It can be a challenge to keep your classroom organized for the year. So often, students burst into the room and all of a sudden it looks like a tornado blew through! That’s why I love to create systems that help my students keep our classroom clean and organized. Today we are going to look at all the different ways you can organize your classroom and help create systems for your students.
The first area of the classroom that needs to be organized is your cabinets. This is an area that people don’t really see, but having this area organized will help you easily find things all year long. I love to use small and medium-sized plastic boxes. This allows you to see what is inside. I put all the different supplies that students will need throughout the year in the small boxes. I have a box for each item like pencils, glue sticks, extra crayons, and scissors. Using these small boxes allows me to pull out what we need, and they have a home to go back to when we are done. I also love to use medium-sized boxes for larger items that we use all the time. This can be paper, manipulatives that we use all the time, or any other larger item that you use in your classroom. One of my favorite types of boxes to use is the flat paper-sized boxes. I use these for our different centers around the classroom. Each week I put out the different activities that we will be working on and then put the lid back on them. They stack in the cabinet when we are not using them and then when we need them, I put them out on the tables and everything the students need is all ready to go in the box. These flat boxes work perfectly!
The next area of the classroom that we need to organize is the paper. I love to have paper supplies out for students so they can get what they need and don’t have to constantly ask for things. I use paper trays for students to get more paper for Writer’s Workshop and also for students to turn things in. There are times that I choose one student from each table to turn everything in for their group. By using paper trays, the students know exactly where they need to turn in the assignments. I also love to use magazine boxes for our folders. This makes it easy for students to find their folders at the start of the day because the folders are all upright instead of stacked inside a paper tray. The last place that a lot of papers go in our classroom is in the file box that I have for students.
I love keeping portfolios for my students. We keep digital portfolios with all the digital work that we do, but we also do a lot of paper work too. Each week when I hand work back to my students, I have them pick a couple pieces of work in each subject to add to their portfolio. I use a file box to keep all of that work in. This allows the students to quickly put the work in their folder and it also keeps everything organized. When parent teacher conferences come around, I just pull out the portfolio for the student and then they are ready to share all the awesome work they have been doing.
Your desk is another area that is so important to keep neat and organized. I love to keep a stacking paper tray on my desk. Each of the sections is for different things. The top section is where students put notes from home. I also put things from the office there until I can go through them. The next section is for things that need to get done right away, and the final section is for important papers that I need to keep, like our school calendar or checkoff sheets that I am using at the time. I also love to use some type of desk organizer. This keeps everything that I use all the time at my fingertips. I keep pens, pencils, scissors, post-its, and tape in mine. Inside my desk, I love to use drawer organizers. This keeps everything in its place, instead of everything spreading all over the place. This is where I keep extras of items like pens, pencils, markers, and paper clips. I love having my desk area organized so I can easily find things.
I love to have a kidney bean table in my classroom. This is a perfect place to pull students to do small group instruction. I like to keep a utility cart next to my table. This allows me to keep everything that I need at my fingertips for our small group instruction. In the utility cart, I keep all my teacher supplies in the top section. The middle section has everything that I will need for Language Arts, and the bottom section has everything that I will use for our math small group instruction. It always works out perfectly to have all the supplies students need in the cart. Having everything in a utility cart lets you move it around to different locations around the classroom if needed. Using drawer organization also allows you to be able to find things quickly. I also like to use a round sectioned organizer for all the items like pencils, crayons, and markers, that students will need all throughout the small group instruction.
The last area that we need to organize is the students' materials. I make sure that students always have a folder in their desk to put all their papers in. I have my students use a packet for the week before they turn things in, so it is important that they have a place to keep those papers. I like to use plastic folders because they hold up for the whole year. I also like to have my students use pencil pouches rather than pencil boxes to keep their supplies so they can easily move around the classroom with our flexible seating. I recommend using fabric pencil pouches because they hold up well. The last thing that I love to use with students is plastic envelopes. These always work out well for giving work back to students. They take them home, parents review the work, and then they return them the next day. Once again, I like to use the plastic envelopes because they hold up so much better. One issue is that sometimes students do not return the envelopes. I like to have some kind of incentive, like class money, for students to be motivated to return the envelopes.
Keeping your classroom organized is so important. An organized classroom will help your students know where things go. It will also help your students to keep the classroom clean and tidy. When everything in your classroom has a place to live, your classroom will always stay organized and clean.
