I designed this assignment as an ongoing way to assess student application of effective reading strategies throughout the year. The thinking notebook is used as a reading journal where students can record, monitor, and improve the quality of their strategy usage.
The front page of this document outlines what a thinking notebook is and how it should be used in class. (It is designed for use at the middle school level and implemented across disciplines - not just in Language Arts.) The second page in this document is a very attractive exemplar of the thinking notebook being utilized. I have shared this widely at my school and many teachers have found it useful. Incredibly adaptable across disciplines and grade levels.