Using No Prep Notes in Math Class

In a world where time is limited (#TeacherLife) is there anything better than activities that require no teacher prep?

No prep notes are my version of guided notes for students. I like to organize information in no prep notes so that it makes sense to students. Helps them make meaningful connections. Provides them with space to be creative and make their notes their own.

If you haven't yet you can download a free set of no prep notes here:

Writing Linear Equations Given 2 Points

I really like to include easy, actionable steps with each of my no prep note sets. This breaks the material into more easily manageable chunks. To allow for differentiation I create notes with all of the steps written out, and notes with parts of the steps left out. An example of this can be seen below. I would assign the notes on the left side to students who I know NEED to see the steps written out. I include it in easy to read text. The image in the middle is what I would give to students who have trouble paying attention in class. They still get the basic outline, but have to pay a little better attention so they know what to write where.

Adding and Subtracting Decimals Note Page

While the page shown above would be the main note page, I also like to include a practice page for students to do. Like note pages, I try to give students practice pages that are engaging. Shown below are some notes I created for finding slope from a graph. The practice page is shown on the right - as you can see these are not just questions on a page. There is a graph for students to use to find slope, and there is space for them to write out what the slope means. It takes normal "finding slope" questions to the next level by giving students more to think about, which helps them develop a deeper understanding of what slope is.

Finding Slope from a Graph No Prep Note Pages

All in all, no prep note pages are pages are pages that can be printed out, and distributed to students for easy use. There is no cutting, folding, stapling, etc required! No prep notes are great for subs as they include answer keys (with work shown!), and include steps that are written out in student friendly language. I am a big fan of interactive notebooks and these can easily be printed to fit in student composition books.

What do you think of no prep notes? As a teacher do you appreciate them or do you prefer other types of notes? Would love to hear you opinions!

I do love no prep notes, but also love foldable note pages, so I prefer to switch things up from time to time. There are things - like teaching about horizontal and vertical lines, that I HAVE to use cut out, more interactive notes for. I like to have students literally cut horizontal and vertical lines for those lessons.