Back-to-school is a busy time for teachers. You’ve decorated your classroom, planned exciting lessons, and put routines and systems into place. Many of you have already welcomed your students to a new year. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a personal assistant freeing you up to do nothing but teach? While you’re waiting for that, here are a few of my top tips to save you time and make your job easier.
New Student Welcome Folders
I’m letting you in on a little secret that I discovered when I realized my class roster wasn’t set in stone. You may think your class number isn’t going to grow or change, but veteran teachers know better. If you’re lucky, you might not get a new student during the first grading period, but trust me, they’re coming.
To make the transition to class easier, prepare at least 5 -7 new student folders while you’re handing out first-of-the-year paperwork to your class. I use brad pocket folders in different colors. Print out a welcome page and glue it to the front of the folder. Add some fun stickers and you’ve got it. Now add all paperwork you hand out during the first week or two of school – things like the course syllabus, student information page, group norms handout, reference pages, and log-in information. When your new student(s) shows up in class, you don’t have to scramble for all the papers. Not only will it make them feel welcome, but it will save you a lot of time spent searching for papers.
I have student helpers lend a hand with this task. For digital classrooms, create a folder on your computer labeled “New Student Folder”. Copy all files you have assigned or shared with students into this folder for easy access.
Color Coding
My next tip is to use color coding as a way to help save time and keep student papers organized. I start the year by choosing a different color for each class. Think highlighter colors. At your turn-in station, have students highlight their name in the class color. Say goodbye to papers with no names. This is also a great way to keep different sections of your subject coordinated.
Highlighting answers is another way to use color coding in your classroom. Designate different colors for particular answer choices on assignments. For example, you might have students highlight the parts of speech or figurative language in certain colors. When students highlight their work, it allows you to eyeball answers more easily and speeds up grading time.
Jot Notes
Throughout your day, you’ll need to take down reminders, notes, observations about students, and ideas on lessons along with lots of other information. Instead of writing these down on random pieces of paper that might get lost or misplaced, get organized with a jot notes page. Grab a free copy or create your own.
Make enough copies to keep on a clipboard with a folder option in a handy location for memos and other paperwork that comes across your desk. You’re certain to have papers that need a holding spot until you can get them filed. That’s where the pocket comes in handy. I purchased a clipboard folio, but any clipboard folder combo will work.
At the end of the week, punch holes in the jot notes sheets and organize them in a 3-ring binder for documentation. File any paperwork in the proper place. You’ll be surprised how handy this will be when you need to go back and recall information.
Lesson Assessment
Make a space in your lesson planner or add an extra page for lesson assessment. We grow as teachers when we evaluate and assess what we do. I used three quick questions and made notes in my plans for the following:
- What Went Well
- What Bombed
- What Would Make it Better
Sometimes I simply used a checkmark or star ranking and then wrote a few notes on how I would change it up to make it better the next time. Maybe it was a strategy that needed tweaking or maybe the game I used took up too much time.
These notes will guide you in your future planning and can also be used in your summative evaluation with your administrator.
Parent Emails
Do you find you’re emailing parents about the same issues again and again? Think about and make a note of types of messages you’re sending out. To save time, type up your responses to frequently asked questions and save them as a document. By doing this, you’re creating a file of responses that you can easily copy and paste when you need them again. You’ll save precious time on emails when you have a bank of choices to pull from instead of starting from scratch.
What are some of your favorite time-saving tips? Let us know in the comments! Get even more teaching tips and ideas like these when you visit Straight Outta Class and the ELAMatters blog.
