How can you transform almost any assignment into an adventure? Use foldables! Foldables are so much fun to make, and when students create their own, they seem to take more pride in their work. One type of foldable that’s super easy to use is a four-flap foldable for taking notes. This type of foldable is especially effective with informational text.
The examples shown on the right were created by my students during a science unit on the rain forest. I had four subtopics I wanted them to explore; so I used a four-flap foldable and asked them to write one of the rain forest research questions on each flap.
Follow the directions below to teach your students how to create a Rain Forest Research foldable. This method also works well for creating a note-taking foldable for any topic that has four clear subtopics – even textbook chapters! I usually have students create foldables from plain paper, but if you’ve never created this one before, you may want them use the free Rain Forest Research printable below which has dotted lines for folding and solid lines for cutting.
How to Make a Rain Forest Foldable:
- Give each student a large sheet of white construction paper. The examples above were created with 12″ x 18″ paper. Show your students how to fold it into eighths. (If you decide to use the pattern on the right, have your students fold it on the dotted lines.)
- Ask students to open their papers and then fold the top and bottom halves in to meet at the center. (If using the pattern, the printed side goes down.)
- Next, show your students how to snip the fold in the middle of each flap to create a total of four flaps as shown in the photo above. (If using the pattern, cut on the two solid lines.)
- Ask students to write the title of the foldable and their name in the large space on the back, and then flip it over and write their four subtopics or research questions on the front, one per flap. Refer to the Rain Forest Foldable template to see the four questions I used with my students.
- If time allows, provide a few minutes for students to decorate the outsides of their foldables.
- Demonstrate how to lift up each flap and take notes in the area under the flap. (Tip: It’s helpful to draw solid lines on the folds inside the foldable to separate the four sections.)
Not only are foldables a terrific way to actively engage students, they’re also great because kids can store them and refer to them later when studying for a test or completing an assignment. How would you use this 4-flap foldable with your students?
