Now Teach! {Organizing for Instruction}

I snapped an astronomical amount of pictures yesterday at school, but then I realized how ridiculously over-saturated this post would be if I used all of the photographs, so because I am also short on time today, I am just going to share a few of them today.  I’ll try to blog about the rest of them another time.  🙂  Here are a few tips for organization.

1.  Organize books into bins by genre to help students fully grasp the nuances of books.  Use colored dots on the back of each book to label and scaffold.  Match them to the tub labels.  {I also level each book on the inside flap for AR/Lexiles.}

2.  Consistently use a system for grading and taming the paper mountain.  For me, this little file organizer works wonders.  It works for the day-to-day stuff.  Benchmarks and tests typically go straight into my bag due to the sheer size of the stacks, but this system works well for everything else.  I carry it home just like this… and it keeps everything super organized too!

3.  Show where you go!  Our centers are on an eight day cycle.  I post the special on the board every day so the kiddos always know where they are going.  Even though my students write the specials in their planners at the beginning of every week, this significantly cuts back on questions.  It also displays whether it is an A Day or B Day to help them mentally prepare for the day.

4.  I like to organize my file folders to the max.  I color code them by unit, and then I write the skills on the outside of each file so I can easily lay them out to plan… and so I can easily slip supplemental resources into each folder as I find something I think can work with my existing activities.

5. I always have my Sub Tub and Substitute Binder ready to go at any moment.  It’s always sitting at attention… ready to be pulled and used at the last minute.  🙂

6.  This year, I moved my I Can Statements over to the front of the room instead of posting them with the rest of my Focus Wall references.  I wanted to be able to display my learning targets next to my SMARTboard at the front of the room.  I keep the materials close by in a desk below the bulletin board.  I organized each standard into a separate baggie, I labeled each bag, and I placed them into baskets by grade level (since I will be teaching third and fourth grade).  Now I am ready to rock and roll!

7.  I keep social studies books in a common area to keep desk clutter to a minimum.  We don’t use them daily anyway… so why take up a ton of space?!  🙂

8.  Pretty containers make me happy!  I keep most of my own personal writing utensils in this utensil holder.  I picked it up from Target five years ago, and it is still one of my favorite classroom goodies.  The other pencil holder is actually a votive holder.  I LOVE using objects in creative ways to make my space more functional and beautiful.  The stacking tins were from Walmart and Target’s Dollar Spot a few years ago.  The top tin is magnetic, so I plopped it on top of the other, and they work together wonderfully!  They are great for paper clips and push pins.  🙂

9.  Create a common place for all Exit Tickets!  My students always exit through this door, so it’s the perfect space-saving way to collect formative assessments.  I’m a happy camper!

10.   I like to use crates for extra storage on my classroom counter.  The green crate contains all of my social studies resources, and the other two crates will help organize daily materials.

11.  I think it’s so important to have a mail station.  Since I have had very large classes over the past two years, I had to buy a file folder organizer to create extra mailboxes. They are close in proximity on opposite sides of the door, and it definitely does the trick for us!

12.  I use a curtain and a tension rod to hide some of my clutter.  I LOVE using plastic shoe boxes for storage, but when you have sixteen of them in one location, it’s best if many of them remain unseen.  🙂  This works wonders, and it’s a great way to organize small group materials, concrete models for comprehension, centers, manipulatives, or anything else you may want to stow away in an accessible location.  

13.   I like to keep my Writer’s Workshop stuff next to my small group area for easy access.  I am totally digging my new conferring notebook from my We Are Authors pack!  I feel so much more organized already!

Well, like I said, I will have to come back at some point in time to share the rest of my classroom pictures.  I’m off to work out, run to the school, and then have another dental procedure.  Yippee!  🙂
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