Guide to making a Science Notebook for high school students

Class 7 or 8 upwards, all Indian school students become used to keeping the practical workbook for Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. In some schools, they also keep scrapbooks for Environmental Sciences in middle school.  

How can you take your teenager’s practical knowledge a step further? Discover the science notebook with us.  

What is a science notebook?  
The notebook is a snapshot of the student’s understanding of a subject, with queries, discoveries and inferences. While a practical exercise book follows the class syllabus, this is the student’s own creation. It may or may not follow the syllabus and there’s no binding on keeping it from a school. But if your child keeps it and shows it to their teacher, chances are they will win recognition for their effort. It will also help them do their practical workbooks in a better way.  

What should a science notebook contain?  
The science notebook should contain detailed descriptions, data collections, references, definitions, sketches, and graphs for natural objects, animals, experiments or anything the student has observed in a scientific way.  

Descriptions: Records the setting up and results of an experiment, the details of a dissection, description of a plant species etc. 

Data collection: Extra or curriculum-based data as collected for the description, for example, the dimensions of a plant part, chemical composition of ingredients, temperature recordings etc.  

References: Notes taken from anywhere else to ramp up the current experiment.  

Terms and definitions: New terms and definitions come to life in each experiment. Once a student lists these per entry, they will create their own science glossary automatically.  

Sketches, graphs, designs: These ought to be as detailed as possible. Whiles artistic skills are important, it’s more important to be neat, clear and label the diagrams in a way that is self-explanatory. 

Observations and conclusions: Each experiment has an observation section and a celar conclusion.  

Why is the Science Notebook useful?  
Structured scientific writing supports logical thinking, a life skill the student can use forever. Notebooks also help in keeping study material organised, and in last minute test prep for practical exams, as they are compilations of definitions and notes with diagrams. They also teach kids to love a subject beyond class instructions.