Classroom Organization

The end of the school year is coming up quickly, and so will soon end my first year of teaching. I have tried a lot of things this year to get my classroom management under control and I want to share with you my failures and successes.

Absent Folders

I have a magazine file for each class period. Each student has a manila folder with their name on it so that when they are absent, the missing work will go in their folder.
Pros: Each student has own place for their absent work, they know where to look without asking the teacher where to go
Cons: Hard to have students keep in order, time consuming when you have large number of students

How to make it work: Have the students become responsible for getting the absent work into the folders. If the students are in groups, the group members will pick up work for their missing friend.

Comments: I will not be doing this again next year. It was hard to get the students to buy into it at my school (worked well during student teaching). I am instead going to do a wall hanger with papers from Monday-Friday and have students pull papers from there.



Pass Back Drawers

There are two 3-drawer plastic drawers that had the period # and pass back written on them (I started taking off the labels before I remembered to snap a picture). Whenever I had something that wasn't a quiz or a test to pass back, I placed them in here by period.
Pros: Less clutter, not carrying too much paper around
Cons: Forgetting to remind students to pass back the papers

How to make it work: Start at the beginning of the year and have students check for papers to pass back when they are done with their warm up activity or with the assignment.

Comments: I started this midway through the year and it didn't really catch on. I believe if I make a bigger deal of this at the beginning of next school year this will be a success.


Reminders Board
I have a small reminder area that I used wet erase markers to write upcoming quiz/test/project dates.
Pros: Students held accountable for checking one place
Cons: Not very big

Comments: I was originally inspired by a pin that had a very larger reminder board, but I didn't have the time to make one at the beginning of the year so this is what happened. It works very well, I have it right away when my students walk in. They have come to learn and check it. I will be doing this again next year, maybe make it more cute.


Exit Ticket / Rate Yourself
Stop light themed exit slip where students answer a question on a post-it and then place it on a part of the stop light according to how well they understood the material that day.
Pros: Quick visual assessment of understanding, documentation
Cons: Sticky notes keep falling, students forgetting to write names if asked

Comments: I love using this in my class, but I don't do it often enough. I run out of post-it notes often and didn't hold my students accountable at the beginning of the year for them to bring their own (even though I put it on the school supply list). Definitely need to make sure students have their own post its, preferrably the super sticky or the whole adhesive back post its. I will be using this again, possibly making a banner with directions.

 Please comment and let me know if you have used any of these this year or in the past, or have any other ideas!

Thanks,