Grading Interactive Notebooks

At the end of every marking period, I collect all of my students' notebooks and grade them.  I count the notebook as 1 test grade for the marking period.  I tell my students that this is my "gift" to them.  As long as they keep their notebooks up-to-date and have all of the required elements, it should be an easy 100!  Of course, not everyone takes advantage of this "gift".  I'm hopeful that the few 7th graders who really struggled with maintaining their notebooks this year will improve as 8th graders.

This past year, I used this rubric that I found on this great blog to grade my students' notebooks each marking period:

While I liked the rubric, it really didn't fit all of my needs.  It was a little too general and didn't include anything for my Math Dictionary section (which some kids tended to skip out on).  Each marking period as I went through my 100+ notebooks, I made a list of things to use on a new rubric.  I found that some students had a hard time numbering the pages correctly.  I also found lots of doodles and some work for other classes scattered throughout the notebooks.  And, I was receiving some notebooks that were falling apart!  Missing covers, lots of missing pages...it was a nightmare!  I want my students to treat their interactive notebooks like a textbook; they are that important!

So,in June, after my final notebook collection, I went through my list and created my own rubric.  I divided the rubric into two main sections: Neatness & Organization and Required Elements.  For Neatness & Organization, the main areas of focus are: Handwriting, Doodles, Physical Condition of Notebook, and Section Content.  For Required Elements, the main areas of focus are: Beginning Pages, Notes, Miscellaneous, and Math Dictionary.  Students can score a 1, 2, or 3 in each category for a total of 24 possible points.  This rubric holds the kids much more accountable for every aspect of their notebook and is much more specific.  I am really excited to use it!  I will have them glue a copy of the rubric into the beginning of their notebooks again as a constant reminder of what is expected of them.

Here it is:

If you'd like to use it, you can get it at my TpT store or my TN store.