Hello All, I am new to fifth grade this year. I have previously taught younger grades. i was wondering how everyone organizes the students work. Like do you have the students keep a binder and use dividers for math, reading, ss. and science. Or do you just use a 2 pocket folder for each subject? or a spiral notebook for each subject? I was thinking of doing the binder. W estarted school 2 weeks ago, and I still havent put a system in place yet, well...and not all of my students have their supplies yet either. Also, My class is self contained. They do not switch classes, but I would like to get them very organized and ready for middle school. Thanks
I like Mary Blow's example from scholastic.com http://issuu.com/mblow/docs/organiz...t.xml&backgroundColor=000000&showFlipBtn=true
My fifth grade team all used an 8 pocket plastic portfolio. There is a pocket for each subject, one for the agenda, one for homework, and one for important papers. It goes home each evening and comes back to school daily. We call it our Team Book.
At our school we have the same procedure for grades 5-8. Students have 6 notebooks and they are color coded for each subject. Yellow= Math, Red= Science, etc. It is the same up until 8th grade. In the 6-8th grades, I think they also have the same color folders for each. They go to their lockers after every 2 classes. Their schedule is color coded to match their notebooks so they know to grab that particular notebook and textbook. It seems to work pretty well.
Oh, and our homework board is labeled the same way so they can easily track their assignments. It is set up in the same ORDER as their school provided agenda too.
I would definitely try the binder route. A few good tips: Color code your classes (I try to make the color match the text books). Students label all their materials (all red materials are math, all blue are science, etc). Have the students buy hole punched folders or hole punch their folders. These work great as dividers (if they are running late, they can put the work into a folder instead of opening and closing the binder). Include a homework or home section. I have my students put notes and graded papers on one side (left for left home) and homework or papers to return on the other side (right for right back). It takes lots of time! Students need practice time and time to organize. Just be patient. Good Luck!
