Why I Love Spiral Notebooks
along with several tips to help make this system work in your space
Those first couple years of teaching, I was the stereotypical teacher with piles of papers on my desk.
Hastily-graded exit tickets ready to be passed back and still-to-be-graded essays taunting my weekends next to unstapled-as-of-yet printouts of readings for the upcoming week and mandatory ”please pass these out today” handouts from the main office (since English teachers always ending up distributing these things?) as well as hastily-scribbled labels to try and distinguish one pile from another pile and class periods within each pile and no-name papers that still needed to be claimed before all the piles, inevitably, really became one pile until at some point the piles on the desk would be shoved by yours truly into a cabinet out of pure frustration just to…
Make space for more piles.
I wish this was an exaggeration, but the combination of my inexperience in those early years and my still-very-real struggle to efficiently pass out papers in my classroom?
It was quite a predicament for some time.
Enter: spiral notebooks.
The last several years, there has been one system in our classroom that has probably done more to relieve my own stress and guilt than any other while at the same time creating a foundation to build some really cool learning experiences for students—and this spiral notebook system also happens to be the one I get the most requests to write about, despite it not being flashy or innovative at all, in my estimation.
(Seriously, though: I just got a message from a reader while drafting this requesting an overview of this spiral notebook system!)
So here we go today, finally: four reasons why I love our system of spiral notebooks—along with some quick tips to help make this system work in your own classroom.
⓵ Spirals are part of our community building
One of the first things we do each year with the spiral notebooks in our classroom is to tape a “classmate roster” inside them, one that includes not only the names of each student in the class period but also their top value and an “interesting or boring fact”—their choice!—in order to make-tangible the value of community in our room.
Community starts with knowing each other’s names—so why not keep them handy in the spiral notebooks?
However, it is not just about the taped-in roster. Rather, the fact that each student has this tangible tool in their spiral notebook opens the door to so many other collaborative activities we do in the classroom that gets students out of their seats, sharing work with classmates, and building the type of learning environment that raises the ceiling on what the classroom can be.
Finally, one more small detail I want to mention: the label of the spiral notebook that they tape on (see above-right image) has our classroom core values listed with reflective questions, creating yet another a tool in the spiral for students to refer back to reflectively throughout the course while at the same time centering our core beliefs throughout the school year quite literally by taping them onto the center of the front cover.
Some spiral tips for this section:
Regardless of the particulars, having a plan of where and how students will label their spiral notebooks consistently is something that will save you a ton of headaches later on.
The classmate roster is such a win to include in the spiral notebook, and for those curious I get their top values and interesting-or-boring fact from this opening survey activity that I wrote about for Edutopia.
One more tip: print out some extra labels and rosters, too, and leave a bit of room on those rosters so that you’re ready for any students who transfer in. You can even set up a couple classroom spirals in advance, which is a great way to make the student who suddenly shows up two months in feel welcomed right away. (Shout out to for making me think about how to be more intentional in supporting students who move in, by the way!)
⓶ Spirals can be structural building blocks
When students walk into our classroom each day, they go to the back counter where the spirals are organized in bins by class period and then in groups by last name; they grab their spiral and take a seat, turning to the Table of Contents to record the day’s lesson before we set up a new page and dive into whatever we are going to do.
Before students leave? They complete what we call a “takeaway” in our room—often either applying the skills we have been working on or moving through a metacognitive reflection of how they feel about what they learned that class period. Then the spirals go back in the bins unless students need to take them home, and the class heads out the door.
A pretty simple structure, yes, but I think there’s something important in this routine.
One of the paradoxes I talk about most as a teacher is around the idea of flexibility, as I believe that having strong, consistent structures within your classroom is actually what creates true, sustainable flexibility.
There are so many things we do in our classroom between this opening and closing sequence! And if I’m being honest: the consistency of our opening and closing routine is very much what makes possible the more flexible and innovative things we do in between. (Including many I’ve shared on this blog over the years!)
Some spiral tips for this section:
Super important: do whatever you can to make sure that every single student has a spiral notebook that can stay in your classroom (unless they need it for studying or make-up work). I don’t want to get stuck in the school supplies debate, so all I’ll say is this that for me it is 110% worth it to do whatever you can to get your hands on enough spirals so that every student has one, no questions asked.
If you’re in a school where many teachers have spiral notebooks in their classrooms, be careful about students who try to get one of those super-large spirals that they can use for several classes—as this can break the routine of using it in your room if/when they need to turn it in for other teachers, etc.
We add a new Table of Contents page (see image in top-left of this section) for each unit. While some teachers have them handwrite their Table of Contents pages, I find it easier to have the printed version that includes the self-reflection question to complete at the end of the unit. Also, whenever we add a new Table of Contents, I have them fold a piece of colored tape over the top—making sure to provide a different color for each unit to make it easy to access units over the school year within the spiral.
⓷ Spirals prioritize friction and reflection for students
Amidst all the hype and momentum around AI tools that seem to increasingly be proliferating our schools, in response I find myself relying upon my own gut instinct around what’s best for student learning: more friction and more reflection.
The good thing? Our spiral notebook system is the exact “infrastructure” I need to center these two priorities in our classroom.
Whereas an over-reliance on Chromebooks and other technology schools can lead to bleary-eyed scrolling and clicking as students try to complete tasks as independently and efficiently as they can, the spiral notebook creates a space for students to slow down:
“Highlight three key words from the notes you just took—then share with your partner why you picked those three words.”
“As you read, make three annotations, explaining your thinking around each.”
“Be prepared to leave your annotations on your desk for classmates to see and learn from with a silent desk gallery walk afterwards.”
