I love to use foldable notes, but my next favorite note-taking tool is creating diagrams. Diagrams can be created for almost any topic, such as: Earth's cycles, Earth, Sun, Moon relationships, Earth's atmosphere, the periodic table, etc.  Diagrams allow students to visualize what's happening, plus you can add notes to each part/step to explain whats happening. Drawing diagrams can be a useful tool to use for written response questions on various assessments. Throughout the year, I create diagrams for students to copy, but I also have students draw diagrams for me to assess their understanding. Students complete several large projects over the course of a school year and many of those projects involve creating a diagram. This past school year, students complete a diagram describing many features of Earth's atmosphere and a diagram showcasing a family of the periodic table. I will post pictures of these projects soon.

Diagram Examples
1. The Water Cycle Diagram-Original taken from:
     USGS Water Cycle For Kids
2. Parts of a Microscope
3. Biomes Choice Board-Option 1
4. Photosynthesis Diagram

There are many, many forms of note-taking, from the traditional bulleted lists or Venn diagrams to  labeled charts and diagrams to the interactive foldable notes. I use an assortment of all of these. My favorite method of note-taking is, of course, the interactive foldable notes. I have loved this idea for quite some time, but never knew where to start when the notes weren't pre-fabricated for me. Then, I started experimenting with lapbooking and came across a tremendous website full of ideas for templates and hundreds of foldable designs. All I had to do to was decide which format to use and how to set up the notes. Here is a link to the page of blank templates. There is a lot a valuable information on this entire site.

HOMESCHOOL SHARE Lapbooking Resources
BLANK Lapbooking Templates
Lapbooking Templates to Type On

I have a lot more to add to this page, but there is so much that I want to share, that I will need to share it as I do it in class in order to not get over-whelmed.  I will also be adding material to my TPT Store as the year commences.