Inside: Our growing list of classroom organization tips!
As you prepare for the new school year, one major goal may be optimizing your classroom organization! From writing your lesson plans, organizing files, and making sure supplies are in the right place, this GROWING list of classroom organization tips will help you start the year outright. (Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure.)
Pen Organization
As teachers, we love our pens! Depending on how many you have in your stash, I have a couple of ideas to help you get your own pen collection organized.
Personally, I use this spinning supply organizer to keep my supply organized. I got it from Hobby Lobby, and I absolutely love it! I couldn’t find the same one on Amazon, but you can find a similar one here.
Have an even bigger stash than I do? My friend, Katelyn, shared her drawer stash with me, and I was in love with her organization! I shared it on my Instagram as well, and it was a major hit with the teacher community there.
So how did she organize her very large stash? She cleared out an entire drawer of her teacher’s desk to dedicate to her pens. Then, she got a cute metal cup for each pen type and keeps them all organized in her drawer. Genius, right?
Sub Tub & Sub Binder Organization
If you’ve been around Wife Teacher Mommy much, then you KNOW how important it is to have sub plans ready ahead of time. By organizing your emergency sub plans into a sub tub, it is easy just to call in and let the sub know where to grab your plans. No stress at all if you or your kiddo gets sick!
You can organize all of the materials together by following the tips in the blog post Organize your Perfect Sub Tub! I often get asked what container I use in all of my pictures. You can find it right here on Amazon!
Not only do you want sub plans (which are the teaching materials for your sub), but you’ll also want a sub binder. The sub binder includes all of the information your sub needs for your class to continue to run smoothly while you are away.
Our editable sub binder includes 89 editable templates for you to use- just print and go! And our ready to go sub plans include all of the teaching content that you’ll need while the sub is away (available for Pre-K through 6th grades). You can check out all of our sub planning resources in the shop as well as the Teachers pay Teachers store.
You can also grab some FREE sub plans, sub tub label, and editable sub binder forms by signing up for our sub plan freebies below!
Classroom Organization Clip Art Hack
This is another trick from one of my teacher friends. She uses pot lid racks to organize clipboards. I love this idea because you can store them where they are easily within reach but well organized.
Other teachers have said they used these pot lid racks for iPads, Chromebooks, or Tablets as well. Who knew pot lid racks could be so great for classroom organization?
Use Drag-N-Drop Seating Charts for Organized Seating Charts
You might start your year with an alphabetical seating chart to memorize names easily, but to change it up for differentiation and behaviors, try this simple template and these clever tips! You’ll have your class organized in no time with our Drag-N-Drop seating charts. They are so easy to customize for your individual needs.
Want to learn even more about creating organized seating charts? You might also love these clever tricks to make creating seating charts a breeze!
Use one of our Favorite Teacher Planners!
Classroom organization would not be the same without a planner! Keep everything from lesson plans to student health information and birthdays in one easy to use teacher planner. Some of our favorites are the Create 365 Happy Planner Teacher Edition, Erin Condren Teacher Planner, and the Plum Paper Teacher Planner.
Or, if you’re the crafty kind, you can even make your own lesson organizer. With just a cardboard box, some washi tape, and labels, you’ll have an inexpensive way to organize lessons for every day of the week.
Order Organizational Tools on Amazon!
They’ve got pretty much everything you need, and nothing beats free prime shipping! Saving time and money is always a win-win. Want to see all of our FAVORITE organizational tools on Amazon? Check out our Amazon Teacher Shop!
Classroom Organization for Posters
Get rid of the creases and mess of multiple topics with blank binder clips, labels, and folders. This is a great tip for classroom organization! Read more about organizing your posters here.
Use Google Classroom for Classroom Organization
If you’re in a Google Apps for Education school, putting the daily agenda and uploading assignments to Google Classroom will give students easy access to their work to complete and turn in. This is especially handy for when you have a sub or if students are absent.
Classroom Organization using Sterilite Containers
These plastic containers make organizing anything a breeze because they come in a variety of shapes and sizes! Organize task cards, flashcards, center materials, and even holiday and seasonal activities in these containers so you can find what you need, whenever you need it. You can even sort items by subject!
Plan your Units Ahead of Time
You work so hard. Why reinvent the wheel when there are wonderfully written unit plans you can use or adapt for your classroom? Start the year off with these plans to get organized and save time for the good stuff: building relationships with your kids! You can view all of our ready to go units in our shop here as well as our Teachers pay Teachers store!
Get ready to start a new school year off right with these 10 classroom organization tips that are certain to leave you feeling ready to conquer your content and classroom. We’ll continue adding new tips to this post every so often as well, so be sure to check back! These tips will help you get organized before the Fall so you can focus on getting to know your students and not day-to-day management.
Classroom organization freebies to get organized!
And last, but certainly not least, be sure to sign up for our free resource library for editable sub binder forms, sub plan lessons, seating chart pages, and more to help you get organized as well! If you’ve already signed up, click here to go to the library now and enter the password that you received in your email.
Staying organized this school year doesn’t have to be a chore with these fun, inexpensive favorite classroom organization items. Stock up before your year starts to keep things arranged and stress-free!
Check out these other blog posts about classroom organization & classroom management!
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