How to Organize Your Classroom Supplies

Classroom Supply Organization

Using labels to organize student and teacher supplies is a key component to an efficient classroom environment.

Instructions

1. Begin by printing an entire sheet of labels with each student's name from your work printer. After printing, begin placing labels on each colored folder, student information file, binder, ruler, supply box, dictionary, and whatever other materials you have that the student retains ownership of (I tend to use community property supplies for the most part in my classroom).

2. From that point, then begin by making labels for each subject. Make a sheet of labels for spelling, reading, writing, science, math, social studies, data folders, homework folder, et cetera. Make a sheet of labels for each type of folder you have. It is important for all the folders to be one color for each subject. That way, when you ask the students to get out their blue homework folder, you can quickly scan the room for compliance. One way for me to make sure all the students have the same colored folders (since they are all purchasing from different supply stores), is to grab class sets of all the various colors at office supply stores during their back-to-school sales. I can usually find folders for five-cents each. That way, when the students do bring in theirs, you may then use these various colors for making displays of student work for the publishing center.

3. One last way I incorporate the labels is to make sheets that say "Bring Back to School", "Leave Home", and "Please Sign and Return". The first two labels are placed in front of the two pockets in their homework folder. The students know which pocket to place items in, and the parents now also know. The "Please Sign and Return" sticker is placed on the front of my data folders, which remind the parents to do as the label asks. In this way, I do not continually have to stamp that information on every page of work I need to have returned. The label saves me tons of extra time.