Teacher Week '13 -- Organizing for Instruction

I'm loving all of the Teacher Week posts I've been reading!  Today's topic is Now Teach!  Organizing for Instruction.  Being more organized became one of my classroom goals last year, and it's still one I'm working on this year.  So, here's a small peek into some of the ways I try to organize myself for instruction.

First of all, I started using a large teacher planner binder last year and it's been awesome!  I have tabs in there for my calendar, lesson plans, curriculum maps, student info, committee meeting minutes, Common Core standards, and a few others.  I'm grade chair this year, so keeping all that info straight is important!

I worked hard last summer to organize my cabinets!  It's so easy to find things now, and to be able to see when something is getting low.

 

This past summer I worked on putting together math stations.  I decided to organize them using large manila envelopes.  I like attaching the cover sheet with instructions on the front so I can easily remember how the station works!

 

I have these storage drawers under my desk.  I've labeled each drawer with a day of the week.  Inside I keep copies for each day, as well as any materials we'll need.  It's awesome to be able to open a drawer and have what I need for the day inside.

 

I love this organizer I found on clearance at Target this past summer!  I'm using it for our math stations this year.  I like how there are 4 colors, and I have 4 tables in my classroom.  So, each day, a table gets to use a different color.  They have to complete the activity in the large tub first, then if they finish early, they can grab one of the small tubs to use.  

Don't forget to link over to Blog Hoppin' to check out some more organization ideas!