Second grade readers are PUMPED on our current nonfiction reading unit. Totally pumped. They’ve been waiting ALL YEAR (their words!) to get their hands on these fun and informative books, and the time has finally arrived.
You know what else has arrived? The avid use of sticky notes to jot down thoughts and questions as they read these engaging texts.
The learning curve for using said sticky notes has been pretty simple: If you feel the instant need to tell your neighbor about what you just read, then go grab a sticky note and JOT IT DOWN instead! (Pro tip: This approach also serves to cut down on interruptions during independent reading time.)
Now, the unforeseen consequence of this avid sticky note using is that when it’s time to go book shopping and you’re ready to trade out your books… what do you do with all of that evidence of learning and thinking? Do you just throw them out? Do they just get crinkled up in the corner of your book box?
No, this will not do at all!
Solution: Create a space to honor these readers’ thinking and work, and be able to save and share this work throughout the school year. I give you the… The Thoughts That I Jot folder!
:: insert trumpeting announcement here::
When they’re ready to switch books and remove sticky notes, readers choose up to six of their sticky notes that mean the most to them, and then then add these pieces of evidence to a page. They record the book title and the date, and then they slide their completed page into the folder for storage and future celebration.
We’ve only just begun this system, but it’s working pretty well so far. Thoughts and words are honored and shared, sticky notes are being taken care of, and readers are being more thoughtful about what they choose to record. Not bad for an off-the-cuff solution to a rapidly growing storage problem!
Do you use a different system in your classroom? I know that Reading Notebooks are popular in some grades, but I’m curious as to what else is out there.
Happy Tuesday!
Writing and Laughing 
I do something similar to what you describe here. I start with fiction and ask the kids to stop once or twice during their independent reading time to jot down what they’re thinking at that point. When kids finish a book they analyze their sticky notes for permanence and put those in their notebooks. Next, I ask them to pick one sticky note to write long on. Although kids have choices for celebrating having finished a book, I am asking them to do this as well. It’s one way I keep track of how they are developing their thinking about books.
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Oh, nice. I like the idea of having the kids write long about one thought of choice.
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I love this idea! Sometimes we put our sticky notes in our readers notebooks, but we use those so much that the sticky notes fall out… this seems like a great solution!
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The showers of sticky notes through the air – something we know very well! 😂😂😂 Sometimes we run out of scotch tape in our efforts to curb sticky note loss. Ah, well. We keep trying!
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