How To Prepare Your Classroom for Literacy Achievement Series: Keeping Track

Paperwork, organization, binders, and assessments! Oh my!

There are so many components to keeping track of reading and writing strategies, best practices, interventions, and data that it can be overwhelming if you don't have a plan. Organization is crucial to success in keeping track of the happenings in a literacy rich classroom. In this post, I will talk about setting up the teacher's binder and creating student binders.

We've all used binders to store information for our own use, but student binders sometimes go unimplemented. We need to ask ourselves why. My mission as an educator is to prepare students by giving them the tools they need to be independent, critical thinkers who are career and college ready. To help them reach that goal, teachers have to be willing to teach organizational skills, and how to use the information they are learning in other contexts.

Teacher's Binder

I have found that it is easier to create my own binder using a variety of resources from different sources. I am always in search of a form or strategy list that is simple to use, yet efficient. If you are just getting started, or don't have a lot of time, you might find it's easier to download a free resource or purchase a product designed especially for teacher's binders. You have to be honest with yourself and what works best for you.

Contents

1.  Standards
2.  Curriculum Guide
3.  Mini-Lesson List
4.  Conference Calendar
5.  Conference Sheets 
6.  Coaching Questions
7.  List of books covering the range of abilities in your class
8.  Read Aloud Books
9.  Assessments (by quarters or semesters)

1. Standards - Having these handy helps guide your planning and instruction.

2. Curriculum Guide - Preparing this in advance will give you an overall vision of where you are leading your students.

3. Mini-Lesson List - This is helpful when you need a lesson that fits your students' current needs. If you have found the previous days lesson did not go well because you realized they are lacking a key strategy or skill, choose a mini-lesson that will support them. You can also choose lessons that provide extensions or challenges for students that are ready to move to higher-order thinking.

4. Conference Calendar - Keep track of which students you are supposed to meet with throughout the week.

5. Conference Sheets - It is always useful to have your own notes of student conferences. However, you might opt to let students keep these forms in their own binders so they know their goals.

6. Coaching Questions - As teachers, we sometimes think we know how to ask questions during a conference. However, my first time immersed in Daily 5 conferences with Read to Self and Work on Writing, I struggled. I went in search of questions that will help me prod students deeper. Instead of asking surface level questions, I can quickly glance at my cheat sheet and choose questions that are more meaningful in helping me and the student understand what they know and what they need to work on.

7. List of books covering the wide range of abilities in your class - This can help you support students in choosing "just right" books. There are some students who say "I don't like anything," or "I don't like to read," or "I don't know what to choose." For those indecisive students, this is a great way to break that barrier and get some books in their hands.

8. Read Aloud Books - Keeping this list on hand will help you choose books that are meaningful when teaching mini-lessons. Teacher read alouds are a great way for students to listen to a fluent reader and hear reading strategies being used.

9. Assessments - They can be organized by quarters or semesters (or any other way that you are used to). It is important that we are able to make connections between current abilities and assessment data. Use the assessments to help you plan for instruction, provide interventions, and challenge students.

Student's Binder 

Binders for students are a great way to sharpen (or teach them) organizational skills, responsibility, and accountability. Make sure you invest time in teaching them how to care for and use their binders, otherwise, they will end up at the bottom of their desks. 

You might be thinking..."Oh, no! Something else I have to keep track of!" Well, if you put the power in the hands of your students, then you should not have to do much "keeping track" because they will be responsible for their binders. This can work at both primary and intermediate levels, but teachers have to take the time to show them how to use it, and give them time to fill it out. In my experience teaching 4th and 5th grades, this is a great way to prepare them for the expectations of middle school.

Contents

1.  "I can" Standards
2.   Reading Log
3. Writing Log
4. Reading Response
5. Writing Response   

1.  "I can" Standards - Give students a guide of objectives, learning targets, and essential questions so they know what is expected of them. This also helps them understand what they are learning in more concrete terms. Before each lesson, have them write the date next to the standard they are learning that day.

