I came across the lapbook idea a few years back and felt it would be very useful in my classroom. Lap books are file folders that record student learning on a topic. I use lapbooks the most in Science and Social Studies. Basically, I teach one small component of the topic a day and then the students complete the activity that goes with it and glue it into their lapbook. At the end of the unit the students then have a record of their learning. We use the lapbook to review what we have learned.
We recently completed a mini lapbook on butterflies. I always let the students do their own cutting and gluing, but I know the books would turn out neater if I did the cutting and gluing ahead of time. I fight with myself all the time because I know that kiddos need to take ownership of their work, but my micromanaging teacher side wants them to be uniform and neat. As you can see, my "let the kids have ownership" side wins every time! Lapbook downloads are available from
Hands of a Child in a million different topics. These would also make great home projects if you want your child to do some extra learning over breaks.
Here is a picture from the Hands of a Child website that shows a very nice lapbook on Beavers.
They can be very large and use two folders taped together, or small using one folder depending on the time available. I usually try to do two a year, a small one at the beginning of the year, and then a larger one in the spring. Overall, I like how the lapbooks provide another way to make learning memorable for the kids
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