How to Teach Organization & Planning to Fourth Graders
While organization proves difficult for many students, learning organizing and planning skills can be highly beneficial. By teaching your fourth-graders how to organize their school materials, you can set them up for academic success. Teaching these valuable lessons does not have to be difficult; it only requires attention to detail and a systematic approach to setting up school materials. While teaching these lessons will certainly require planning and monitoring, once done, you leave your students better able to face the rigors of future educational experiences.
Instructions
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Model good organization. You will likely struggle to convince your students that organization is important if you don't model good organization, and your lessons will be less effective. Before you tackle organization with your fourth graders, organize your own work area. Set up a system of managing papers and stowing copies that will not only make your job easier, but also show your students the benefits of organization. As fourth graders, your students are old enough to take a bit more responsibility when it comes to turning in assignments. Allow them to do so by making one of your organizational tools a turn-in bin into which students can place work when done.
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Provide students with assignment books. While your fourth-grade students likely don't have the same amount of homework or long-term projects that they will have later in school, they are still old enough to begin using assignment books. As PBS Parents reports, fourth graders often still struggle with creating long-term project plans. Assignment books can be invaluable instruments in helping them. If your school gives students a standardized assignment book, distribute these to your pupils and show them how to write their assignments and projects in them. If your school doesn't have these books, create weekly homework log pages to give to students and remind them to fill out the pages as you assign the work.
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Set up student binders in a consistent manner. Instead of allowing your students to determine how they set up their binders, create a system for all students to follow. Dictate to students how many dividers their binders should hold, how these dividers should be labeled, and what material each section should contain. By setting up a standard system for all of your students to follow, you can better monitor their adherence to the system and allow them to see how a system of this type could be beneficial.
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Hold pencil box checks. Students who lack classroom supplies will likely be ill-equipped to handle assignments. Decrease the likelihood that a lack of materials will leave your students unable to complete assignments by asking that they keep a pencil box filled with assignment materials, including: pencils, erasers, coloring supplies, scissors and glue. Give students lists of materials that they should have in their pencil boxes and arrange a place to store these boxes -- at at the students' desks or in a centralized location. When you check for these materials, reward the students who do have them with stickers or another token of their success, as these tangible rewards often prove an effective means of motivating fourth graders.
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Create study calendars with students. Encourage students to dedicate time to study by crafting study calendars. Give planning pages that contain hour notations. Ask students to write in on these pages when they will study. For example, if a student plans to study math on Monday evening, he may write in "Study math" in the seven o'clock time slot. Ask parents to sign off on these pages when students complete their planned study activities.
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Reward students who demonstrate exemplary organizational skills. While organization is its own reward, your students do not yet realize this. Encourage them to keep up with their organization by offering them extrinsic rewards for doing so.
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