There are so
many things that go on in the classroom and so many things that
you as a teacher have to keep up with that it can become
overwhelming. These ideas will hopefully help you stay
you get a great idea in the middle of a lesson and then forget it
later on? Do you have a hard time remembering to do certain tasks?
Keep a small notebook or pad on your desk or in your bag.
Therefore, when that great idea pops up or you need to remind
yourself to do something later, the notebook is within easy reach
and you can jot down your thoughts. Review the notebook
either in the morning or at night.
I like to keep multiple copies
of a small class checklist to keep tabs on papers, assignments,
or any other type of record keeping. It's a great way to
see what student are missing their papers or assignments.
I have used the checklist for field trip forms, running record
evaluations, emergency cards, etc. Here is a
copy to use
for your classroom......make multiple copies and keep in a
drawer or some place handy.
with parents is important, but when you have a lot of students,
then it can be very overwhelming. Here are ways that I keep
parents informed of their child's progress throughout the year as
well as providing organized ways for two-way communication. (*For
copies of the following examples, go to
Printables and look under
the first day of school, students are given class handbooks that
parents are to review with them. In the handbook the class
rules and procedures are explained.
On Friday, students take home their Friday Folders in which there
is a Weekly Progress Report. The teacher fills out the report and
the parent signs it.
Letter to Parent:
a student has displayed disruptive behavior during the day, then a letter
is sent home informing the parents about the behavior. The
letter is signed and returned.
This letter requests a conference with the parent. On it is the
teacher's available time. The parent is requested to choose a time
for the conference and return it to the teacher.
is used for students who have repeated disruptive behavior and
with whom the parents have had a conference with the
teacher. It is usually part of a plan of action agreed upon
by the teacher and the parents. It keeps the parents
informed of their child's daily behavior and it is sent home every
night to be signed.
note about organizing your parent communications:
important that you document a child's behavior, and communication
that you have had with parents in case of future use.
Sometimes parents do not receive letters sent home or you may need
them for the Child Study Team or any other conferences. It is
difficult to make copies of parent letters or any other
documentation for reasons such as no copy machines, no time, etc.
Carbon paper is a great solution to this problem. When
sending a parent letter or conference slip home, use carbon paper
and two copies of the page being sent home to create a copy for
yourself. That way, you have copies of all your documents in case
you need them.
easy grading, give your students a number according to their last
names (alphabetical order). A student (the paper manager)
organizes the students' work according to their numbers (remember
to teach students to write their numbers on the right-hand corner
of the paper). That way, when you are recording the grades,
you can do it quickly.
trays are helpful in so many ways. Here is how I use desk
trays to organize my desk. Each tray is labeled:
To Be Graded
To Be Filed
Notes from Parents
paperwork I have to do or is done can be quickly put onto one of
these trays. Then, when I need to find a paper, I know where it
over previous years' lessons to prepare for the following
year. If there is a lesson or activity that I found to be
successful or there are some changes I want to note for the
future, then I "post" it in my lesson plan book. I buy
the sticky notes with lines, make notes for the next year, and
place it on the box with that particular lesson. That way, I can
easily find it for the next year and it won't be forgotten.
Keeping reproducibles organized can be difficult and hard to keep
up with. Therefore, I use folders to keep them categorized
and organized. Also, they are helpful when I want to reuse them
for the following year. Here are some other tips for worksheets:
1. Be specific with your categories, such as
"Weather" instead of "Science".
2. Leave at least one copy of a worksheet you've used
inside the folder. That way, it will be
your master copy for next year.
3. Any extra copies you have, put into a folder/basket as
EXTRA WORK. If students finish their assignments
early, they can go to the basket and get extra practice on their
4. Use a file holder (I like vertical file holders) to keep
handy the folders you will be using that
week. They're in your view and easy to get to when it's time
to pass them out. Also, I keep folders with copies of daily
reports, spelling sheets, and homework charts that the children
can get to by themselves.
dislike it when my lesson plan and grade book become worn on the
corners. To solve that problem, I buy a plastic document holder
(they have nice ones at Staples, Office Max, etc.). I place my
lesson plan book and grade book in the plastic holder whenever I'm
not using them or when they are traveling with me. It helps keep
the wear and tear out of them.