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[00:00:19] Brittany: Ever feel like the first few weeks of school are a tornado of papers, emails, meetings, and missed to-dos?

[00:00:28] Ellie: Absolutely. If you feel that way too, you are not alone. But what if you could start the year with systems that actually stick and save you time in the long run?

[00:00:39] Brittany: Welcome to the Teaching Toolbox podcast. I'm Brittany, and I'm here with Ellie.

[00:00:45] Ellie: Hello.

[00:00:46] Brittany: And today we're sharing real life, sustainable, organizational ideas for middle school teachers that go beyond the pretty planners, although we do love the pretty planners.

[00:00:58] Ellie: for sure.

[00:01:00] Brittany: And in this episode we're talking about teacher organization.

[00:01:04] Your digital files, your papers, your communication, not the student supplies or the classroom setup necessarily. That's a whole other episode.

[00:01:15] Ellie: So why don't we start with the digital stuff, because if your Google Drive computer files are a mess, or whatever you use, if it's a mess, everything else can start to feel chaotic too. Um, side note, I remember when there was almost no digital stuff and I didn't have to worry about that, just where were all my papers.

[00:01:34] Brittany: Oh yeah, me too. I remember having a stack of paper about two feet high

[00:01:38] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:01:39] Brittany: that I had to file or make files for before everything was just a click away. So I totally agree with the need for both digital and paper organization. You can have folders for each class period within your computer, and folders for types of resources, like notes, assessments, answer keys, task cards. And I would number or classify them in such a way that they stay in order.

[00:02:06] You could also create a quick access folder on the sidebar for anything you'll need that week, drag and drop files into that folder or copy files there so that they're easy to find. It makes lesson prep and planning go a lot faster.

[00:02:22] Ellie: Another helpful system is a weekly teacher planning document, a simple template with sections for tasks, grading, copies, techniques, and communication. And you could fill it out every Friday or every Monday.

[00:02:36] Brittany: And we've got one for you that we will put in the show notes.

[00:02:42] Ellie: Woo hoo.

[00:02:43] Brittany: So to stay efficient long term, one option is to create a past units folder.

[00:02:50] Just drag and drop from your quick access to the past units folder at the end of each quarter, and that way when you spiral back to a topic or you go to revisit something, you're not starting from scratch.

[00:03:03] You know right where those things are and what you've covered.

[00:03:06] Ellie: Sounds good. Now, did you tend to keep just digital copies of everything or did you print out your units and your activities and stuff and keep them in binders?

[00:03:16] Brittany: I did both. I had the digital and the printed 'cause I wanted students to be able to see a sample of what we were doing, and I wanted it to look like what theirs should look like.

[00:03:28] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, me too. I liked to have the actual, physical copies of everything, and I still liked putting them in binders even though they were on the computer.

[00:03:37] Brittany: I still have them all in binders.

[00:03:40] Ellie: yeah, I have a lot too.

[00:03:41] Brittany: Another really helpful tool is a browser bookmark. You could keep a teacher tools folder in Chrome with your most used links, like grade books, your LMS, your seating chart, your parent logs. First of all, to make browser bookmarks, highlight the URL, the link at the top of the page, the link you use most often,

[00:04:06] then click on and drag that link to the bar under the URL. This is your browser bar. If you don't have a bar there, go to view at the top of the page and choose, always show bookmark or browser bar. Then you can right click the icon and name it. You can shorten the name or change the name, or you can actually even delete the name altogether and it just leaves the icon there.

[00:04:36] If it's recognizable enough, like Facebook or Instagram or your LMS. Once you have icons or names on your browser bar, right click on one and it'll say, go to folder. Name your folder, and then you can keep adding links there. So I have one for work, one for social media, one for design sites, one for history sites, and so on.

[00:05:01] Ellie: I really, really wanted to follow directions as you were doing that, and I really wanted to go into my browser and start doing it, but I thought I was gonna get distracted, so I did not. So I might come back and listen to this later and do this again because I don't think my, um, bookmarks are quite as organized as this seems they could be. But this is a fantastic idea. , I was not great at the most used links but now I think I would've set those to automatically open when I open my browser. I don't think I ever did that before, but I would definitely do that now. So I wouldn't even have to go to the bookmarks, like just the most used sites or pages would be there right away when the browser opens.

