The AVID Binder

The AVID binder is a requirement for every AVID student. It becomes one of the tools for student academic
success. AVID students learn the importance of keeping a neat, complete, and organized binder. The AVID
binder is one of the first ways that teachers will be able to identify AVID students. The AVID binder should
be good quality, two-inch to three-inch binder. The reason students need to carry a larger binder is so that they
always have their notes and assignments with them to make good use of any free time during school. Students will
also need to bring their notes to tutorials twice a week.

9th Grade Binder Requirements
• One page of notes or a learning log per day for each academic class (weekly total: 20 pages).
• Agenda/calendar completed each day with daily assignments recorded for all classes plus extracurricular activities,
chores and/or other home responsibilities (effective use of different colors of highlighters required).
• Weekly and/or monthly goals may be included in agenda.
• Handouts and returned work/tests are in appropriate sections.
• Minimum supplies include pencils, pens, highlighters, colored pencils, ruler, calculator, and extra paper.
• Binder checked weekly.

Cornell Notes

One of the cornerstones of AVID in terms of strategies for success is Cornell notes. Cornell notes indeed
originated at Cornell University. This notetaking system was adopted by AVID because it was originally
created to help students be successful in college. The Cornell notetaking system is based on research
done in the area of memory and learning theory. It is a very valuable system because it takes students through the
cycle of learning. It is much more than just a way to record information. Teaching Cornell notes will take time, but
what we have learned in AVID is that by the time students leave high school and get into college, it is one of the
most valued skills they take with them. In AVID, notetaking is considered a skill and therefore will improve with
time and practice. In addition, the Cornell notetaking system incorporates what students do with their notes once
they have taken them.

Learning Logs

The learning log is a technique to help students focus on what they are learning in their classes by writing
their thoughts, reactions, and responses to class lectures, videos, or discussions. A learning log is a written
reflection of the student’s perceptions of what is being learned and how they are learning. It also provides a
record of students’ growth over time. Writing a learning log is an excellent way to help use writing as a process of
discovery and to clarify ideas. The use of the learning log in AVID is part of the philosophy of using writing as a
tool of learning. This is the origin of the common AVID saying, “How do I know what I think until I see what I
write?”

Team Building

Team building is an important component of the AVID elective class and ultimately of the whole program.
team building activities help to build the safe environment critical to AVID classrooms. Team building creates
a climate for open communication, it fosters creativity, it provides an avenue to appreciate individual
differences, it promotes trust and finally, it supports an active learning environment. Team-building activities are more critical at the beginning of the year and may become less frequent as the year
progresses.

Tutorials

AVID tutorials are a cornerstone of the program. If you don’t have tutors and tutorials, you don’t have
AVID. If you recruited AVID students based on the established guidelines, then your AVID students will
need the support of the tutorials in the AVID classroom to achieve success in their other courses. AVID
students have potential, but must also be pushed to realize that potential. They often have the desire and motivation
to succeed in rigorous coursework, but may lack the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve that success.
It is the purpose of the AVID program, and specifically of the AVID tutorials, to fill in those gaps in skills, so that
AVID students may perform at the necessary level. It is taking on this challenge that prepares them for the rigors
of college.