe it’s whole class, small group, in partners, or individually) and then they are given the chance to work with the information and process it in their notebooks.
Sometimes that processing looks like writing summaries, graphic organizers, guided notes, diagrams, short answers, vocabulary work, map work, etc.
I’m not going to grade students on whether or not they processed information correctly... because learning is a process.
The notebook provides opportunity to work through and understand content. Which helps make students ready to perform on more culminating tasks like projects and assessments where they are graded for accuracy.
Digital notebooks allow for the same processing. It provides students with a place to work with the content to further their understanding.
Notebooks for Studying
Why does anyone take notes in the first place?
Pretty sure the reason is to help them remember and learn something new.
How often do you take notes from an article or a book and then never look at those notes again?
If this is you, or your students, then I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but...
You’re doing it wrong.
Your students should be referencing back to their notebook regularly.
Maybe it’s to read the summary from the previous lesson in order to prepare their mind for the next lesson.
Maybe it’s to go look up the definition to that new vocabulary word that they just can’t remember yet.
Maybe it’s to find who that one guy was who created the first empire.
These are just a few examples of how you and your students should be using your notebooks on a daily basis.
Then when it comes time to prepare for the test, the notebook gives students something to work with when they go to practice with their study guide.
Digital notebooks work the same way. Instead of it being a physical notebook they can flip through, students use an on-going digital file.
Pretty sure the reason is to help them remember and learn something new.
How often do you take notes from an article or a book and then never look at those notes again?
If this is you, or your students, then I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but...
You’re doing it wrong.
Your students should be referencing back to their notebook regularly.
Maybe it’s to read the summary from the previous lesson in order to prepare their mind for the next lesson.
Maybe it’s to go look up the definition to that new vocabulary word that they just can’t remember yet.
Maybe it’s to find who that one guy was who created the first empire.
These are just a few examples of how you and your students should be using your notebooks on a daily basis.
Then when it comes time to prepare for the test, the notebook gives students something to work with when they go to practice with their study guide.
Digital notebooks work the same way. Instead of it being a physical notebook they can flip through, students use an on-going digital file.
