TEACHER WEEK DAY 3: Why Organize?!

If my husband knew I was writing a blog post about ORGANIZATION... well, he would just about fall off his chair laughing!  At home, I'm typically a hot mess. Now, I LOVEEEEEE the IDEA of organization.  I could spend every last penny I have on storage bins, binders, organizers, etc.  Looking through everyone's organization blog posts today have made me giddy beyond belief.  However, living with ADHD, organization has been a challenge for me.  But, after 6 years of teaching and spending every with my teaching partner and every night with my husband (the two MOST GOLD PEOPLE EVER! #truecolors), I have developed organization systems that are ELYSE-PROOF!  :-D  So here are a few tips and tricks I've picked up.

ORGANIZATION TIPS FOR THE ORGANIZATIONALLY CHALLENGED:

TIP #1:

Give your copy machine a break!

Obviously, unless your school has gone paperless and is able to provide a technology device for each student, you HAVE to make copies.  However, after two years of watching my classroom become smaller and smaller as my paper piles became bigger and bigger, I realized you do NOT need to make copies every day!  I used to create daily morning work worksheets, worksheets for every single lesson throughout the day, frequent daily reflection and goal sheets... it was NON STOP.  Then, Briggs (my teaching soulmate & co-teacher) came along. She banned me from my paper mountains, and with that, I came up with the most life changing system ever...

CREATE BOOKLETS, PACKETS, OR INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS FOR EACH UNIT OR DAILY ROUTINE!

By creating booklets or interactive notebooks for your kids, you not only cut down on your daily battle with the copy machine... but you also practically eliminate loose papers, lost papers, and stacks of papers all over your room!  You can make unit booklets, morning work booklets, daily reflection and goal booklets, etc. for your students.  Then YOU don't have stacks of papers all over and your STUDENTS don't lose papers every day!  

***IMPORTANT***

Even though I have all these booklets, notebooks, and packets, there still are--of course--times when copying and loose papers are necessary.  The key is GIVING EVERYTHING A HOME!  We cannot assume that students have the organizational skills to keep all their papers in a logical spot.  That is why we need to create spaces for students to store every single paper or item we give them!  

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF BOOKLETS I USE IN MY CLASSROOM:

PROBLEM SOLVING BOOKLET (Math Workshop)

This booklet is used YEAR LONG!  They complete these two sheets each week in their problem solving rotation of math workshop.  We can spot check them randomly during our small group focus lesson.  

STUDENT DATA NOTEBOOK (Math Workshop)

This data notebook is where the students keep track of all their math data, assessments, and progress.  It stores all of their assessments as well (which obviously must be copied on loose paper).  Again, as long as you provide HOMES for your loose papers--AND EXPLAIN TO STUDENTS TO PLACE THE ITEM IN ITS HOME--it will stay organized!  :-)

NATIVE AMERICAN UNIT BOOKLET (Social Studies Unit)

I do these types of booklets for every science and social studies unit.  I put all the vocabulary for the unit, review sheets, reading passages, note taking sheets, graphic organizers, study tools, etc. all in the booklet.  All of their classwork and homework for the unit is in the booklet.  That way, at the end of the unit, everything is in ONE SPOT for them to study.  It's like making them their own little workbook for the unit!  

***TIP***  If you get a PARENT TO HELP, I like to laminate the front and back covers OR print them on card stock.  That way, the students can keep them for the whole unit and they last longer.  ALSO, by binding the booklets instead of just stapling them (which again... I ONLY do if I have a parent volunteer!), along with the fancy covers, the students value them more and therefore take better care of them.  I've noticed... the nicer the cover and binding, the fewer the booklets go missing or ruined!  

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES UNIT BOOKLETS

The best part of making these booklets is you can add anything you want in them!  Here are some of the learning tools I put in their unit booklet:

• Learning Objectives & Goals
• Unit Purpose
• Vocabulary & Key Terms
• Unit Overview
• Big Ideas
• Science Investigation Directions
• Reading Questions
• Supplemental Text
• Homework
• Class Notes (fill in the blank or graphic organizers)
• Review Questions
• Content Recap
• Progress Tracking Student Data Notebook
• Final Unit Exam Reviews
• Etc.

I have some science and social studies booklets at my TpT store! 

(NOTE:  These do not include original text due to copyright.)

