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Classroom organization is a key component to any successful classroom. As teachers, we want to make sure our students have a place for their homework, classwork, supplies, textbooks, notebooks, and anything else they will use in our classroom. Student Binders are the perfect way to set up students for a successful school year and teach them the organizational skills they will need for life. In this article, I'll show you how I set up student binders and what I include in them to keep students organized all year!

It's all about the Binder!

To begin with, be sure to add a binder to your student supply lists. Make sure you add a special note for students to supply a "Heavy-Duty" binder that is at least 1.5 inches wide. Obviously, any binder can work, but I have found that this type of binder is the most durable binder for students. If getting a binder from each student just isn't an option, you could use 3-prong folders and use one for each section. This isn't as ideal as a binder (keeping everything all in one place) but can do the job if necessary.

Make Student Binders Special!

My favorite part about using student binders is being able to create a fun cover for my students. If you like to have themes in your class each year, you could create a special theme cover. Not using a theme? You may want to use your school colors or something your students are into. Here are a few fun covers for some inspiration.

Think Dividers

Consider using dividers if you are looking to get the most out of your student binders. I prefer to have a few key sections in my student binders. 1. Weekly Agenda & Calendars 2. Homework 3. Student Data & Progress Reports 4. Class Information

You can have any sections you choose, but these have worked best for me. Continue reading for more explanation about each section.

A Daily Student Agenda

A Daily Student Agenda is KEY to keeping students organized, teaching life skills, and communicating with parents. At the end of each day, students write down important notes for the day and homework they are expected to complete that night. If I need to write a note home to a parent, this is where is goes. In addition, parents enjoy having a consistent place to reference for notes and things that need to be completed.

This agenda section is also a great way to keep a record of student progress, behavior concerns, and homework completion. All notes are in one place if ever needed for data collecting.

Lots of Calendars

As adults, we use calendars all the time to keep track of our schedule. Using calendars in your student binders will teach students this life skill and the importance of looking/planning ahead. Also, I love adding important school dates and events to this calendar at the beginning of the school year.

A Place for Homework

It is ideal to keep homework all in one place. Homework is more likely to be completed and less likely to go missing. Having a homework section in your student binders gives students a simple way to keep all of their nightly homework together.

Progress Reports

I regularly send home student progress reports in order to keep parents informed throughout the school year. These reports update parents on recent grades, progress, and any behavior concerns I may have at the time. A copy of the progress reports is kept in each student binder for parents to reference as the quarter/semester progresses. At the end of each quarter, I remove the progress reports and file them in my student portfolios.

Data Tracking

Requiring students to keep track of their own progress can have many positive effects in your classroom. By having students graph and/or record their grades, they are gaining a better understanding of how they are actually doing in school. Students should not be surprised if their grade is low and are more likely to take ownership and work to improve their grades when they see them in a concrete format.

Other Important Papers

It is important to have a section that contains anything and everything you would like your students to keep in their student binder. Some of these papers may be to help the student organize themselves and some might contain important class policies or procedures. Some of the information I like to include is a class schedule, contact information form, homework expectations, school policies, etc.

Let Them Personalize it!

Students love to make things their own! Your student binders should be no exception. Give them the opportunity to draw pictures or color on their agenda pages, as long as it doesn't interfere with the actual agenda. I love to use a "doodle" style agenda and let students color in the pictures each week as a fun activity. This is a great way to get students excited about their binders and they are more likely to take care of them throughout the school year.

If you are searching for the perfect student binder, check out my One Stop Student Binder! It has everything I mentioned above and MORE. The best part, I offer FREE updates for life! Yep, you get to return every single year and download the binder again for free.

Get yourself organize with my popular One Stop Teacher Binder... CLICK HERE! Everything you need in one binder!

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Student Binders: Improve Student Organization - One Stop Teacher Shop

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Classroom organization is a key component to any successful classroom. As teachers, we want to make sure our students have a place for their homework, classwork, supplies, textbooks, notebooks, and anything else they will use in our classroom.

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Share One Word

Ask students to share one word about how they are feeling that day. It can be in general, about a new project, or about something that is happening in their lives or in the world. This is whole-child stuff that tends to the emotional aspect of the student, bringing balance to the academic and intellectual focuses that typically drive the school day. It also builds emotional intelligence. When I was first doing this opening routine, students would say things like good, okay, tired, and bad, and then as they became more comfortable with each other and gained a larger vocabulary of emotion words, they began to share such words as pensive, anxious, serene, and frustrated. For low-stakes in the beginning, have students share with a neighbor or in a triad, then build to a whip around the room where everyone shares her or his word aloud.

