Organization for new teachers can be very difficult. In this blog post we will identify the top 5 organizing tips for the school year if you are a new teacher. By no means are these the only five, but they will get you started on having a great year.
- Make a list...
A teacher's best friend can be a list. Make sure to start making lists of items you need to buy to decorate your classroom and things you want to do once you are in your room. If you are a new teacher, you will want to make your classroom your own. This would involve making a list of the decorations that you will choose to use for the school year. Your list should also have the supplies you will need to get your classroom up and running. Click here or on the picture below for a free checklist that you can use to get started in your classroom.
- Have a calendar/planner...
If there is one thing that a teacher cannot live without, it is a planner. This is your lifeline to what is happening in your classroom and building. It houses meetings, conference dates, student birthdays, and most importantly, those days you don't have to report to school! There are many different forms of planners that teachers use. In this digital age, many colleagues use online calendars such as Microsoft Outlook, or Google Calendar. But, if you like having something that you can page through and carry with you, the old-fashioned planners work just as well. Some like weekly calendars, while others like daily. It is all up to you, but you must have one to keep all the different events easy to find. We have created a teacher editable year-long calendar that you can find by clicking here. - Make sure rosters are ready to go...
You will be collecting a lot of paperwork the first few weeks of school. There are forms that parents have to fill out, and you may be having students complete easy activities as well. Having class rosters available so you can track who has and hasn't turned in assignments or forms is a huge time-saver. It allows you a quick glance as to who still needs to turn in the papers. It also helps you spot early patterns of students who have difficulty completing work on time. It is better to catch this early in the year, then to wait until mid-year to try and correct it. - Establish a routine...
This is more for you, then for your students. Teachers tend to be creatures of habit. Anything that changes in a teacher's daily routine can be unsettling. So, we tend to follow the same routine every morning before school, upon arrival at school, and getting home at a reasonable time. If you know that there may be a before, or after school meeting, adjust your routine appropriately to fit in what you normally do. Yes, that may mean waking up earlier, but it will provide sanity for you in being able to follow your daily routine. - Join Scholastic Book Club...
Being a new teacher your classroom library is probably tiny or non-existent. Scholastic Book Club is a great place to start to build your own library. It would be a great idea to talk to some veteran teachers in your building who are already using Scholastic. They may have a coupon that you could use to get started that could give you bonus points towards ordering books. Once your students start ordering, you will be able to obtain some free books and your bonus points total will start to grow. Then you can use these points towards ordering books. In no time at all, you will be adding quality literature to your classroom library!
If you liked this blog post,, you will want to check out The First Year Teacher eBook with 29 pages of helpful tips for beginning teachers. This is a comprehensive and easy-to-read resource that will help any beginning teacher have a successful school year.
You will also want to check out our companion guide: The First Year Teacher Resources which contains 40 different resources (printables) you can use your first year of teaching!
Thanks and here is to a successful year of teaching!
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