How to Get Organized for Teachers
Organization is an essential element that teachers must master in order to save time and run an efficient classroom, as well as keep accurate documentation of student grades, behavior and interventions. Students know when a teacher has well-organized systems and lesson plans and this reflects to them immediately that you are competent as a teacher. This results in better behavior and more respect from students. Teachers also have a strenuous and time-consuming job. It is important that they keep themselves organized in order to keep priorities in order and maintain healthy personal lives that are not constantly invaded by work responsibilities.
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Instructions
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Lesson Planning
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Create a binder for each unit that you will teach during the year. Label this binder with the title of the unit and the number of the weeks it will take to teach.
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Place a full copy of lesson plans in the front of the binder with a blank calendar that you can begin filling in when you start the unit, and make any notes on to address the actual amount of time each lesson took.
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Put enough tabs in the binder for each day of lessons, and place a copy of each daily lesson plan in the front of each section.
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For each daily lesson plan, place your notes, research, a list of supplies you will need for the day, a list of activities with details, handouts, project guidelines, checklists and any other resources you will need for that day's lesson. Also leave a page for notes, so that you can reflect upon the lesson afterward and update your notebook before you teach the lesson again.
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Create a separate notebook for daily Bell Ringer activities and journal prompts for the entire year. You won't have to worry about creating these short activities for the rest of the year.
Documentation
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Create templates for any documentation you will need to keep throughout the year. These may be parent contact logs. behavior logs, student contracts, book logs, attendance and tardy logs, bathroom logs, letters to parents, book assignment numbers, or other documents required by the school administration. Again, place all of these in a 3 ring binder, making sure to keep a separate master copy of each template.
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Print blank student grade sheets from your electronic grade book and place them in a binder divided by subject or class period. You can use these as anything from check off sheets to rosters to weekly grade sheets.
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Give each student a pocket folder with their name to place graded assignments in. Pass back graded papers on a weekly or biweekly basis and have students place these in their folder and record their grades on a grade sheet in the folder. Store these folders in a secure area of the classroom.
Routines and Procedures
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Create routines and procedures (or get ideas from other teachers) for everything that you can think of, such as turning in papers, what to do before class begins, if a student needs to go to the bathroom during class, what to do when in a group, procedures for learning stations, or the daily agenda. The more you can establish up front, the more efficiently the classroom will run on a daily basis.
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Place posters of these procedures in appropriate areas of the classroom.
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Practice and reinforce these procedures the first week of school, so that students will understand what is expected of them. Continue to reinforce these routines and procedures throughout the year and review them as necessary.
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References
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