[00:05:40] And you can do that by going to the three dots on the far right in Chrome and then choosing settings. Go to on startup and then choose Open a page or specific set of pages, and then there you can choose which pages you want to open every time you start your computer.

[00:05:57] Brittany: Right, and then maybe you use the bookmarking for commonly used content related sites.

[00:06:04] Ellie: Mm. Mm-hmm. That's a great idea.

[00:06:06] Brittany: if you're on a team, using a shared calendar or a collaborative slide deck for weekly lesson plans could also help everyone stay aligned, coordinate testing, and identify behavior issues as well as other things.

[00:06:22] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And even something simple like a shared spreadsheet can reduce some duplicated effort, especially if you're coordinating assessments or pacing. Anything else for digital for now, or should we move on to paper?

[00:06:36] Brittany: Let's talk about the Paper Monster because that one piles up fast.

[00:06:42] Ellie: That's for sure. It sure can.

[00:06:45] Brittany: One option for your paper Monster is a four tray desktop organizer labeled to grade, to copy, return to students, and file. It makes sorting quick and reduces that where did I put this moment?

[00:07:01] Ellie: Oh yeah, lots of those moments. And you might want one of these for every single class, so all the different class periods that you have, a separate one so you can keep the class periods separated and organized. I used to have them in different locations in my room, so I would put some of them on the counter near my desk, others on the side counter, along the windows, so I could actually fit a few over there.

[00:07:24] Or you might prefer color coded folders, colored trays, which I did have too. Or even binders. One for each class with dividers for assignments, assessments, student records. Did you like folders or binders, or were you more of a tray kind of person?

[00:07:41] Brittany: I kinda like the color coordinated trays for paper turn in, but I did have a master basket on my desk, where students put late papers, notes from them or parents, any forms or anything important that I had to get to right away.

[00:07:59] And I always went through that tray several times a day.

[00:08:02] Ellie: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:03] Brittany: but I also had crates and those had color coordinated hanging folders in them,

[00:08:11] and that's where I would put their return work.

[00:08:14] Ellie: Okay.

[00:08:15] Brittany: And so I didn't have to pass that out in class. I could do it whenever I wanted to, and then they could just go up and see their returned work

[00:08:22] on their own leisure,

[00:08:23] Ellie: I had those stair organizers for folders and I would have different stair organizers for different classes to be able to put the important papers in there, the same type of thing, like either what we were using in class that day, or what was being collected or what needed to be returned.

[00:08:40] So a lot of different varieties of organizational options.

[00:08:45] Brittany: But there's also like non-student paper, like potentially passes or memos you might have printed, or paper parent forms you need to send home, maybe nice notes, something like that, and you might wanna manage those documents. And those you could keep on a clipboard near your desk or maybe a letter sorter with passes in one, good notes in another slot, index cards, in a third slot and

[00:09:14] so on.

[00:09:16] Ellie: I did use clipboards for some of those kinds of things, but I was also lucky I had a desk that had a filing cabinet drawer type of thing in it, which was really nice, so I could put hanging folders in that desk drawer and keep a lot of those files in there

[00:09:30] Brittany: yeah,

[00:09:30] Ellie: along with my candy.

[00:09:34] Brittany: as good as you might be at keeping things clear and organized, it can be a good idea to include a weekly reset routine, so maybe at the end of the week on Friday, you could reset everything and reorganize for the next week, and that can be so helpful. You clear your desk, you empty your trays, you prep for Monday's materials.

[00:09:56] That way you're walking into the new week ready to go with your physical space in order, which can really help your mental space and your attitude each week as well.

[00:10:06] Ellie: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:07] Brittany: I would usually go to school on Sundays for a bit and do this because I chose to leave immediately on Friday.

[00:10:16] I did not want to come early in on Mondays either, and that was just a choice I made.

[00:10:22] It's not one I recommend, but you have to do what's best for you.

