Organization
The first step to organization was slimming down... not me personally... but my classroom. I had three file cabinets full as well as every built-in cabinet and drawer. "Why?" you may ask... I have no idea! Before my first year blending I went through all my files and threw out about half. By the end of that year I had weeded out the rest. I have no file cabinets now. Most of my files are electronic and the rest of my istructional materials fit into 2 built-in cabinets.
Next, I got rid of my desk....what??? I moved office supplies into a small plastic organizer, moved the phone onto a small table and said goodbye to my big metal desk. I did keep a metal shelf unit because I thought I'd still need a 'stacking' place. I will keep the shelf but I found I did a lot less stacking!!
Teachers often ask me if I miss my desk and I can honestly say, not at all. When the students are in the classroom I am in the mix with them and when they are not in the classroom I just pick a table on which to work. I keep the paper items I need throughout the week on my shelf and everything else is on my laptop.
Teachers often ask me if I miss my desk and I can honestly say, not at all. When the students are in the classroom I am in the mix with them and when they are not in the classroom I just pick a table on which to work. I keep the paper items I need throughout the week on my shelf and everything else is on my laptop.
Before I became a blended teacher my portion of the classroom was about 12 feet by 6 feet, maybe more.This section contained a desk, 2 shelves, 3 file cabinets, and a huge wooden cabinet... all full of my stuff and off limits to the students. Now the teacher space is about 5 feet by 4 feet and contains a small table on which I place a phone and 1 book shelf and a small plastic organization drawer.
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Because students sit at round tables and move throughout the day they need a place to keep their materials. I use several organization systems for them. First, they have individual book tubs in which they keep a collection of books, headphones or earbuds, and their reading notebook used during the ELA block.
The second organizational system consists of 4 multi-drawer storage units placed around the classroom in which students keep notebooks, folders, and work-in-progress. Each student is assigned one drawer.
The second organizational system consists of 4 multi-drawer storage units placed around the classroom in which students keep notebooks, folders, and work-in-progress. Each student is assigned one drawer.
Each table has a table caddy to hold pencils, glue, and scissors. Each student has a small plastic tool box to hold markers, crayons, erasers, and other small supplies. The caddies stay on the tables but the plastic tool boxes travel with students as they move throughout the day. The tool boxes are part of the student supply list.
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