Classroom organization and management tips for you to start using today!

I have gathered some of my favorite classroom organization and management ideas to share with you today! I have used all these tools and tricks in my very own classroom and I love how they create an organized classroom.

Pencils

My first classroom organization and management tip is to always have a can full of sharpened pencils ready to go. I always felt that if my students have pencils, we can get through anything. There is nothing worse than hearing “I don’t have a pencil” or “I can’t find a pencil.” Also, having a great pencil sharpener is life changing! I love the X-ACTO School Pro Electric Sharpener.

Community Supplies

Students come with a lot of supplies and everything needs a place. Organizing these supplies right away will help create an organized classroom. At the beginning of the year, I collect a few of my students’ supplies. This is entirely up to you. I also purchase a few supplies in bulk at the beginning of the year to put in our community supply bins. Again, this is totally up to you. For many years I stored our community supplies in table caddies. I purchased my supply caddies from Lakeshore Learning and they can be found HERE. These are wonderful and sturdy caddies. However, in the last few years my students rarely sat in table groups, so I now use them to hold supplies for different centers around the classroom. Recently, I moved to large supply buckets. I purchased the supply buckets from Michaels Stores during the Summer. I was unable to find them on the their website, but I found similar ones from Oriental Trading and can be found HERE.

Lost and Found

I never knew we needed a lost and found until we had one. A lost and found bin is a MUST HAVE for an organized classroom! If your students are anything like mine, they will come to you with a hundred different little items they find around the classroom. It could be a math manipulative, a paper clip, a folder, a shirt (yes, I did find this in the bin and I didn’t ask any questions), a crayon…ANYTHING! Grab a bin and download the FREE label HERE to create your lost and found bin. I promise, you will not regret it.

Broken Materials

Again, this is one I didn’t know we needed until I had students running up to me telling me something was broken and wanted it replaced. Now, I love my students and I treat them like my own, but I am not going to replace every broken material that was perfectly put together at the beginning of the year. I know some things will fall apart over the years. That’s just the way it is. However, I’m talking about our favorite students who “accidentally” break an item(s). Then, we hear every excuse in the book on why it is broken. I’ll be honest, I lost my patience for this. With the Broken Materials bin, my students can simply put the item(s) in the bin. I promise, you will want this bin in your classroom. You can find the label HERE.

Parking Lot for Unfinished Work

This is a great way for students to organize their unfinished work! Sometimes the word “unfinished” can cause negative feelings and the frustrated emotions can come out. If students do not finish their work, I simply tell them to place it in the “parking lot” and they can come back to it. I always try to find time for them to complete the work other than recess. There are many ways to organize this system! I use hanging folders and a file bin to organize. I’ve also used it as part of my the 3 drawer turn in system (see below). This makes it super easy to see who has unfinished work too!

Turn In System

At the beginning of the year, take time to think about how you’re going to collect papers. In my opinion, this is key to any classroom management plan. These could be completed papers, notes from home, lunch money, etc. I like to use a 3 drawer system. I use the 3 drawers for student work. I have one drawer for completed work that is ready to be turned it. I have another drawer for unfinished work, which is the parking lot. The last drawer is for students who need a little extra help on their work.

Read Aloud Basket

For many years I used a large display shelf to organize all my monthly read alouds. This worked, but it took up a large amount of space. Last year, I switched to a read aloud basket. I loved this! It took up less space and still held all my monthly read alouds nicely. You can grab the read aloud basket label HERE.

New Books Display

Another classroom organization tip for your classroom books is having a ‘new book’ basket. Throughout the year, I purchase new books for our classroom library. I try to find these on discount at stores or from Scholastic Book Club. Bonus points from Scholastic can add up quickly and is a great way to get free books for your classroom! I like to display these books in a cute basket with a new books label. You can find the label HERE.

Teacher Drawer Organizer

As teachers, we have a lot to organize! My favorite classroom organizer is a 10 drawer rolling cart. I purchased mine from Michaels and it can be found HERE. I use the cart to hold all my papers for the week and the following week. I have a drawer for each day of the week and a drawer for next week. I use the remainder drawers for things that need to be graded, filed, and laminated.