“Look back over the exit ticket you just completed for your takeaway—on a scale of 1-5, how confident do you feel about what you just did?”
These are just four of the myriad ways we use spirals to create friction in our learning process along with embedding metacognitive reflection opportunities.
In this current moment of education? I look at friction and reflection as essential, and I very much believe the spiral notebook is the best vehicle to access them in our classroom.
Some spiral tips for this section:
Yes, using the spiral interactively with highlighters and having them tape in short texts to close-read requires, unavoidably, highlighters and tape. For me, the easiest thing is to create a small container of supplies for every group, but I know other teachers who just have a supply area of the room. Either works—but have a plan for this!
Modeling what you expect of students with their spiral set-up visually is really important, too. I try to include visuals with instructions in our lesson slide decks, but I often also demonstrate with our make-up spiral and then follow-up by having them do quick “peer checks” to make sure they taped in what they needed to, added highlights, etc. This matters the most in the opening weeks of the school year, too, so I’d recommend taking your time to model frequently.
The other thing I try to avoid: extensive note-taking. Less can be more, and I’d honestly rather have students work with more-targeted notes, interacting and discussing what they find meaningful about them, than have them copying pages upon pages only to regurgitate them on some quiz or exam—and then summarily forget. Maybe that’s just me, but I think we can do more, sometimes, by intentionally doing less.
⓸ But for you? Spiral notebooks can be a game changer
Remember those piles and piles of papers being stuffed in a cabinet only to be replaced with more piles of papers on my desk?
No longer a thing for me—and that shift happened pretty much around the time I shifted to a spiral notebook system. I now go through spirals and review student work (with an emphasis on the “takeaway” applications and reflections) at the end of each unit rather than scrambling to collect and keep track of every daily assignment students complete. This then frees up time for me to focus more on assessments and providing quality feedback—a quite worthwhile focus, too, I’d argue!
The other thing I really lean on having used this system for several years now: creating an maintaining an updated make-up spiral notebook in my classroom for students to use when returning from an absence. Though all notes and activities are also available in our LMS platform (currently: Canvas) it is much more accessible for many students to flip through the make-up spiral in our classroom instead.
(Also: I find the make-up spiral really helpful as a physical guide of what we have done each day—especially at the busiest points of the year for me as a teacher!)
Some spiral tips for this section:
Create a spiral rubric grade that works well for your classroom context and potentially include it as part of your labeling/set-up process—and of course, if you are on a team of teachers, make sure to norm on this!
Having students self-assess their spiral at the midway point of a unit is always an activity that pays off by the time you get to the end; I know other teachers who build this into their weekly routine, too, often on Mondays or Fridays.
Finally, for making the make-up spiral more manageable, I’ve leaned on the hard copy notes/instructions that I' already have to print out for several students in each class. By printing an extra copy of these each lesson, I just tape them in afterwards and avoid having to handwrite everything out myself.
A few closing thoughts on spirals
I don’t think anything in this post with our spiral notebook system is particularly innovative—especially since I’ve spent a lot of time with AVID training and seen so many cool ways of employing spiral notebooks intentionally in classrooms, quite often in ways that surpass my own systems!
I want to also be clear that we do use technology plenty in our classroom, but in having a strong spiral notebook system I feel like it allows me to be selective and intentional about when we open our Chromebooks rather than leaning on them as the foundational system of our learning environment—which I would argue happens too often right now in classrooms. (But I’ll save that rant for another day!)
Finally, I’m happy to clarify or add more details for anyone who is trying to create or improve their own spiral notebook system. I don’t presume to have all the answers, but I know that even in a post as long and detailed as this one, there have to be things I left out. Don’t hesitate to send me an email or message if you have follow-up questions!
As always, too, feel free to leave your own suggestions and ideas in the comments! While I feel great about how spiral notebooks are going right now in our classroom, I never want to find myself treading water—so if you have something worth sharing, please do!
Finally, some education must-reads of late
Quickly, I want to point out five pieces that caught my attention in the best of ways recently—check them out if you get a chance! (Also: feel free to recommend more in the comments, too.)
Adrian Neibauer’s piece on the first week in his classroom this year. I mean it, go read this and tell me you wouldn’t want this foundation for yourself or your own child to start 5th grade!
Bringing Joy Into Our Schools: A Conversation with Gholdy Muhammad. This post/conversation at Cult of Pedagogy had me smiling and imagining throughout—with conviction, too, as well as urgency.
For looking for things to listen to about AI, I’d point you here: the episode BS Universities: The Future of Automated Education from The Human Restoration Project. I was laughing and frustrated and hopeful all at once with this, several times over.
Speaking of AI, featured a perspective from his own former student who happens to be an incoming freshman at college this year. (1) How cool is that? and (2) let’s keep platforming and centering the voices of students in as many ways as we can.
Finally, a bit of a Down Under somewhat-self-plug? I had a chance to talk with a former guest on The Broken Copier, Julie Arnold, on her podcast Hoops of Steel—aimed at English teachers in Queensland, Australia!—about building a culture of student-centered collaboration in the classroom. What a blast it was to have this chat!
That’s all for now as I get back to planning for my own upcoming school year. Cheers!
Our school supply list includes two composition books, but I prefer spiral books, and I want them all the same color. So I use my supply money to buy the spirals for writing notebooks. All those shiny covers make me giddy.
Instead of spirals I have composition notebooks (which are provided and also stay in classroom), because pages don’t rip out easily during transporting them in and out of crate.
How long are your periods?
I wish to build in a daily written (instead of verbal) reflection but 45 minutes is such little time for 11 years olds as it is.
Would love to see what rubric you use for notebook checks on organization etc. Thank you!