LET'S GET YOU AND YOUR CLASSROOM BTS READY! 

Whether it's your 1st or your 21st year teaching, back-to-school time typically brings about feelings of both anticipation and nervousness. Starting the year off strong is so important for setting a positive tone to carry through the rest of the year. A solid organized start helps to build a positive classroom culture, establish routines, and create trust within relationships with students and families.

You might be thinking, "ok, but how do I actually do that?" No worries! Keep reading and I'll offer some tips to get you headed in the right direction as well as a helpful checklist.

TIP #1 GET ORGANIZED

Good organization will help your classroom run more efficiently and most importantly it will help to save your sanity!  Upper elementary students are still developing important executive functioning skills like time management and responsibility. When you establish orderly systems for using and storing materials you help to reduce the chaos that disorganization brings for you and your students. Without further ado and in no particular order, let's take a look.

Side note: Color-coding is KING for all the things.

• Task Cards: Task cards are so easy and helpful to use at centers, but ONLY if you keep them organized before and after each use. The colorful boxes in cases (see pic above) are essential. You can label each individual box by activity and each whole case by topic, unit or subject depending on how many sets of tasks cards that you use.

• Returning Papers: Will you have a mailbox system where you distribute papers as soon as you are done grading them? Will you only return graded papers once a week on a specific day? 

• Weekly Take Home Folders: I highly recommend using the Nicky Parent Teacher Communication folders. They are made of some sort of fancy — dare I say almost magical — plastic material that is super durable and actually has a good chance of surviving the trip home and back all year long. The left side is for return to school, and the right is for keep at home.

• No Name Papers: Whether you clip them to a board or toss them in a bin (no, not that bin) have a designated place for students to look for their papers when they complain that they didn't get their work back.

• Student Files: Create a file folder for each student in a secure file cabinet that is for your eyes only. You can keep important documents like IEPs, behavior logs, parent communication logs, iReady reports, IXL diagnostics, exemplary work samples to share at conference time, etc.

• Classroom Library: Get some bins to store and categorize your books. Choose between categorizing by genre, author or level. Regardless of how you sort them, be sure to color-code each book within the category by placing a little circle sticker on them. That allows for easy reshelving.

• Substitute Folder: Prepare a sub folder that has your daily schedule, class roster, seating chart, reliable student helpers, important student info such as allergies, and nearby teachers' names/room numbers who can help if questions or issues arise. I'd also highly recommend including 3 days of emergency lesson plans.

• Absent Work: Choose a system that works for you and be sure it's in place before school starts. Will you have designated folders by subject area where students will find copies of worksheets that they missed? Will an organized and neat student make a copy of their notes to share with absent students?

• Turn in Assignments: How will students turn in their classwork and homework? Maybe you'll use baskets. Maybe you'll use folders. The hanging file folder pictured below was a gamechanger for me. The folders can be labeled by subject and are removable. They all fold up into a handy-dandy little carrying case for when you need to do your grading at home.

TIP #2 DECORATE WITH RESTRAINT

Of course you want your classroom decor to be attractive, but don't lose sight of the reason why you are there. It's a place of learning. Don't go overboard spending a lot of time and money to decorate around a big theme. Instead, choose a color palette or a color family to create a cohesive space. Personally, I like to use muted colors because they are calming to me. Maybe you like brighter colors to wake everyone up? Choose what works best in your classroom but be consistent.

TIP #3 LEAVE SPACE FOR STUDENT WORK

Show your students that you appreciate their effort! Display their work proudly. (Don't display actual grades or corrections on work.) Students can take pride in their own work as well as learn from the work of others.

TIP #4 USE LEARNING DECOR

• Post a daily word/brainteaser/idiom, etc.

• Maps

• Anchor charts

• Biography posters

• Timelines

• Reference sheets

TIP #5 ROUTINES, ROUTINES, ROUTINES

Clearly communicate the rules and procedures to students from day one, so your entire class is on the same page. Continue to actively review routines and expectations throughout the first week or two. Taking time to teach routines at the start of the school year will allow your classroom to run more effectively all year long. Post the daily schedule where students can easily refer to it.  Also, designate a spot to post their daily bell work / morning work so they know where to look without asking you what they should be doing each and every morning upon arrival.

 Some additional things to think about include:

• What will students do when they first enter the classroom in the morning?

• Where will they put their things?
  

• How do they line up to transition to another classroom/lunch/recess?

• What is the bathroom policy/procedure?

• How will small group rotations work?

• Laptop usage and storage?
  

• Pack up/dismissal procedure?

• Homework policy?
  
  

TIP #6 PARENT COMMUNICATION IS KEY

Be ready to provide information to parents at Open House/BTS Night.  How will you continue to communicate with parents/guardians throughout the year? Weekly newsletters? Paper or digital? Any sites or apps (Google classroom, Class Dojo, etc.)?

I understand that the start of the year can feel overwhelming, but keep in mind that you don’t need to have everything perfectly decorated from day one if you’re pressed for time. Be prepared for Open House/BTS Night. Have your first week of school lessons solidly planned. Then do what you can to decorate your room. It'll all come together fine. Use this free checklist to help you stay organized.