Remember back months and months ago when I started a series on classroom organizations? Oh you don’t? Guess what, it’s been so long that I hardly remember either!
(go check out this post for a refresher)
Well, I had wanted to share with you how I kept my lesson plans and materials organized when I was teaching, but my stuff was all boxed up and I just recently got it out. So now I have one more post to add to my series.
My trick for keeping my lesson plans and materials organized is to use clear page protectors and 3-ring binders. I don’t like to punch holes in my originals and I don’t like how the holes can get torn when you have papers clipped into a 3-ring binder. So I use the page protectors as pockets.
At the front I would have a page protector with the day-by-day plan for the unit I was teaching, as well as the standards covered in that unit. Then I would use a separate page protector “pocket” for each lesson plan, guided notes set, worksheet, test, or whatever that went along with that unit. I file them in chronological order.
I put both the blank original and the key in the pocket. I put the key on top so that if someone turns in late work once I’ve finished that lesson/unit and filed everything in my binder, I can still easily see the key to grade their paper.
I love this method! Yes, it uses a lot of page protectors and binders, especially when you teach two or more separate subjects like I did, but it was so worth it to me. I was able to keep everything – my pacing guide, the notes I wrote for myself with examples I wanted to use, the notes I typed up for the kids to use, as well as every assignment, worksheet, quiz, review guide, and test that I gave with the unit. Basically I have everything I need to teach a unit, except for manipulatives (I tried keeping those in there as well but it made the binders too bulky, so I moved them to shoe boxes in my cabinet) all in one place, filed nicely in order.
This makes is super easy for the next year – see what you did the year before, grab the original to make copies if need, and the answer keys are already there for you.
It’s also much more portable than filing things in folder in a filing cabinet. I was able to grab my binder and take it with me to meetings rather than having to dig through folders and pull specific ones.
Did you like this tip? Check out some of my other classroom organization tips here.
Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday
Is there a template for that front page or did you just create it yourself from a district pacing guide. I’ll be moving to high school math next year and am trying to prepare. Congrats on the recent addition!
That was created either by my district or the math department chair at my school. I looked in my documents to see if I had a copy to send you but I couldn’t find one so I guess they didn’t send it electronically. So sorry! I wish I had it for you!
Do you make a separate binder for each unit? Or do you put all your unit into one binder?
I put all units into one binder. I prefer one binder per subject per school year, but sometimes that’s not possible if I have a lot of stuff so then I have to split it up.