What teacher has time to file? Have I got a simple solution for you!

You know that “To File”pile on your teacher’s desk filled with loose papers and thematic unit files that you still need to put away? …. and you probably won’t get to until the end of the school year…ahem!  You know it, and I know it… It’s true. It’s okay though! Teachers have so much to do and the filing can always wait.

Keep reading, I got your back.  Trust me, you will thank me later.  With this teacher hack, you will be able to sit back, relax, put your feet up and admire your organization!

Get organized!

Oh yes, I did!  I lifted that bookshelf and plopped it right ON TOP of my teacher’s desk!  I found bins at our local Dollar Tree and made whimsical labels for each area of instruction!  You will notice I have bin labels for:

Reader’s Workshop
Reading Intervention
Writer’s Workshop
Guided Reading
Word Work
Math
Social Studies
Science
Assessment
Monday thru Friday
Reading Groups!
and I made a ton more too!

How It Works

At the start of each unit of study, I place ALL the materials I need for that topic in the bin.  For example, if during Reader’s Workshop, we are working on a nonfiction unit of study, I will pull any teacher manuals, anchor texts, games, props and my personal nonfiction files and place them ALL in Reader’s Workshop bin! Together.

Each time I need something from the bin, it is all right there at my fingertips.  When the unit is over, I simply take the materials and swap them out for the next unit of study.  Done! and done!

Daily Use

When you teach multiple subject areas, it is often times difficult to keep your teacher work space organized.  I mean, how many times have you ended your day sitting down at your desk and it looks like a bomb went off? Relax and put your feet up with this organization!

By organizing each subject in their own bin, I am able to quickly pull out the materials I need and put them away after the lesson is over. I pull out the planning bin for our next lesson, take out what I need and the tidy cycle repeats itself!

A place for everything and everything in its place
-Mom

or

A stitch in time, saves nine.
-Mom always said this too

This filing method has truly saved me countless hours of filing.  I no longer dread it…. I file as I go, and it’s that easy! Mom was right!  I mean, who wants to tackle filing at the end of the year when that “To File Pile” is a disorganized mess and completely scattered and out of order!?!?

Do yourself a favor, visit the dollar store, treat yourself to some colorful bins for your teacher’s desk and label them by subject! You can find the planning bin labels seen in this photograph with a whimsical design right HERE.

Pin it for later: