The Organised Teacher: 7 Planning Tips for the New Term

Wish you were a more organised teacher? Consider the wise words of Eleanor Roosevelt:

"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan"

The organisation is essential for the smooth running of a classroom. Planning and knowing where things are, help both you and your students to flourish. Follow these top teacher-organising tips to keep your class shipshape - all year long.

1. Diaries to plan (and inform!)

Plan

Use an academic diary. As soon as term begins you’ll need to plan the June trip and July sports day, and academic diaries span the year you’ll spend with your class. They also help you to visualise the time you have with your students, from the day they arrive; to the day they move on.

Inform

Diaries make great record-keepers. Keep a different diary with a specific purpose, such as reflecting on lessons, jobs lists, or monitoring particular student behaviour. Teaching is fast, furious, and reactive, but it’s easy to jot a quick note (who forgot their PE kit  – or recording for the SENCO on how many times student ‘A’ left their seat on Friday). You’ll be surprised at how your comments help inform your teaching.

2. Online calendar vs physical diary

Either is fine! Many people love controlling everything from their phone. However, paper and pen diaries need no digital connections and are much more personal and versatile:

• Paper diaries allow for personality. Choose the size and colour – or whether to have a week or a day to a page. The choice is yours.
• When you physically write on paper it is more visual and therefore more memorable.
• Your entries signal information to you. Circle a word for urgency, add a big question mark. Underline, or use colours and highlighters. Your codes aid your organisation.
• Flicking through pages helps to grasp the ‘size’ of time. We are less likely to miss things or be underprepared.

3. Clear labelling

Label everything! Folders and drawers, plans, class lists, letters home. Make it your academic new year resolution and you’ll avoid sweat and tears.

Label before your students arrive. It will improve behaviour, especially at changeover times and for pupils who struggle with either instructions or disorder. Have clear labels for classroom storage and ensure that students understand them.

Your labels should look good (not torn, or in a random felt tip colour). Laminators and labels for printers will be your best friend for this. Parents and managers might not comment on your brilliant organisation – but they definitely notice a muddled classroom. Quality labelling will instil respect for equipment and help students put things away correctly. You’ll love it!

4. Tidy Desk = Tidy Mind

Vow to keep your desk tidy this year. It will set an excellent example, and aid in your organisation (stuffing everything into the store cupboard is not the answer!). Put pens in the pen pot and books on the shelf (in the correctly labelled place, of course – see point 3!). Create a clear ‘teacher only’ zone so that your stapler, ruler and rubber are always to hand. A carefully selected monitor will help to keep it spick and span!

Teachers literally attract pieces of paper. A filing tray, pinboards or magnetic boards, will give you nifty access to the documents and reminders you use most.

5. Computer Files

Ok – these are hidden away and rarely seen. You do your lesson and move on. But if your computer files aren’t ordered you’ll soon become disorganised. Plus, if you have to share online spaces and folders, you could mess up other teachers’ access to what they need.

Not only that, you’re risking wasting your own time. Remember the PowerPoint on pre-fronted adverbials you created that raised your students by a whole level? Decide very carefully where you’ll save it. Perhaps it could be in two locations? You need it to hand in the next year, or your brilliant work will be wasted.

6. Planners and Calendars in your Classroom

Time is a tricky concept for many students. Engage your class by installing

a planner or calendar on the wall. Let them see you refer to it. You could even choose a pupil to cross off a day when it’s time to go home – or ask older students to add items like homework deadlines at your request. This is great preparation for their own timekeeping responsibilities and a clear reference for all students who might otherwise ‘forget’.

7. Check your classroom equipment needs well in advance

 The person responsible for ordering your school supplies adores organised teachers. Check out the ordering deadlines, and put advance reminders for topics in your new diary!

• Have you ordered your exercise books? You can’t expect a pack of perfect A4, red, wide lined, half-blank page exercise books to be on the shelf when you need them. Plan ahead.
• Tinted exercise books? These really help students with dyslexia and other visual learning difficulties. Make sure you have them on hand.
• Equipment for topics? No excited student wants to share a magnet with four other children. Count up your school’s supply before it’s too late.

There’s a huge choice of exercise books available these days. Search online for a style that best suits your needs.

In Summary:

You don’t want to waste time in the future wishing you’d planned better. Do it now!

Planning does take effort and organisation, but with the right tools and systems in place, you’ll save time, benefit your pupils, impress parents and managers - and everything will run like clockwork.