[00:10:26] Ellie: Right, right. Yeah. I don't know if we could even get into our building on Sundays. I'm not sure. Obviously I didn't do it, but I absolutely always felt so much better when I walked into a prepped classroom. Even if it was 10 or 15 minutes at the end of the day, or during the last planning period of the day or whatever it could be, to get some of that stuff organized and ready to go, because you walk in and go, okay, everything is exactly where it needed to be,

[00:10:50] I had my stuff written on the board, whatever it happened to be, and then I could just thank my past self for helping out my present or future self. So what about the daily papers we use with students, like the warmups, the copies we've made for the day or for the week if we're really prepared?

[00:11:06] How or where can we organize those besides what we've already talked about a little bit?

[00:11:12] Brittany: Well, there was a time when I would make copies for the coming weeks, and then I would put them in a different spot each time. And then by the time it got to be that lesson, I couldn't remember where I put those copies

[00:11:24] Ellie: Yeah. And then did you make new copies?

[00:11:26] Brittany: I would eventually find them, so then I'd have them for next year.

[00:11:29] But, having a system for your weekly prep is important.

[00:11:33] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:11:35] Brittany: Once I finally made my system, it worked great. I had a little bookcase behind my desk and on top of it I put five trays, one for each day of the week. And then as I made copies, I put them in the correct tray and then I knew where they were.

[00:11:50] When Tuesday's lesson came around, they were in the Tuesday tray. And if things were running fast or slow, I could just move them over a day or two or whatever.

[00:12:00] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that makes sense. A lot of teachers like using drawer carts, labeled Monday through Friday and I did have like a portable cart like that too, that had hanging folders in it and drawers, to hold warmups or copies or handouts for the week. And I did use that at some points. It's a great way to stay ahead and can also help out with sub plans if you have to be out unexpectedly, but you already have those copies in the cart or the bookcase or whatever happens to be, then the sub can just pull them out.

[00:12:29] And it can become part of your weekly rhythm, loaded on Friday, coast a little bit easier on Monday.

[00:12:35] Brittany: Yeah, and I also, besides the Sunday thing, I also had a day of the week where my husband and I just knew that was my night for staying late. And it usually coincided with one of our kids' practices. And so I would just stay late and they would have practice and I would work in my classroom until like seven or eight at night and just get things going and prepped for the next week or whatever.

[00:13:03] And then it was all there, ready to go for a sub or whatever needed to happen.

[00:13:10] Ellie: I know there are a lot of times people say, I'm not staying late, i'm not putting in that extra time in the evening, whatever. But sometimes that's just such a nice time because it's quiet, because there's nobody else there, because you're in your own space. And maybe instead of thinking about, I'm not putting in that extra time, or I don't wanna stay that late, you kind of reframe that as I get to be alone in my room for a while and figure out exactly what I wanna do and how I want things to be.

[00:13:35] And sometimes I feel like that's a peaceful time.

[00:13:37] Brittany: Yeah, I don't have to be around the crazy of home and the distractions of home. I get to work in my classroom. It's quiet. I'm not being distracted by my teammates or students.

[00:13:53] Ellie: Mm-hmm.

[00:13:54] Brittany: and you accomplish so much in that time.

[00:13:58] Ellie: Right.

[00:13:58] Brittany: And all your tools are around you,

[00:14:01] Ellie: Right. Right.

[00:14:02] You don't have to carry everything home.

[00:14:03] Brittany: Yeah. So what about fast finishers or extra credit work?

[00:14:07] What did you do with all those papers?

[00:14:09] Ellie: Um, at one point I had a full-size paper, vertical filing pouch, and I hung it on my wall. I think it had like 10 or 12 slots for papers, so I could put 10 to 12 different resources in the pouches with a card or sheet on the front saying what each pocket held. What did you do for absentee kids?

[00:14:27] Brittany: I had color coded magnetic, big, huge clips that attached to the board, and I had an extra board on the side wall, and so I would put their names on their papers right when I was passing out papers, right

[00:14:44] away.

[00:14:46] And I would clip it to the correct hour or the correct classes clip and just put it up there right away.

