Ms. Dawson's WORK Binders: The Contents

If you read my last blog post, you are probably waiting in utter suspense to find out what I have included in my WORK binder system for my middle school students this year! (Or maybe I am just hopeful that someone somewhere is reading my blog at all!) My hope is to share what I have put together for those that need an idea, encouragement, or to simply see that there are other newbie teachers out there experimenting with different systems in the first few years of teaching and it is OK! It's all about figuring out what works best for you and your students! 

Introducing the contents, or "guts" as I sometimes like to call them, of my WORK binder system:

Here is a reminder of what I have decided to include in the binders specifically for my students:

CONTENTS:

Agenda

Schedule

Calendar

Reading Program

SSH Log

Newsletter

Classroom Promise

Classroom Rules

HW Folder

Agenda

• If you are a teacher, parent OR have ever been a student, you know what an agenda book is. I won't go into detail, but the agenda will stay at the front of the binder as it will be used throughout the day as students complete work goals. Most agendas are able to fit in a binder and they are a great way to keep students on track, put a little responsibility in their hands AND document various things throughout the school year! 

Schedule

• Again, you know what a classroom schedule looks like so I won't post mine, but it IS color-coordinated and all matchy-matchy to the rest of the documents in our WORK binders. I really love using Powerpoint to create schedules. It isn't ideal for elementary grades because there is less room for pictures and large font, however, using the "insert table" option and then formatting it to fit your classroom needs is so simple! My schedule is not the simplest one in the world because we have an "A" day and "B" day so that is just what works for me! 

Calendar

• The school calendar will go in the binder because I cannot tell you how many times I get asked about school breaks, basketball games and days off. I am trying to give students an easy way to answer questions for themselves (plus, half the time I don't know the answers to those questions off the top of my head).

Reading Program

• Here is the fun part! I wanted to design a reading program that is different from the typical "AR Points System" that most schools in our area use. Almost every kid I have asked, including kids who love to read, really hate AR. (AR makes kids read, take a quiz on the book and then get points; they have to have a certain amount of points by the end of the year)
• My reading program is one which focuses on book genres. Students must read 16 books in the first semester (September-December). I know it is a lot to read, however, the books they will be reading won't be piled on top of other books. I am planning on using the books they are reading in English, writing and reading instead of making it a separate undertaking. 
• The form I came up with has a fiction and nonfiction section, clearly separated, so students can really understand what it is that they have read. I am leaving it up to the student what they will choose to read (sneaky teacher alert! they will choose from a book list that I provide!). Some of the books they will read, we will be reading together as a class, some will be read aloud, and some will be different from others. It really depends on the different units that I have planned which way the book suggestions will go! 
• I already love the flexibility of this system and I am excited to see how it will pan out this year. And of course, if it needs tweaking, I can certainly change it to meet my student's needs! The same plan will be implemented in the second half of the year as Part II, the same form! Easy-peasy!

SSH Log

• SSH stands for "Supervised Study Hall." This year, my students will have a time on Mondays and Wednesdays for a study hall period. This period will be used to complete homework, projects and catch up on any work they may be behind in. The study hall is built into the schedule out of necessity, but I have found a way to make it a very productive time for my students and further encourage our wonderful theme of RESPONSIBILITY! 
• It is important that the SSH Log be included in their WORK binders because they will also be using their agendas to track what work they have left to complete, what homework they can get ahead on, what they need to study for, etc. Students will be taught how to function in SSH and how to use their time wisely at the beginning of the year. 
• The SSH Log had a column for the date, what activity or assignment students are working on, and a column for the supervisor of the study hall period to sign off on their work. This should encourage accountability from all parties, as well as thorough documentation or progress and responsibility! 

Newsletter

• The newsletter is a classroom no-brainer. I won't ramble on about it. Important information, events, blah, blah, blah, will go into the newsletter. I have it set up so that I can just throw text boxes on it, type away and print! 

Classroom Rules and Promise

• These are the rules I came up with, followed by a classroom promise, which clearly restates the rules, for the whole class to sign:

We, Ms. Dawson’s class, promise to

BE POSITIVE

BE RESPONSIBLE

BE RESPECTFUL

BE APPROPRIATE 

and 

BE PRODUCTIVE.

We promise to W.O.R.K., 

not because we have to,

 but because 

WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF. 

We promise to follow through, show one another grace, laugh and have fun!

We promise to EXPECT THE BEST

 from ourselves, from one another and from Ms. Dawson. 

We promise to have a SUCCESSFUL school year! 