Quote of the Day

Students love to share their opinions. (Who doesn't?) As an opening routine, I used Quote of the Day the first few years I taught high school, and it proved a great success. I would find a quote from a singer, actor, politician, or a famous dead person and have it displayed on the board when students walked in. They would enter the room, sit down, and begin writing a response. Under the quote, I would include the same question prompts: What does it mean? How can you relate to it, or make a connection to the world?

The Reading Minute

This one comes from English language arts teacher guru Kelly Gallagher. Find a passage online or in a book -- an excerpt of a poem, essay, article, or story -- and read it aloud. The passage might be humorous, interesting, angering, or beautiful, exhibiting great writing. After reading aloud, students open their notebooks and write a single-sentence summary to remember what they just read, or they can write a thesis statement. After a month of modeling different types of passages -- and sharing aloud sentences -- student then sign up to bring in a passage to read aloud for the Reading Minute. At the end of each semester, you can have students look back at their collection of single sentences and reflect on what was their favorite Reading Minute passage and why (They learned something important, it made them laugh, etc.). Check out this video of Gallagher discussing the Reading Minute.

Closing Routines

Cleaning up and discussing homework is an important routine for the end of the day, but it's also important to give your students a chance to further process their learning, and even to set a goal. Closing routines allow your students to check their understanding, and they also give your students an opportunity to reflect. It's a great way to wrap up your lessons. Closing routines also honor your time together that day, as well as give your students an opportunity to use their voice. The following are three examples of "exit slips" that can be completed on a small piece of scratch paper or a sticky note at the close of class.

Rate the Learning or Lesson

This exit slip can be accomplished in a matter of mere minutes. Ask students -- on a one to 10 scale -- to rate how well they understood the learning that day. If they rate their understanding low, ask them to write down what they may need (more time, more explanation, a graphic organizer to help with writing the essay, etc.). Students can also rate the lesson or teaching on a one to 10 scale; ask them to write a sentence or two giving feedback on the materials or activity that day.

Collect the slips, and after your students leave, make piles of similar ratings. If you have a lot of eight, nine, and 10 ratings, the lesson went well. If you have lower numbers, then it might be time to probe for further information from the whole class the next day, and then review or even reteach.

Closing Statement or Question

Ask students to first turn and talk in pairs or in a triad. What did you learn? What surprised you? What is unclear? What do you want to know more about? Then ask them to come up with a closing statement or question about the content and write it down. Collect the slip, and use these for talking points the next day, answering questions and commenting on statements they wrote.

Grab a Goal

Ask your students to think about a goal they would like to set. It can have to do with the unit of study, or it can be a personal goal outside of the classroom. Use sentence starters to prompt the writing for this one. Tomorrow, in class I will be ready to ______. Tonight, I will ____. By the end of the semester, I will ____. Have them share with a neighbor or in small groups, and ask for a few volunteers to share with the whole class. Collect the slips and sticky notes. This is a wonderful way to get to know your students. (You can do one, too!)

Writing their names on exit slips was optional for me. You decide -- perhaps sometimes yes, and other times no. Students will be more honest if it's anonymous. Yet with goal setting, there's more accountability if you have names, and you can check in with individuals and offer specific supports and encouragement.

Collaborating With Colleagues

Advice I like to give to new teachers: Go out and collect opening and closing routines from fellow teachers. The internet is not always the best place to seek curricular materials -- your colleagues are! Talk with colleagues during meetings and then stop by their rooms to take a look at their resources and student products.

A mistake new teachers often make is thinking they have to create everything from scratch. I explain that there are those who have been at this a long time and have honed strategies, collected data and student samples, and then adjusted that activity or project to make it even better -- and they are there, right next door, ready to share their expertise and resources with you.

What opening and closing routines would you like to offer up? Please share in the comments section below.

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6 Opening and Closing Routines for New Teachers | Edutopia

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Ask students to share one word about how they are feeling that day. It can be in general, about a new project, or about something that is happening in their lives or in the world. This is whole-child stuff that tends to the emotional aspect of the student, bringing balance to the academic and intellectual focuses that typically drive the school day.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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The easiest way to follow your favorite blogs