Composition Notebook are a fantastic resource for young students. They are small enough to fit in student tables and can be utilized for any subject. I’ve learnt a lot of amusing composition book tips and tricks throughout the years.
What Is A Composition Notebook?
A composition notebook, sometimes known as a composition book, is a blank notebook intended for use by students. It features a stitched binder and lined pages. The pages are not perforated, and there are no extras like pockets or stickers supplied. The notebooks have board covers, indicating that they are constructed of thick paper. They can flex at times, and both others will almost appear to fracture if bent.
The black and white “marble” print on the covers of the composition notebook is perhaps the most important, or at least the most recognized, feature of the notebook.
Composition notebooks are typically inexpensive. They are the type of notebooks that a school would purchase in quantity and distribute to kids as part of their back-to-school kit, together with workbooks and other important school supplies.
White pages with blue lines were almost always used in composition notebooks. They are almost never blank, grid, or dot grid. The notebooks are frequently sold in wide rule but can also be found in college rule, which makes sense given that the average user is a grade school student.
Because these notebooks have been manufactured for so long and by so many businesses, practically any piece can differ from what is mentioned above. After all, it’s 2021, therefore many have tinkered with the formula and created high-end and ironic twists on the composition book. They come in any color marble print, have flexible covers, and some even have graph paper inside.
Who Is the Creator of the Composition Notebook?
The black and white marbled notebook, which we identify as a composition notebook, is widely attributed to Roaring Spring, a Pennsylvania-based paper goods manufacturer. They began by making their writing notepad. The company was started in 1865 in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, and their notebook is dubbed “The Original.”
What’s the best part? Roaring Spring continues to sell composition books.
The evolution of a well-known and beloved notebook, from 19th-century Europe to a modern simple layout. There’s something comfortable about how paper notebooks don’t evolve with each update and upgrade like our computers do. A 200-year-old notepad is comparable to a new one.
The composition book, with its traditional black and white marbled cover, is the epitome of ageless notebook design. It is used in books and films to indicate that secrets, mysteries, and revelations are contained within the pages. It’s the Moleskine’s rebellious adolescent cousin. They are not intended for briefcases, but rather for the scribblings of artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Pentagram, a London-based design firm, is also a fan. Michael Beirut, a partner, claims to have been utilizing composition books since 1982. Aron Fay of Pentagram is so intrigued with bi-chromatic books that he decided to recreate them.
Fay’s modern composition book reinvents the plain cover with a very minimal, 21st-century aesthetic. “These notebooks haven’t changed all that much since they came into being centuries ago,” Fay describes the composition book and adds, “They have a 180+ year history of being produced using the most economical manufacturing methods available.”
What Size Do Composition Notebooks Come In?
These notebooks are usually always the same size; however, they do not follow traditional paper and notebook dimensions. This item measures 7.5″ wide by 9.75″ tall (190 mm x 250 mm).
The popular Oxford composition notebook, for example, is 7.5 x 9.75 inches. That’s roughly the size of a B5 notebook, but not quite – it’s a touch narrower. The Mead notebook has the same dimensions as the Amazon Basics notepad.
What kind of paper do they use?
Composition notebooks are often inexpensive; thus, it is not strange that they use inexpensive paper. This paper is typically white with blue lines, indicating that it is “ruled.” The paper is typically rough, gritty, highly absorbent (making it ideal for fountain pens), and very light. The paper is typically 54 gsm in weight.
7 Composition Book Tips for the Classroom
halve the composition book
Young learners frequently require only a portion of a notebook page, so cutting them in half gives you more bang for your dollars. I’m fortunate to have a father who will cut my notepad in half. If you don’t know anyone who can do it, you can take them to a copy shop and have them do it for you for a modest cost. For reading responses, word work, and guided writing exercises, I keep these little notebooks at our reading table.
Making Use of Tabs
If you use the notebook for multiple subjects, tabs can be handy. Tabs, for example, can assist you in keeping arithmetic and word work distinct in your composition book. Folding a little rectangular piece of cardstock and stapling it to a page is an easy technique to construct tabs.
Tabs can also be used to divide subjects within subjects. In a writing notebook, for example, you could have tabs for narrative, informational, and persuasive writing.
Bookmark on a Ribbon
When using a notebook, it can be difficult to find the page where you left off. A bookmark can be useful in this situation. Paper bookmarks are easily misplaced. A ribbon bookmark is an excellent answer to this issue.
I do this by taping a ribbon on the back of the notebook. Duct tape works best because it is strong and holds the ribbon in place. Many colorful duct tape designs are available, making it appealing to young learners.
Tape the sides together
Students who utilize many composition notebooks may become confused as to which notebook is whose. Putting various colored tape on the spine of the notebook might assist your kids clearly identify which notebook to grab.
Interior Pockets
When you have loose papers or mini-books to add to your notebook, pockets are ideal. Your pupils can create a pocket page by doing the following:
- Fold the top right corner of a page backward, diagonally.
- Glue the sides of the folded paper to the backside.
- Place the adhesive side behind the folded paper on the next page.
- Allow it to dry before using the pocket page.
Remove the Inside Pages
My son’s second-grade teacher taught me how to cut the interior pages. She had slashed the top right corner of the notepad pages diagonally. The pages were sliced to various sizes, as illustrated in the image below.
I created lines to show where the pages were cut, however the chopped pages can be seen without the lines.
Make them Participatory
If you can make the composition books interactive, you will gain greater support from your pupils because they will be actively involved in the creation of their notebooks. More information on how we use interactive notebooks in our classroom may be found here.
Conclusion
Students of all levels are required to have composition notebooks, albeit these books only need to take the form of laborious composition notebooks on occasion. Utilize innovative new techniques to maximize workplace and classroom effectiveness. Select a composition book suitable for the type of work that will be done in class.