2.  Reading Log - This form should have a place for students to write the book title, author, genre, and if they finished or abandoned the book. It should be simple so students don't get overwhelmed, but it will give them an idea of their likes and dislikes regarding certain genres and authors.

3. Writing Log - Have a form that students can use to track what they are writing. Some teachers might choose to use a Writer's Notebook to keep track of their writing.

4 & 5. Reading & Writing Response - Give students a variety of forms or use lined paper they can use to respond to their reading and writing. Again, this should be simple so that it allows students to freely write their responses.

If you have the space, I have seen many teachers collect and store student binders on a shelf or in a bin so they are out of their desks, but easily accessible. Teach the procedure for getting their notebook and taking it to their "spot" or desk to fill it out.

I hope that some of this information is useful for you if you are preparing for how you will organize teacher and student materials for your literacy block. There are many ways you can do this, but I strive for simple and effective methods. You may find that when experimenting with these ideas, you will be inspired to try other methods that work best for you and your students. Pay attention to the ebb and flow of your class!

What are your tried and true literacy organization strategies?

Classroom Management Series: Reflection of Year 1; Part 1

This post is all about what I have learned in my first year of teaching. There were a lot of great ideas, some failed attempts, and good intentions. This is a very long post because it covers most aspects of a classroom. 

Behavior Management System

(Social Contract & Positive Affirmations Board)

2013-2014

My behavior management system was part of a school-wide system that incorporated the Capturing Kids' Hearts program. Faculty and staff learned about this program during the institute days before school started. Since I didn't start until the 3rd week of school, I did not have the opportunity to participate. I listened and learned from my colleagues as they implemented this system.

The major components consist of the Social Contract, Positive Affirmations, Check & Foul System.

The Social Contract 

Part of the purpose of the social contract is for students to self-monitor their behavior. Students create a list of character words and adjectives that describe what we expect of each other. Examples include:  responsible, prepared, fair, caring, on time, etc.

Positive Affirmations

Each student decorates a library pocket with a positive adjective that describes themselves and their name. Example:  Happy Halle. Throughout the year, students can write a positive message to another classmate. Examples:  "I like how you helped me pick up my markers when they spilled on the floor." "I like how you are a good friend." This is a good way to establish community in the classroom. The students love doing this and asked frequently if they could spend their free time creating "positive pockets" as we called it.

Check & Foul System

For students to learn how to self-manage, they have to be taught specific ways of handling certain situations. Part of Capturing Kids' Hearts (CKH) was for students to "check" each other if they were not following the social contract, hurting someone's feelings, etc. They simply hold their fist out with their thumb pointing in the direction of the person not following the directions. All students are taught to understand that means they need to "check" their behavior. If it needs changed, they need to correct their behavior. 

Fouling is for cases in which a student's feelings were hurt or extreme cases of breaking the social contract. 

{Reflection}

Overall, I liked this system and believe that I will keep all or most of the components in future classrooms; however, I found it was still necessary to cover all classroom rules and procedures as a separate activity from the social contract. In addition, I kept a behavior chart to supplement major infractions. This is in place of a clip chart system.

The students did great creating a beginning of the year contract and a second semester contract. They enjoyed creating positive pockets for their friends--including friends in other classrooms!

The checks and fouls were a good system for self-managing behavior; however, there was a lot of time spent modeling and practicing what constituted as a legitimate check and/or foul. This area could use some work. 

Classroom Jobs

(Classroom Jobs Chart)

2013-2014

This is probably the third version or so that I used throughout the course of ONE year! I started the year of very rushed and had an idea of what I wanted to implement, but it turned out to be pathetic and hard to manage. By the time I had created this on Thanksgiving break, I was a little hesitant about keeping track of every student having a different job every two weeks. I wanted every student to feel included. I started off by having them keep track of their jobs; they earned "caught being good" tickets for this. After three weeks of that, I found out it was too hard to manage. I dropped those and switched to a checklist that recorded each student's job throughout the year.

