Interactive Notebooks in Algebra 2

I started having my Algbebra 2 students keep an Interactive Notebook for our Unit 3. I know I started a bit late, but I am flipping my classroom and the note packet for Unit 1 had too much extra information. The videos for Unit 1 were too long for my liking. In Unit 2, I started going in a different direction from the traditional textbook. Units are now based in concept development instead of topic development. So, I grouped all solving in one unit. All factoring is in another unit. Transforming parent functions are another unit. In this way, I can show the connections to all forms of functions and not expect the connection to be made by students as we hit each topic (quadratics, polynomials, conics, etc. ). It, also allows me to focus on a concept for all function types and then tie in a previous concept and not have to reteach for a particular function type.  I can say, solve this equation regardless of parent function and have students graph the solutions (x-intercepts) and write The  equation as a function and then graph the related vertex/inflection point and 2 surrounding points based on vertical and horizontal stretch, y-intercept or other facets of the function. 

Since my teaching has gone off textbook and the way it is presented and developed through practice and application is quite different, I needed a way to group the notes so they were accessible and wouldn't be lost in students binders. The Interactive Notebook allows me to be concise and students have a place to go that is ordered and bound together. The concepts are on foldable and colorful sheets which allow students brains to associate a color with a concept and make it easier to visualize the information versus having all notes on white paper with black ink and writing in pencil or pen. That consistency doesn't allow one concept to look different from the others. The table of Contents and Unit sheets allow students to find the concepts in the INB (Interactive Notebook). The color of the page helps students to flip through the notebook and find that particular note sheet by color, as well. 

As we move forward in the year, we will be backfilling concepts in the INB, since we started on page 34 with Unit 3. My hope is that the INB will be helpful for students during their time in algebra 2 and be a valuable resource for them in PreCalc and Calculus, too.   Time will tell.