Science Notebooks in the classroom are a PERFECT TOOL for students to have! All you need is a bunch of composition notebooks (most of them you can find super cheap everywhere) where students throughout the year can put all there science work into. This also can provide a portfolio for them throughout the year to show off to their parents, faculty and stuff, etc. Science Notebooks are a great tool for inquiry based learning in your science classroom. Looking on Pinterest there are millions of ways to set up a science notebook for your students.
This specific one I found is by a kindergarten teacher in Texas and she blogged on her blog about the way she did it in her class. I liked how clean and cute hers was for her classroom.
![](http://crisscrossapplesauce.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55111563088340134855d05bb970c-pi)
Here she has labels on all the notebooks with the kids names on it
(The only thing I might change it for kids to possible create their own science covers, it might be harder for younger ones but older ones it would be great!)
Here is Science Expectations, that she goes over in the beginning or the year and gets students to glue this in their notebook. Also each student has to sign off on a science contract to have in their notebook as well.
This is great way for students to feel responsible for their own stuff beginning at a younger age. In the early grades, I would keep the notebooks in the classroom just so they won't get lost or messed up. However, in the upper grades, you could use this for homework assignments, parent communication, etc. Science notebooks and any subject matter notebooks have endless possibilities that students can do in the classroom.
Source:
http://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/2010/07/getting-my-science-notebooks-ready.html