Lap Books!

Savvy Sentences and Perky Punctuation

Lap books are a fun and creative way for students to interact with material they are learning. According to Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience, learners remember 70% of what they say, and write, and 90% of what they do as they perform a task (Dale, 1946). To that end, interactive lap books that allow students to manipulate materials directly connected to the learning will increase their rate of retention. A quick internet search gives you hundreds of ideas on how to incorporate lapbooks into your curriculum as well as endless possibilities of what to include in them. Here are a few that I have created for use in my classroom.

Savvy Sentences and Perky Punctuation

This interactive lapbook allows for endless practice with creating the various types of sentences. The pocket holds sample sentence cards for students to self-assess.

50 States Interactive Book

50 States Interactive Book: This is a hands on approach to learning the 50 states and their capitals. Students fill in the states on a map, list key information about each of the 50 states and label the regions. Near the back, there are study pages and self-assessment pages that can be used again and again.

Parts of Speech Lapbook

Parts of Speech: This lapbook allows students to practice at home with their families to learn the parts of speech.

Comprehension Toolbox Lapbook

Comprehension Toolbox: This example allows students to master the comprehension strategies used in the reading workshop.

Writing Work Space

Writing Work Space (doubles as a privacy folder!): This book allows students to practice the various aspects of the writing process.

Whew! As you can see, I have created lapbooks for each of the content areas I teach. Lapbooks up the engagement and participation levels immediately. Yes, they take quite a bit of time to prepare and create, but the benefits are well worth it! I often get help from parents who want to be involved without being on campus. They receive an envelope with the necessary items to be prepared on Friday and on Monday, the envelope comes back with everything cut and ready to go like magic! I have also roped in the help of a few high school students looking for service hours. They show up on their late arrival days ready to work! I hope this bit of information helps you find new ways to engage your students and boost their learning! How do you/will you use lapbooks to enhance the learning in your room? I'd love to hear form you!