5th Grade Social Studies Interactive Notebook Example CSCOPE 5th Grade Social Studies Unit 08, Lesson 01 
You may opt to use a spiral notebook or a composition book. Students should mark their name on the cover. 
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A student and parent signed contract is useful and can be glued into the front inside cover. An editable version of this document is available on the District Social Studies webpage. The very first sheet is used as a cover for the Interactive Notebook and should include the student’s name and symbols, drawings, writings that reflect the interests of the student. It should not be numbered. 
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The first page of the notebook should be numbered – one (1). The left‐ side of the notebook will be numbered with odd numbers and the right‐side will be numbered with even numbers. Full instructions on the left‐side, right‐side orientation and the cycle for the Interactive Notebooks can be found on the District Social Studies webpage. This first page is typically used for a Table of Contents. NOTE: This is an example from 2nd Grade. The Table of Contents in English and Spanish for all grade levels are posted on the District Social Studies webpage. 
Every new Unit begins with a cover page on the right‐side. I typically create some graphic, image, map or tool that is integral to the lesson and speaks to the meaning of the entire Unit. NOTE: In this case, students will be learning about the causes and effects of Westward Expansion. The map below is from the Nystrom Our Country’s History Map Set. The map is also available on the District Social Studies webpage. 
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REMEMBER: Any day’s activities that are included in the Interactive Notebook will begin on the left‐side. In essence, every day uses two sheets of paper. The ENGAGE (Warm‐up, Focus, Starter) for each lesson will be posted on the top left‐side of the next page. You will then move to the right‐side of the notebook where the main activity or lesson of the day will be glued in. This may be an EXPLORE, EXPLAIN or ELABORATE activity. You will use the full page for this activity. CLOSED VIEW OPEN VIEW 
You will then return to the first page of the lesson to complete the day’s lesson (EVALUATE‐Closure, Exit‐Ticket, etc). 
If the lesson requires multiple days of instruction, you may continue onto subsequent pages (always beginning a new day’s lesson on the left) until you conclude with the Performance Indicator. Day 2 Left‐Side Right‐Side (map on EISD website) Day 3 Left‐Side Right‐Side Day 4 Left‐Side Right‐Side Day 5 Left‐Side Right‐Side Day 6 Left‐Side Right‐Side (Layered) Day 7 Left‐Side Right‐Side  Every lesson ends with a performance indicator. The performance indicator will close the unit on the left‐side. NOTE: In this lesson, the product students will be creating (a board game) is too large to fit into an interactive notebook. Instead, I used the page for students to brainstorm and map out their plan before creating their final product.  You can then create a title page for the next lesson or unit on the right‐side.  The next lesson will begin on the left‐side.