UFO Sightings

Organization is extremely important, particularly for special education teachers. Being organized will save you time and frustration in the long run. The problem areas, at least for me, are keeping assigned student work and completed student work from taking over my desk. That’s what we’ll focus on in this article.

ASSIGNED WORK

I’ve gone through many storage variations for student work to be completed. Since I teach in a multi-age, multi-grade program with students who have varying ability levels (12-month-old developmental level to around 3rd grade developmental/academic level) , rarely is any student doing the same work as his or her classmates. This means a lot of advanced planning and individualizing has to be done.

I use a crate system. To use this system you will need one plastic crate and enough hanging file folders to have one for each student. The file folders are labeled with student names. The crate is kept in a central location. Inside each file folder you will put work for the student to do. I like to create packets of similar subjects (single-digit adding, etc.) that will last the student at least two weeks. The students can determine which subject they want to start with on any given day. This builds in a choice-making activity, which my students need to practice.

I wouldn’t recommend giving each student a notebook of assigned work because, if they’re anything like my students, they will rush through it and end up with nothing to do on Friday. And, since the notebooks only held work for one week at a time, I spent part of every weekend at school getting the next week’s work together. Yuck!

I also tried passing out assignments on a daily basis. This worked ok until I got more than a few students in my class. No matter how many students I had, the papers tended to be stuffed into desks and lockers or mysteriously disappear. In the end it was too much extra work.

The crate system has more benefits than drawbacks. Some of the best things about it are the incidental skills the kids get to practice–skills like choice making and being responsible.

COMPLETED WORK

My students are required to do a portfolio assessment for NCLB since they can’t do the standard test even with accommodations. So, in order to make sure I’d have enough work samples to create a good portfolio, I became a pack rat. I’d save every piece of student work in a pile on my desk until the end of a given data period, which was usually about 10 weeks long. Don’t try this method.

Since my main worry is not having enough work samples collected in the Spring for the state-required portfolio, I’ve designated “data days” with pre-determined work that will be assigned and completed on those dates. The work is specifically targeted to the goals I’m tracking for the portfolio. This is the only work that gets saved. Everything else goes home at the end of the day.

Here’s how it works. To keep this work organized, I get one 3-ring binder and as many 2-pocket folders as there are students. The pocket folders go inside the binder. As the work is completed, I put each students completed work with the pre-printed documentation sheets specific to the portfolio requirements for my state. These packets (one for each goal) are held together by a paperclip and stored in the pocket folder. In the Spring, when all of the data have been collected, I move it all over to a smaller binder for each individual student that is then sent in for evaluation.

What’s my solution for making sure work gets home every day? It’s really basic.

You will need one heavy duty clip magnet for each student. Make sure to get the strong magnets. Put each student’s name on a clip and hang the clips on the whiteboard.

Make a section of your whiteboard (3 feet at one end or the other) the place to hang the clips. Draw a wide, black line to demarcate this area. At the top of it write something like “For Home”. Make it clear to students that the clips are the only thing that go in this area.

As work is returned to students, they put it on their clip. They practice reading, hand strengthening and general responsibility by doing this themselves. Part of the end of school routine is having the students check their clips for things to take home.

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.

There’s really no one organizational strategy that works for all teachers. You can do some experimenting and tailoring to fit your needs whether it be one of my suggestions, using cubby boxes, bookshelves or something entirely different. Whatever strategy you decide on, it will definitely be worth spending time to use it–if it works for you.

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