In the middle of the last school year, I was looking for something to get my students more engaged in science. We were doing every experiment in the book plus some extras I found, but I wanted my students to interact with the material in the textbooks more. After some research, I found the idea of using science sketchbooks. Here's how it worked for us.
1. Provide sketchbooks for students. (This could also be just blank copier paper with holes punched in it in a 3 ring binder.).
2. After the science lesson, sketch the main concept on a piece of paper. Model this by doing it yourself in your sketchbook for a smaller class, or on the board for a larger one. Go slowly enough that they can follow you and draw exactly what you are drawing. Narrarate it as you are drawing it so that the students can do it at the same time. Example: "Draw the fire in red. Now draw the water in blue and make bubbles and steam going up to show that it's boiling. Draw arrows to show the boiling water going to the piston . . . etc."
3. Use colored pencils and label parts.
4. Write down any vocabulary words along with a brief definition.
5. Use arrows to show motion!
6. Review all the sketches for whatever chapter or unit you are on at the beginning of every science lesson to aid retention.
Not only was this quite enjoyable to do, but it really helped us understand the concepts better and retain the information longer. Here is a video of what we did in class for the last several chapters in our science sketchbooks.
