Organizationally challenged

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Home : 2006 : July : 28

Organizationally challenged
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I have been teaching 25 years, and I still am just HORRIBLE at STAYING organized. I have lots of good ideas and great intentions, but I am not good about follow-through. My desk is the school joke because it gets so piled
up. In fact, my previous principal took a picture of it one day and put it in the yearbook!!! All my former students remember me by the messy desk. I'll have jr. high kids drop by for a visit (we are a preK-12 campus) just to see what my desk looks like!!! They get so excited when they can see brown!( the wood grain top)

That said, I do have good organizational tips. My

first is color code. I color code all subject areas. That way I can see at a glance if something is blue, I know it's something for math, etc. I put all the work for the week in colored file pockets. I labeled one for each day of the week and keep them standing on a shelf behind my desk. There are 5 each for math, reading, language arts, spelling, and social studies/science.

I have 2 stacking trays on my desk. One is labeled for notes, etc. from parents. When the kids unpack in the morning, they put anything for me in this tray and I address it after we get started. The other tray is for things that need to go to the office. Believe it or not, this part of my desk stays organized.

I have individual mailboxes ( a cardboard divided paper sorter) for the kids. I have another box nearby for graded papers. I put all graded papers into the box for my class helpers to file in the mailboxes. On the wall by my desk is a numbered chart. ( I assign all students a number at the beginning of the year that they write on their papers, etc. This helps me quickly get things in alphabetical order. My class helpers put them in order for me before I grade.) Any way, on the numbered chart, I put up a post-it if a child is missing any assignment. Then at a glance I can see who needs to stay in at recess and finish work.

I have individual stacking trays for each subject for the kids to turn in papers to be graded. Then my helpers alphabetize them for me and paper clip each set.