Using an Interactive Notebook to Support Sixth-Grade Writing

Abstract

When it comes to English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms, writing is a main topic of instruction. Writing is important inside and outside of the classroom, however, many students across the United States struggle with writing, including at the foundational grammar level. This study was designed to address this problem by exploring the research questions: How does the use of interactive notebooks help students to identify grammatical errors? How does the use of interactive notebooks impact sixth-grade students’ use of grammar in narrative writing? What are students' perceptions about the interactive notebook?The study was conducted over three weeks in one of my sixth-grade English Language Arts classes, with some data retroactively accessed after IRB approval due to curriculum restrictions. The participants were nine sixth-grade students in this class. During the study, the participants completed two diagnostic tests on identifying grammatical errors and wrote two narrative pieces, all designed to improve grammar usage when writing. Participants also shared written reflections on using the interactive notebooks to support their grammar. It can be concluded that interactive notebooks improve students’ use of grammar when writing narrative pieces and are positively perceived. However, the impact of interactive notebooks on grammar identification was not significant. Based on the study’s findings and conclusions, recommendations for further research and teachers were identified.