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS (Math & ELA Workshops)

First of all, this particular interactive notebook that we used for math is by CreateShareTeach on TpT.  I became OBSESSED with interactive notebooks this year.  It merges the obsession I had with handouts and note taking and combined them so that they have the handouts WITHOUT THE LOOSE PAPERS, and have the note taking WITHOUT THE SLOPPY AND RUSHED CHICKEN SCRATCH!  By the end of each unit, the students had a beautiful reference book filled with their notes, references, and examples for them to study from!!!  They have TONS of these for math and ELA on TpT!  Lovin' Lit has a ton of great ELA ones that I use!!!

TIP #2:

GIVE EVERY MATERIAL AND SUPPLY A "HOME"

I know I talked about giving everything a "home" thing in the last tip, but really that is the KEY TO ALL ORGANIZATION... right?!  This tip, however, is specifically for STUDENT SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS!  With all the materials students have (writing utensils, folders, notebooks, books, craft supplies, erasers---OHHH ERASERS...---etc.), expecting them to just keep everything in their desks... in an ORGANIZED WAY... is just a fantasy (aside from those few kids who are neat freaks... the ones who beg you to stay in from recess to help organize the room or clean YOUR desk)!  So, I actually GOT RID OF MY DESKS and SWITCHED TO TABLES!  BEST. MOVE. EVER!!!  This way, students cannot just stock pile all of their materials into one cluttered square foot of space.  It also forced me to create spaces in the room to store student supplies--in other words, CREATE HOMES FOR EVERY MATERIAL!  It makes it so easy to keep everything organized when every single material has a home.  So... here is how I do it.

EACH TABLE HAS A CADDY ON THE TABLE FOR WRITING UTENSILS (pens/pencils), HIGHLIGHTERS, & FIDGETS/EARBUDS. 

EACH TABLE HAS A DRAWER TO KEEP THEIR BINDERS, NOTEBOOKS, FOLDERS, AND UNIT BOOKLETS.  ***Be sure to LABEL your drawers so they remember where to put what.  Also, it's helpful when the drawers are see-through so you can catch right away if they start to put other materials inside.  Then, you catch it before it comes a dumping ground for every paper and supply!  

WE HAVE A SPACE IN OUR ROOM FOR COMMUNITY SUPPLIES WITH LABELED SPOTS FOR EACH DIFFERENT SUPPLY.

Since my kids don't have DESKS, they cannot keep their own supplies.  Therefore, at the beginning of the year, on the school supplies list, I ask for each student to bring in these COMMUNITY SUPPLIES to share with the class.  That way, they don't get upset about "ohhh well that was MY set of fancy markers" or whatever.  They know it is for the class.  If they purchase supplies that they DID buy special for themselves, I have them take the supply HOME to use at home.  It's okay if not EVERYONE brings in community supplies.  There will be enough most likely!!  Then, at various times throughout the year, if you are running low, you can always send home a note or an email requesting a particular supply.  Here is my supply list:

TIP #3:

CREATE A HOME/SCHOOL TRANSFER SYSTEM.

What I mean by this is that I like having a clear and organized system in place for students to get papers to and from school, along with having a way to communicate and transport homework. 

iPod Binder (I'm Prepared & Organized Daily)

In this iPod binder, the students have their:

• Planner
• Take Home Folder
• Science/Social Studies Folder
• ELA Folder

Planners

We fill out our planners as a class together each day.  Students are required to get them signed each night at home (at least for the first trimester or so until it becomes habit).  This way we know the parents see their planner, and the student gets in the habit of looking at their planner each night...even if they THINK there was no homework.  Students who have a difficult time copying down their planner are allowed to take a photo of our planner on their device if they have one.  They keep these photos in EVERNOTE in their Planner notebook!  

HOMEWORK HOTSPOT

Finally, once students bring their homework or notes back, they put the paper in their pocket of our HOMEWORK HOTSPOT!  Check out Kristine Nannini's blog post about the Homework Hotspot on her blog, Young Teacher Love.  It is an AMAZING way to keep track of who brought in their homework and who hasn't, AND it automatically ALPHABETIZES EVERY PAPER!

Well, I think that's it for now!  Remember, the key to classroom organization is to keep the KIDS organized!  The rest will fall in to place from there!

~Keep Calm & Branke Bunch On~