[00:14:54] I wouldn't like set it down on my desk or, you know, put it on a chair or put it on their desk. I would just pass out papers, write their names on the papers, and then walk over to the board and put them on the clips right away.

[00:15:07] Ellie: Hmm. That's very, very smart, very efficient. I did not do that. I would do it now. That's great. A great idea. All right, so let's switch gears and talk about the organization of communication. Communication is one of those things that can get out of hand fast if you don't have a system. Like maybe you think you just sent out a parent update a week ago, but the days have slipped by and it's actually been a month, or you meant to call that parent on Monday, but suddenly it's Friday afternoon and you haven't had a chance.

[00:15:41] It's one option would be to send a class update like every two weeks. Just a short summary of what students are working on and what's coming up. Put it on your calendar for every other Tuesday or every other Friday, and then just check it off after you do it.

[00:15:57] Brittany: To keep up with non-urgent calls or emails, schedule one planning period each week or one day after school to get those done, so the time doesn't slip

[00:16:08] away. And then keep track of those individual parent contacts. It's really helpful to maintain a running log. You could use a simple Google sheet with columns for date, student, and summary of the message.

[00:16:23] Ellie: And if your communication is gonna be via email, you could save a little time by pre-writing a few email templates. So if you're gonna send an email about missing work or behavior follow ups or positive notes home, kind of like having your print forms, but have those email templates set so you can get those done more quickly.

[00:16:43] Brittany: I've just started using email templates and they're so helpful. Oh, that's such a great idea, especially for today.

[00:16:51] Ellie: Mm-hmm.

[00:16:52] Brittany: And while you might not want to send an email when you actually have time to write it, you might be able to write it and then schedule it depending on the platform you're using.

[00:17:03] That way you're not logging in later in the day to write and send emails.

[00:17:08] Ellie: Right. And while it's very easy to decide when you're gonna make calls or send emails, we all know you don't always receive emails and calls at ideal times. So it's really important to try to set communication boundaries early so that families know you might answer emails between certain hours and they know what to expect that you're not going to be answering at 10 o'clock at night.

[00:17:32] Brittany: Yes, there always seem to be emails coming through later and later in the evening and

[00:17:38] night. And once you start answering those, if they aren't an emergency, then it becomes an expectation that you're always gonna answer.

[00:17:48] Ellie: Right. And there are times that a student emails for help, and we wanna be helpful because we want them to be successful and we wanna make sure they get what they need. But if we always answer them later in the day, then we're kind of training them to leave their questions until whenever they get around to asking.

[00:18:04] I mean, you know, when I was in school so long ago, there was no way to contact the teacher after they left for the day. You had to figure it out, and do the best that you could, and clarify things the next day. And I think it's still a possibility to train students to stick to some certain hours and certain parameters as far as communication and parents as well.

[00:18:25] Brittany: Exactly. Same here. If you do want some way to communicate with classes or students after hours, I recommend using your school learning management system or an app like Remind or ClassDojo. You can send out a change to an assignment, a forgotten reminder, help on a certain problem to everyone through this method, or you could post a weekly overview at the beginning of the week so students know what's coming up and you're not repeating yourself every day.

[00:18:58] Ellie: You hope.

[00:19:00] All right, so we have covered three big areas today. Digital tools, paper systems, and communication routines. And the goal is not perfection, of course, we're never gonna be perfect, but it's sustainability. What can you stick with.

[00:19:13] Brittany: Exactly. Just pick a couple things to add to your teaching toolbox for the start of the year. Maybe it's organizing the trays for student papers, or organizing your digital files, or setting up some of those awesome email templates that Ellie mentioned.

[00:19:29] Ellie: Mm-hmm. Whatever it is, make it work for you. The systems are there to support your teaching, not to stress you out.

[00:19:36] Brittany: If you found even one tip today that made your brain go, Ooh, I could totally use that, share this episode with a colleague and help them get a head start too.

[00:19:48] Ellie: and let us know what you're trying. DM us on Instagram or leave a comment. Your tip might show up in a future episode. We'll talk to you later.

[00:19:57] Brittany: Bye.