---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization: The Key To A Successful School Year
View PDF | Print View
by: DeborahWalker,M.Ed.
Total views: 51
Word Count: 917
Organization is the key to keeping your head above water during the school year. Its especially important for special education teachers. There are really three separate areas that need to be organized: legal documents and files, completed work and assigned work. How you handle the case files is often dictated by your school district. So, lets take a look at the last two areas--assigned work and completed work.
ASSIGNED WORK
None of the students in my classroom do the exact same assignments--they are just too far apart developmentally. What's appropriate for a 4th grade student with the developmental level of a baby, isn't going to be appropriate for a 7th grade student who is able to do 2nd or 3rd grade level work. Getting all of this work organized takes a lot of time. Over the years I've tried a lot of different ways to organize. None of them worked as well as the one I'm using now.
I use a crate system. To use this system you will need one plastic crate and enough hanging file folders to have one for each student. The file folders are labeled with student names. The crate is kept in a central location. Inside each file folder you will put work for the student to do. I like to create packets of similar subjects (single-digit adding, etc.) that will last the student at least two weeks. The students can determine which subject they want to start with on any given day. This builds in a choice-making activity, which my students need to practice.
What Didn't Work: In the past I've tried giving each student a notebook with dividers for each subject. Every weekend I would end up at school copying work for the following week and putting them into the notebooks. This got old really fast.
When I had only 3 or 4 students, I could get away with assigning individual worksheets every day. The downside of this is that it doesn't work well with more than a few students and papers tended to get lost easily.
Of all the systems for organizing student work, the crate system really meets all of my needs. I like the fact that it's portable and that the responsibility for assigning work is not left only to me. My assistants are able to assign work that I have "pre-approved," so to speak.
COMPLETED WORK
Just thinking about this makes me tired! I used to have piles of corrected student work all over my desk just because I was afraid I'd end up without enough work samples for the state portfolio assessment that's due in the Spring. I'd save everything until Spring. That amounts to A LOT of paper. Even with trying to get to it every month, I still had too much piled on my desk.
Instead of keeping all of the work, I decided to pick specific days in each data period to collect data and send everything else home. This sounds like an obvious solution and the way it's supposed to be done anyway; however, the day-to-day teaching usually derailed my best intentions. Consequently, my desk was piled with papers.
Get yourself a large (3") binder and 2 pocket folders. You will need a pocket folder for each student. These folders are then put into the binder. As you collect work throughout the year, you can simply put it into the pocket folder for that student. I also keep the paperwork required by the state in the pocket folder (permissions from parents, etc.). Just before the portfolios are due at the Department of Education, I move each student's work into its own smaller 3-ring binder.
As I said, the work I don't need for the portfolio will be sent home at the end of the day with each student. So, how do I make sure the work gets home everyday? Very easily.
Label one heavy-duty magnetic clip for each student. Hang the clips on the whiteboard.
Make a section of your whiteboard (3 feet at one end or the other) the place to hang the clips. Draw a wide, black line to demarcate this area. At the top of it write something like "For Home". Make it clear to students that the clips are the only thing that go in this area.
As student work is ready to go home (or if there is other paperwork to go home), the student puts it on his or her clip. This keeps things picked up, not crammed into desks, encourages name recognition (his/her's and others') and lets the student practice authentic responsibility because the student has to remember to check his or her clip as part of the getting ready to go home routine, get the items and put them into his or her backpack.
I like this clip system because students get to practice some very needed skills, as I said. Plus all of the adults and students in the classroom can see the clips all day long. This acts as a visual reminder that things need to be taken home.
There's really no one organizational strategy that works for all teachers. You can do some experimenting and tailoring to fit your needs whether it be one of my suggestions, using cubby boxes, bookshelves or something entirely different. Whatever strategy you decide on, it will definitely be worth spending time to use it--if it works for you.
About the Author
Deborah Walker teaches middle school special education. She lives in New Hampshire with her family. Stop by Special-Education-Teacher-Resources.com
Rating: Not yet rated