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by: DeborahWalker,M.Ed.
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Choosing to start the school year with an organized classroom will save you time, frustration and headaches in the long term. How do you do this? In this article we'll look at two areas that can be particularly challenging.

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.

The best method of managing assigned student work is a basic plastic crate and some hanging file folders. I create packets of single subjects, i.e. one packet of adding, one of comprehension, etc. The packets should last two weeks, if not longer. These packets are kept in the file folders. I use a plastic crate because it is portable, unlike a file cabinet. Every day students get to practice making choices about the order in which they want to do their work.

I've tried using individual notebooks for student work. This didn't work too well. Students tended to rush through the work, past what they'd been assigned for the day, and by Friday I would have to figure out something else for them to work on. In addition, every Sunday night I'd be at school copying work and putting it into the notebooks. I didn't like that.

Ive also tried handing out individual worksheets on a daily basis. This is fine if I only have three or four students; any more than that and its too cumbersome to manage easily. Not to mention, things seem to disappear if they're not stapled into a packet.

I'd recommend using the crate system over anything else. Its portable and organized. It also gives the student some responsibility, i.e. getting and putting away his or her folder and deciding which order the work will be completed.

COMPLETED WORK

Completed work can quickly become overwhelming. In the past I've tended to hang on to everything just in case I need it as a work sample for the alternative assessment portfolios. Consequently, I get very large piles of completed and corrected work sitting on my desk. I attempt to go through it at least quarterly, but sometimes this just doesn't happen.

Despite good intentions, I never quite got to picking work to include in the portfolio until at least the middle of the year. I made sure I had the data, but the way in which I went about it was a headache. I decided to do it right--pick days, in advance, on which to collect data for the portfolios. I then keep only that set of work samples. Everything else gets sent home and my desk is clear.

To do this you will need one 3" binder and 2-pocket folders (one folder for each student). The folders go into the binder. After you collect the data on your data days, just put the work into the right folder and save it. At the end of the year, transfer all of the work into individual binders that will be sent to the state for evaluation. Simple.

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.

Here's what to do. Get as many heavy duty magnetic clips at the store as you need--one for each student. The magnets need to be heavy duty, otherwise they won't hold well without sliding. Each student's name is put on a clip. I use a label maker to make name labels, so I can reuse the clips with different students each year.

On the whiteboard, I draw a black line from the top of the board to the bottom about three feet from the end of the board. At the top of the space, I write "To Go Home". The clips are put in and stay in that area. And, nothing else goes into that area.

When work is finished and corrected, it goes on the appropriate clip. I have my students take responsibility for hanging things on their clips. They learn to locate their own names, and read the names of other classmates. Squeezing the clip is also a good OT exercise. At the end of the day, it's the students' responsibility to get the work off the clips and into the backpacks.

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.

I'm sure there are many other organizational systems to manage student work: cubby boxes, mailboxes, magazine racks attached to the wall, etc. When it comes down to it, no one organizational system will work for everyone and you'll have to do a lot of experimenting and tweaking until you find one that fits exactly right for you.

About the Author

Deborah Walker teaches special education at her local middle school. She lives in New Hampshire with her family. Stop by Special-Education-Teacher-Resources.com

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