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Organization Station

If you’re constantly stopping your lessons to run to your desk or cabinets to get materials, create an organization station at the front of the room next to where you do most of your instruction. Keep sets of math materials and class games in large plastic drawers labeled according to skill/concept so you can take out a drawer to pass out the materials at the beginning of a lesson and return them to the drawer at the end.

Keep a mid-size rolling cart for materials you use frequently during lessons, such as equal participation cards/sticks, sticky notes, timers, wipe-off boards, CDs/cassettes, and so on. A small organizer can be used to hold office supplies you need during your lessons, such as scissors, markers, paper clips, and staplers. A large crate can hold an extra copy of student texts and workbooks to use when explaining assignments to students. With everything together in one convenient place, you’ll be able to keep your kids focused on lessons without interruption.

About the Author Angela Powell has been an educator for nine years. She worked for the first five years of her career in Washington, D.C., and currently teaches third grade in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Powell, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Art from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Maryland College, earned National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist in 2006. She continues to maintain Ms. Powell’s Management Ideas for Teachers, a Web site she created in 2003, to share teaching techniques, behavior management strategies, and organizational tips that can help make teaching more efficient, effective, and enjoyable.

Article by Angela Powell
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