Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Steps
To Becoming The Most Organized
Teacher In Your School
Being a highly
effective teacher
requires organization
skills - for yourself,
your students, and
your classroom.
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
PART I
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
Step 1
YOUR DESK
Let us begin with the heart of it all, your desk. Clear it off completely and lets start with a
clean slate.
Things you should you have on your desk:
1. Day Book
2. A table-top file system on your desk with colored files labeled:
To Do
To File
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
To Read
Lesson Plans
Back to School Forms
My Class
Substitute Info
Photocopy File (Consolidate your trips to the office or photocopier by going once with
everything in this file)
Files for regular daily or weekly worksheets like: Spelling (with weekly spelling word lists,
test sheets, etc) or Math Drills
3. Sticky Notes
4. Three Bins labeled: Hand In, Hand Out and To Be Finished
5. Clip Boards (hanging on a push pin board on the wall behind or beside your desk)
Class Lists
Monthly Calendar
Emergency/Fire Drill/Earthquake Drill Forms
Seating Chart
Staff Weekly Notices
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
I have discovered that as a teacher who moves around a lot, having a portable accordion
folder keeps me very organized. There are slots to order and locate everything that you
need for the day or week, right at your fingertips. Here are some suggestions for labeling
the tabs on this handy portable system:
Class Lists
To be Photocopied
Marking
Parent Communication
Staff Communication
Class Moneys and Notices
To Prep
To Do
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
Step 2
WHEN
WHAT
WHO
HOW
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
You will find that once you have created this, you will come back to it like a guideline for
the year and it will keep you on track like a compass!
When preparing for the next day, pull out all the material you will need for the next days
lessons. Photocopy all that needs to be photocopied and place it in the file labeled by the
day it is going to be used. Think through all that you will need, including art supplies and
resources and have them on hand.
Remember, you dont need to reinvent the wheel. You are not the first teacher to have
ever taught a certain topic. Google it, share and trade ideas from other teachers at school,
head to a local educational store for great ideas (like Scholars Choice!), and dont forget to
use your school districts resource center.
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
10
PART II
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
11
Step 3
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
12
PART III
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
13
Step 4
Assigning daily jobs to your students allows them to learn responsibility and have
ownership in the classroom. We want our students to learn to respect themselves, their
belongings, their friends, their teacher and their classroom.
Have a Class Job Chart with library card pockets and label the jobs with two pockets beside each job. Having two per job allows for teamwork and makes sure that the job is done
even if one is absent that day. Class jobs can include: Class Library, Attendance, Work
Collectors, Hand Out Helpers, Clean Up Crew, etc. You can be as creative as you would
like. I have often used a community theme in my classroom and we role-played.
Once, I was the Mayor and the jobs were as follows:
Mail Carriers collected and handed out work
Horticulturalists watered our plants
Media Technicians helped with setting up media equipment
Police Officers made sure chairs were pushed in and all were working quietly when
needed
Librarians kept our class library in order
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
14
Environmentalists made sure lights were turned off when we left the room and recycling was done
Store Managers would sell school supplies to someone who needed to replace their
items
Bankers handed out monthly class money to students, etc.
I keep all classroom supplies such as glue sticks, pencils, scissors, etc. in small, clear
labeled bins. You can give a dollar value to each item so that students have to learn
the responsibility of keeping their supplies properly and learn math skills by having to
purchase new items when needed with class money. Have students keep only two
pencils, one eraser, one glue stick, one ruler, one pen or black thin-line marker in their
desks.
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
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Step 5
5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau
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5 Steps to Becoming the Most Organized Teacher in Your School by Elaine Tan Comeau