Note-Taking Foldable Freebie For Informational Text

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How can you transform almost any assignment into an adventure? Use foldables! Foldables are so much fun to make, and when students create their own, they seem to take more pride in their work.

Note-taking Foldables

Foldables are terrific for note-taking assignments based on informational text. The examples shown on the right were created by my students during a science unit on the rain forest. I had four subtopics I wanted them to explore; therefore, I used a four-flap foldable so they could write one question on each flap. 

Below you'll find directions for making this rain forsest foldable. It works great for taking notes on any topic that has four clear subtopics - even textbook chapters!

I usually have students create foldables from plain paper, but if you've never created this one before, you may want to use the pattern below. It has dotted lines for folding and solid lines for cutting. You can download the Rain Forest Foldable pattern from the Science File Cabinet on Teaching Resources.

How to Make a Rain Forest Foldable:

1. Give each student a large sheet of white construction paper - 12" x 18" was used in the examples above. Show your students how to fold it into eighths. (If using the pattern, have them fold on the dotted lines.)
2. Ask students to open their papers and then fold the top and bottom halves in to meet at the center. (If using the pattern, the printed side goes down.)
3. Next, show your students how to snip the fold in the middle of each flap to create a total of four flaps as shown in the photo above. (If using the pattern, cut on the two solid lines.)
4. Ask students to write the title of the foldable and their name in the large space on the back, and then flip it over and write their four subtopics on the front, one per flap.
5. If time allows, provide a few minutes for students to decorate their foldables. 
6. Demonstrate how to lift up each flap and take notes in the area under the flap. (Tip: It's helpful to draw solid lines on the folds inside the foldable to separate the four sections.)

Not only are foldables a terrific way to actively engage students, they're also great because kids can store them and refer to them later when studying for a test or completing an assignment. How might you use this foldable?