Anecdotal records are an important component of our day-to-day assessments. However, keeping track of our notes can be the bane of our existence! Many teachers are on a quest to find the “best” system for keeping records and after seeing and trying several alternatives, we can assure you, the “best” record keeping system is the one that works for you. This page will feature some of the systems that teachers share with us in the different schools and districts that we visit.
In this system, records for four students can be quickly and easily accessed on one page. The teacher organizes students according to their guided reading groups so that she can quickly jot down notes during her small group instruction. With this system, notes are kept on an index card which is added onto, however, if notes are jotted on another card, it can be easily added to the child’s slot in the teacher’s notebook. The convenient small size of the index cards makes it easy for teachers to lay out recent records and assess the big picture of the needs of students in a guided reading group or whole class to make decisions about future instruction. 
