This year, I tried an idea from Summer (another 4th grade teacher and who also just happens to be my Hollister bestie). I tried turning their desks backwards to form groups of 4 or 5. They hated not being able to hoard things in their desk, but ultimately it was for the best. Not many years from now they will be in jr. high and high school without the luxury of having a desk to shove things into. So I gladly let their very own backpacks on the backs of their chairs become their own personal rat's nests. There a few kids who are exceptionally neat, but most of them are so disorganized! They had plastic bins (top shelf) and plastic caddies (not pictured) in the center of each group. Inside each bin was their folder for works-in-progress, composition books, and math notebooks. Inside their caddies were their pencils, scissors, gluesticks, whiteboard markers, highlighters, etc. Their workbooks and binder remained in their backpacks on the back of their chairs. This system worked well for us because when I gave directions for something to be out, it was out on the desk in a snap.
As far as textbooks went, they stayed all year on the shelf and daily I would tell Team Captains to get their textbooks (whatever subject we were transitioning to) for their teams.
On top of these white bins were their dry erase boards. They are rather large, pretty much the size of the surface of their desks. I had a hard time figuring out how to store them, but still have them available for frequent use. Team Captains to the rescue! I had 2 of these carts and 6 teams, so each team had it's own bin to hold their Language Arts binders for Writing. Their other binder, with a tab for each subject was in their backpack.
Okay, so it's a crate for Flash cards and a basket for Rough Drafts, but I liked this picture! :-) Actually, the kids made their own flash cards. We got some index cards and they each made a set, then we filed them by number.
Another idea from Summer. :-) Each magazine file is labeled by category (Classroom Management, ELD, Math, etc.) and inside are all those little teacher resource books we find so useful to supplement our curriculum. It REALLY saved me time being able to go straight to the subject I needed at any given moment before heading to the copy machine!
2 comments:
I love how organized you are! Labels are everywhere. I would be in heaven. I love labels. Did you have to buy all those bins? I am assuming you did because I did. Amazing how much it all adds up.
I know...as I was packing up today I looked around the room and just the fadeless paper and borders were screaming "MONEY!!!" to me :-(
I LOVE LABELS, TOO! :-)Yes I did buy the bins. But I did it knowing I could clean them up and use them at home in the future for my own kid's books someday. As far as the magazine files, I knew that I could also use them at home for Mike's travel brochures that he gets in the mail (tons). The white bins I bought at K-Mart for $10 a set, and I figured I could use them at home for organizing either in the garage or the closet. I tried to have a dual purpose for all of it, in case I didn't have a job one day or started a family!
Post a Comment