For most students first grade is their time using a desk. Some students are born with a natural, organizational instinct. Some, on the other hand, need a bit of guidance in this area.
One way I help students stay organized is by putting electrical tape down the middle of their desk. I laminate labels and tape them down, so they know what they should keep on one side and on the other. This helps them keep their things stacked neatly, because they wouldn’t fit on their side otherwise. I got the idea for this system at an Autism training provided by the Watson Institute. I thought it would be a beneficial way to keep all students organized, not just children with Autism.
On one side of their desks, I have students keep their books and folders. I have 4 color coded folders in my classroom.
Yellow- Take Home Folder
Green- Friday Folder for important papers
Red- Under Construction Folder to store unfinished work
Blue- Intervention Folder
On the side labeled school supplies, they keep a box of crayons, a glue stick, a highlighter, pencil, and a eraser . While browsing on Pinterest, I got the idea for using baskets from school supplies from the blog, http://whathappensinfirstgrade.blogspot.com/. They also keep a bag with their whiteboard slate, dry erase marker and a sock to erase their board (which I bought in packs from the Dollar Tree). I also got this idea from Pinterest, which came from the blog, http://www.clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/.
What are your favorite tricks for keeping students neat and tidy?
Coming Soon: All About my Behavior Management System
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Stumbled upon this post while searching for a strategy for keeping desks more organized. Had never thought of the tape to divide the inside of the desk and little notes to remind students what goes where. How clever! Using this with a few of my students on Monday. Getting a class set ready because I think it will be popular and everyone will want to get in on the fun.
So glad you found this helpful Wendy! Thanks for reading and thank you for your feedback! Hope you are well!