Teacher Week: Now Teach!

How do I keep it organized? I'm still asking myself that! LOL

Here are some of the ways that I manage all of the craziness that comes with teaching multiple subjects.

1. Lesson Planner- I am a product of the tech age, but I just can't swing an electronic plan book. I tried a couple of years ago and realized I missed writing things down. For whatever reason- I prefer a pencil and paper. I used to by the pre-made books from school supply stores, but found that making my own works wonders! Getting it all into the plan book keeps me organized for the week and day by day.

2. Pacing Guide- My school has a general pacing guide for our language arts program only. I develop a pacing guide- I use the term pacing guide loosely, as things always come up and I adapt- each year to organize my units cross-curricular. This has been a huge help in keeping my year organized.

3. Daily Tubs- Most teachers have some way that they organize the days work. I keep mine here. I LOVE this thing! I holds whatever it is we will be working on for the day.

4. Bins, buckets and baskets- A place for everything and everything in its place- well sort of... I attempt to keep things, especially books and manipulatives in baskets and sorted. I makes gathering the kiddos manipulatives or guided readers a ton easier.

5. Themes- I tend to consider my year in thematic units based on our area of study at the time. Organizing by theme gives me the greatest opportunity to incorporate all subject areas at one time. I also organize my read aloud books in themes for quick finding.

6. Binders and files- I keep all of my thematic, science, and social studies instructional activities, worksheets, and craftivities organized by month in binders. I love to quickly flip through the binders and see the activity through the plastic sleeve- no need to open a file folder. But, I keep all of my language arts goodies filed by Treasures units in file folders in a filing cabinet- less to examine and easily marked by Treasures week.

These things work best for me.. for right now at least! LOL I am always on the look out for a new or better way to stay organized and ready to teach my kiddos! What do you do?


Don't forget to check out some other organization tips at Blog Hoppin!