My Top 15 Organizational Tips for
Teachers!
You don't know me, but if you did, you would know that I love being organized, especially in my classroom! These
are some of my favorite tricks for staying organized at school…
My Teacher Survival Kit will help
you stay organized all year!
§ When making your Back to School or Homework Folders, notebooks and so on, make a few extras. You will get new students and
now you’re ready for them! If you have any extra desks in your room, keep a set
of whatever a new student would need in the empty desks!
§ Keep a clipboard with several student lists (you
printed from your attendance or created). Label them for HW,
Reading Logs, Field Trip Permission, Behavior Contracts, and whatever else you
need returned/signed by a parent. Check off each name as it’s returned and keep the returned copies in one spot/basket, paper clipped by type. No more wondering if a student brought back a form or where you put that stack!
§ Use sticky notes to remind you of upcoming
meetings and so on. Keep them right on your desk for a reminder. Make a to do
list… If you didn’t get it done, you know what you need to work on, and if you
did get it done, it’s the best feeling to cross it off!
§ Instead of YOU passing out all the papers. Have
one boy and one girl stand in the front of the room. Split the pile in half.
Tell the girls to line up in front of the boy and the boys to line up in front
of the girl to receive their paper. If it’s several handouts, line them on a
table or set of desks. Have the students rotate through, just like an assembly
line!!! After a few times, your students will have this system down, and it
gives you a minute to grab the next thing or blow your nose and so on…😊
§ You know all those handouts we get at PD meetings
that we don’t know what to do with?? Our principal gave it to us so we don’t
want to toss it, but don’t know what we need it for yet… Keep a folder on your
desk for them and label it. If you ever need it, you know it’s in that folder!
§ Simplify your life! Research shows that a
clutter free environment, with less stimulation on the walls, is a better
learning environment for children. If you haven’t used it in 2 years– GET RID
OF IT NOW!!! Take that poster with the peeling laminate off the wall and
trash it! You don’t need it and your kids don’t need it! LESS IS BETTER! It's time to say goodbye to that overhead that's taking up your precious storage space! Clean out your classroom closets. You will be so happy to get this done. Get rid of the old stuff! Giveaway the fun stuff that you know you won't use!
§ Use desks! You can still keep them in groups for
cooperative learning (like a table). If you’re concerned about the sound of
moving desks, zip tie them at the bottoms (works wonders)! The desks are great
because students have their own space and they are responsible for storing
their own notebooks and book bags instead of you trying to find a place for all
that stuff! Be sure to do Friday desk checks so no one ends up on an episode of
Hoarders!😊
§ Put the students to work! If you’re doing
something your students can do– STOP and let them do it! Have them clean up
before you leave for the day. Build this time into your day! They made the mess
and they can clean it up! You don’t want to spend your planning time cleaning!!!
Each student can pick up 20 things (or more) and show you before they put it
away/throw it away. They can help you cut, sort piles and so on.
§ Assign a weekly designated desk checker. They
are responsible for making sure their table/quad of desks are clean on top and underneath, Daily. This will take a while before it’s an exact system, but
once your students know your expectations, and have had time to practice what
it should look like, you will get results. If a group leaves a mess at their
table, be sure to have them come in for lunch the next day for a timeout or to
clean another area in the room. If you do this consistently, the kids will be
much better about cleaning up their areas!!!!!!!!!
§ Invest in fabric for your bulletin boards or
even paint. It’s easier to hang, it looks nicer, it doesn’t fade and it doesn’t
rip! You can leave it up year-round! Invest in some multi-use boarders (exp. kids at work), so you can leave them up all year as well.
§ Save your documents/downloads to a folder with a name that makes sense. Do it now or you’ll be trolling the internet/your pc files looking for it later. Print a copy and put it in your monthly folder, if applicable! I keep labeled folders on my desktop! I add to them every time I download something new or create something new, such as lesson plans. So there is a plans folder on my desktop. I just open it up and get my plan from the year before, tweak as needed, change the date and done with lesson plans for the week. Your desktop is an easy place to find things you use often. Be sure to save a copy to your docs or a zip drive now and then, just in case that old school laptop takes a turn for the worse and you need to be issued a new one. You want those things you use often saved so you can quickly add them to your new desktop. Save yourself time where you can!
§ Use freezer bags for book bags! Students can
keep them in their desks. No more shelves lined with cereal boxes filled with
books!
§ Use monthly Folders! For everything! Anything that you used in any given month and know you will use again next year, put it in a folder for that month (only a master copy, not all of your extras). If you start at the beginning of the school year, your folders will be ready for the following school year. It is so wonderful to pick up my September folder and know that everything I need for the month is there, including homework and assessments. You can always add to them if you find new ideas…
· Start copying your September folder in August so you have it all ready by September. Then in September start copying for October and so on. When you get to May you will have it all done so instead of taking May off… Copy for the following August. This will save you tons of time at crazy back to school! And you won’t have to wait in long lines because everyone waited to copy (and you know by the time you get your turn, the machine will have broken down or started making smeary copies (is that word) or worse, run out of staples that need to be ordered– ahhhhh!)...
· Use weekly baskets! Have a Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri basket on your counter. Everything you’re going to need for each day (that week) should be in the baskets. This will keep you planned and organized. It’s also great if you have a sub last minute! For example, if you do a Number of the day, make your copies (which should already be done because we’re copying in advance now, right?), cut them and put them in each basket. If you give a spelling test on Friday, have the templates copied and in your Friday basket. Everything should go in your baskets before you leave from work the previous Friday, if possible. Once you get in the habit, you will love this system!
My Back to School Kit will help you
get organized right at the beginning!
I hope you found this helpful! Have a
great school year!!!😊