{Reflection}

My next classroom may not feature a job for every student because it is a huge management responsibility. I want to get other parts of my classroom up and running smoothly and I don't feel that I need a job for everything. I may have comprehensive jobs such as teacher's helper.

Missing Homework

(Missing Homework Chart)

2013-2014

This is one of those projects that I started with good intentions. My cooperating teacher did something similar during my student teaching and it worked well. I had such a homework issue this year that managing this area became almost impossible. I wanted it to be a visual reminder for my students; however, I was still having to remind them every recess that they needed to make up work. I resorted to keeping track with my clipboard and a checklist.

{Reflection}

I still want to incorporate this into my classroom because it is a valuable tool for holding students accountable. I believe that practicing routines for this tool will make it more successful. It also needs to be placed in a more prominent position. It was under the homework mailboxes.

  Homework

(Information Center/Homework Boards)

2013-2014

This area served as my communication center for homework (they filled their agendas out using this board), rotating restroom break schedule above that, and the Homeworkopoly board to the right.

The black plastic storage containers are where I planned to keep my small group planning and assessment materials. I ended up doing "on the fly" conferences so much that I never really used these drawers.  My small group table was used constantly for pulling a few students to reteach a concept or skill. Students loved this table during independent and group activities.

{Reflection}

I loved using the rotating restroom schedule for my 5th graders. They were well aware of time (and constantly reminded me of it), so I rotated the table numbers each day so they could use the restroom during a staggered time period. They dismissed themselves by table every 5 minutes. In the future, I will plan the times better so they do not interrupt the beginning of a new subject/lesson. 

The homework board was free form so I could use this area as a memo board as well. I outlined it in decorative masking tape. I loved this format!

I will make better use of the small group bins when I have time to actually plan for reading workshop! 

Homework Spot

(Homework Spot)

2013-2014

I ended up using this mailbox system as my homework turn in area because I found that papers didn't slide in and out easily in the pocket chart I was using. The slots are numbered and each student turns in his or her paper according to their class number. The Missing Homework area is below the mailboxes.

{Reflection}

I'm thinking about using a 6 drawer system for turning in homework by subject instead of all mixed together in a mailbox. This way I can eliminate the step of separating them by subject. I can simply sort them by student number and see who I am missing. The mailboxes can go back to being a mailbox instead of a crate and folder setup I used this year.

Homeworkopoly

 

 

(Homeworkopoly Bulletin Board)

2013-2014

The students loved this game that was a reward for having no missing assignments that week. They played during Friday Fun. I got this from Ladybug's Teacher Files. There are two sets of cards that I created myself that have various rewards on them. 

{Reflection}

 I like this system for rewarding good homework habits. I need to create a "Rules of the Game" poster and hang it near the game board so students can self-manage this center. I also need to create new reward cards. I also need a system for keeping track of who has earned what award. My previous system involved me collecting them after students wrote their initials in dry erase marker. I would keep them in a binder clip on my desk that students could peruse at certain times. 

Schedule

 (Schedules)

2013-2014

I found these schedule cards on TpT and glued magnets to them to use on my magnetic white board. I had to hand write the times with dry erase marker. This worked well, but found it was cumbersome to change them on days when I needed to tweak the schedule a little.

The library open checkout schedule is posted below the class schedule. On Tuesdays, the band schedule is posted. On Fridays, the library helper notice is posted.

{Reflection}

I am one of those types that doesn't commit to the same thing every year, so I will be updating the look of my schedule. I am thinking circle schedule cards for a cleaner look. I also want to post the specials schedule somewhere. For the other schedules throughout the week, I would like to create a small area on the wall to display those.

This series featured management in the classroom. My next post will be all about organizing. I will be talking about the teacher's area, files and storage, and library organization. It feels good to finally get out what has been circling in my mind since school ended. Now I can move on to preparing my management and organization for next school year. I am in the midst of creating a summer school curriculum that I will be using in July. That has been quite the project! Along with majorly decluttering the house, there has been a lot going on.

I'm off to enjoy a good movie and listen to the sounds of a summer night!