Teacher Organization Hacks
Welcome educators! Today is a special celebration because it is the 100th episode!
Before we get started I want to share with you an amazing free tool I have available to you. It is “The Ultimate Guide to a Successful School Year”. In this guide I walk you through how you can take those nervous jitters to have an undeniable confidence throughout the school year. All because you started with these basic steps in the guide. To download the guide go to www.myadventuresinesl.com/ultimateguide
We are going to start off today’s episode with your weekly reflection question. What are some areas of growth and strength when it comes to your classroom organization? Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer to yourself honestly where you stand.
Classroom organization can feel like a very daunting task. You might need to purge and organize your classroom. This seems like an easy task, but just the thought of it can have you shoving papers in a cabinet and closing it.
I think we have either been in a situation of having an unorganized classroom or witnessed it. It can be so easy to shove some papers in a drawer or throw some glue sticks in a bin. It’s a quick fix, but it can lead to your classroom being in a complete disarray.
Today I want to share with you some teacher organization hacks that you can use in your ESL classroom. These organizational hacks are easy to implement and will have you feeling confident.
Teacher Toolbox: A teacher toolbox is a fantastic way to organize all your teacher supplies. What you will need is a 26 part plastic cabinet. They look like the little plastic cabinets you see at a mechanics garage. You will then label the plastic containers which hold things like pens, binder clips, paper clips, post-it notes, and so much more. There are tons of free labels that you can print. I will be sure to share with you my favorites.
Substitute Binder Bin: One thing that I have learned as a teacher is that you will have an unexpected absence. The last thing that you don’t want to do during this time is stress out about lesson plans. Having a substitute bin will take so much pressure off of you in the case you are absent. The bin can have a binder that includes your schedule, class list, assignments, important school information, and emergency plans. In addition, you can include some extra supplies and special thank you.
Label Bins & Drawers: This is a simple and straightforward hack that you can use in your classroom. Labeling bins and drawers will help you get organized and stay organized throughout the school year. It will also promote independence with your students when it is time to return items to the correct places. When you decide to label, don’t give into the pressure that it has to be decorative. You can label with a Word Doc and a printer. I suggest laminating and velcro
your labels for durability.
Absent Student Bin: The absent student bin was a must for me in middle school with various classes. I also imagine it being a necessity since I have moved to elementary with multiple grade levels. An absent student bin is a place where all the assignments are held for students to complete when they return to school. How I keep this organized is to use a milk crate with hanging file folders. I have labeled the folders with numbers 1 – 31 representing each day of the month. When I have an assignment, I simply drop it in the folder for the day. When the student returns, they go to the date they were absent and pick up the assignment. You can even have this as a classroom job. A student can put the assignment in the absent bin on your behalf.
Anchor Chart Holder: Anchor charts are great visuals to have for Language Learners in the classroom. The tricky part of the anchor charts is storing them for easy access. I used to just roll mine up and stick them in a laundry basket. I found this to be very clunky and took up way too much space. Then when I needed to access one of the anchor charts it was difficult going through the storage. My time saving and cheap hack is using a garment rack. A garment rack allowed me to clip and hang my anchor charts. When I needed to access one for my lesson, all I had to do was flip through the rack.
Think about and brainstorm your areas in your classroom that need to be organized. Use some of the hacks that I shared above as well. Also, don’t forget to download the “The Ultimate Teacher Guide” that will help you have a successful school year.
Download the transcript to this episode here.
