Choosing to start the school year with an organized classroom will save you time, frustration and headaches in the long term. How do you do this? In this article we'll look at two areas that can be particularly challenging.
ASSIGNED WORK
None of the students in my classroom do the exact same assignments--they are just too far apart developmentally. What's appropriate for a 4th grade student with the developmental level of a baby, isn't going to be appropriate for a 7th grade student who is able to do 2nd or 3rd grade level work. Getting all of this work organized takes a lot of time. Over the years I've tried a lot of different ways to organize. None of them worked as well as the one I'm using now.
The best method of managing assigned student work is a basic plastic crate and some hanging file folders. I create packets of single subjects, i.e. one packet of adding, one of comprehension, etc. The packets should last two weeks, if not longer. These packets are kept in the file folders. I use a plastic crate because it is portable, unlike a file cabinet. Every day students get to practice making choices about the order in which they want to do their work.
I've tried using individual notebooks for student work. This didn't work too well. Students tended to rush through the work, past what they'd been assigned for the day, and by Friday I would have to figure out something else for them to work on. In addition, every Sunday night I'd be at school copying work and putting it into the notebooks. I didn't like that.
Ive also tried handing out individual worksheets on a daily basis. This is fine if I only have three or four students; any more than that and its too cumbersome to manage easily. Not to mention, things seem to disappear if they're not stapled into a packet.
The crate system has more benefits than drawbacks. Some of the best things about it are the incidental skills the kids get to practice--skills like choice making and being responsible.
COMPLETED WORK
Just thinking about this makes me tired! I used to have piles of corrected student work all over my desk just because I was afraid I'd end up without enough work samples for the state portfolio assessment that's due in the Spring. I'd save everything until Spring. That amounts to A LOT of paper. Even with trying to get to it every month, I still had too much piled on my desk.
Instead of keeping all of the work, I decided to pick specific days in each data period to collect data and send everything else home. This sounds like an obvious solution and the way it's supposed to be done anyway; however, the day-to-day teaching usually derailed my best intentions. Consequently, my desk was piled with papers.
Here's how it works. To keep this work organized, I get one 3-ring binder and as many 2-pocket folders as there are students. The pocket folders go inside the binder. As the work is completed, I put each students completed work with the pre-printed documentation sheets specific to the portfolio requirements for my state. These packets (one for each goal) are held together by a paperclip and stored in the pocket folder. In the Spring, when all of the data have been collected, I move it all over to a smaller binder for each individual student that is then sent in for evaluation.
As I said, the work I don't need for the portfolio will be sent home at the end of the day with each student. So, how do I make sure the work gets home everyday? Very easily.
Here's what to do. Get as many heavy duty magnetic clips at the store as you need--one for each student. The magnets need to be heavy duty, otherwise they won't hold well without sliding. Each student's name is put on a clip. I use a label maker to make name labels, so I can reuse the clips with different students each year.
Draw a vertical line about a yard from the end of the white board. At the top write "Work To Go Home". Put the clips in this area. They are the only things that should be in that area.
When work is finished and corrected, it goes on the appropriate clip. I have my students take responsibility for hanging things on their clips. They learn to locate their own names, and read the names of other classmates. Squeezing the clip is also a good OT exercise. At the end of the day, it's the students' responsibility to get the work off the clips and into the backpacks.
I like this clip system because students get to practice some very needed skills, as I said. Plus all of the adults and students in the classroom can see the clips all day long. This acts as a visual reminder that things need to be taken home.
There's really no one organizational strategy that works for all teachers. You can do some experimenting and tailoring to fit your needs whether it be one of my suggestions, using cubby boxes, bookshelves or something entirely different. Whatever strategy you decide on, it will definitely be worth spending time to use it--if it works for you.