Consequences

• This is just a glimpse into our behavior management system (I will be posting a behavior management blog soon). Students will learn that "consequences" does not mean "punishment;" however, consequences are the results of actions. This is why I designed the following charts, one for "consequences for positive behavior" and one for "consequences for negative behavior." Each is a direct reciprocal of the other concerning rewards and penalties.  

Homework Folder

• Last but not least, there will be a homework folder for students to take home loose papers (though I am trying to prevent loose papers as much as possible). 

Each piece that I listed will be in a page protector so that the pages do not get crumpled, ripped, etc. With the exception on the logs and the newsletter, most of the pieces will stay in the page protectors permanently! 

I hope you enjoyed this post, gained some of your own ideas, or even have advice to offer! If you would like any of these documents, I will be happy to share when I have it completed! 

Love, 

Miss Laura

W.O.R.K. For It!

W.O.R.K.

In Ms. Dawson's classroom we are working hard, organized, responsible, and we know we can do it!

Hello, 2013-2014 school year and HELLO middle school! 

I am so very excited to have a sparkling new, fresh classroom to call my own this year! And I am doubly excited that I will be teaching the middle school grades! (Yes, you read correctly GRADES, as in 6, 7, AND 8th grades!)

As promised, I am writing this post to share my W.O.R.K. binder system! I snagged the idea from a 2nd grade teacher who posted her similar binder system on Pinterest. You can see her blog post here: http://simply2ndresources.blogspot.com/2012/08/update-on-star-binders.html

At first glance, I loved the idea of having a binder that held all the go-to student stuff; however, I wasn't sure how to adapt this elementary level idea to the middle school level until I sat down and really mapped out what my students would absolutely need. But that is the beauty of this idea- it can be so easily adapted to any grade, and it's contents can be modified as needed. 

I am lucky enough to work at a small school, so I already know my students pretty well! This means I am ahead of the game and I have an idea of what to expect, what their struggles are, what their parents like and need, etc. This factor definitely made it way simpler to break down (and I might modify it further as we get closer to the beginning of school). 

Well enough of my rambling, let me introduced to you Ms. Dawson's W.O.R.K. binder!

This is the cover of the W.O.R.K. binder. On the cover, you can see clearly the WORK acronym, a name badge, the guidelines for keeping WORK binders nice and neat, and the contents. 

The Rules

PLEASE:

1.Keep your binder with you at school and take it home EVERY DAY

• Taking things home when instructed was a big problem for my students last year. One aspect of the WORK binder is to help teach students appropriate levels of responsibility. 

2.Keep your binder in excellent condition- you only get one

• We also had problems treating our belongings, namely books and notebooks, with respect; therefore, it is stressed to the students that the condition of their binder is THEIR responsibility- this will be a part of procedure-palooza at the beginning of the school year. (And yes, there will be consequences for mistreatment of our super important binders!)

3.You are responsible for your binder and its contents- treat it with respect!

• This rule, though a little redundant, is reiterating the previous rule, but specifically concerning the CONTENTS of the binder. My goal is to no longer waste time waiting on disorganized students who inserted their papers backwards, rumpled, torn, etc., during class time. I also want the students to have an understanding that "I left my binder at home" is not a valid excuse- responsibility, responsibility, responsibility! 

CONTENTS:

Agenda

Schedule

Calendar

Reading Program

SSH Log

Newsletter

Classroom Promise

Classroom Rules

HW Folder

• I won't go into too much detail concerning all of the guts of our beautifully organized binders- it's pretty typical stuff. When choosing what the contents would be, I thought specifically of things that I KNOW my students would ask repeatedly (agenda, schedule, calendar), things they need constant reminding of (rules, promise), things their parents want to see (newsletter, agenda), and things they touch every day (reading program, SSH Log, HW folder). If you take the same approach, you can easily recreate a binder for your own classroom that is tailored to your student's needs! 

My goal with the WORK binder system is: 

1. To consolidate all those pesky papers that tend to get rumpled in the back of desks, but are necessary for student success. 
2. To set students up for organization and responsibility, but make it SIMPLE so that they know they are capable of functioning well as middle schoolers. 
3. To create a way to communicate with parents and families on a daily basis without worrying that papers are not making it home. 

If you have similar goals and messy, disorganized students who need a little nudge in the responsibility arena, I encourage you to brainstorm and use the binder system as your muse to create a simple, effective way to keep your students "together" (but sneakily make them do the work) when it comes to daily, classroom housekeeping! And if a binder is too much, this idea could be further simplified by making it into a folder! The possibilities are endless! 

I will be posting the contents of the WORK binder in a separate post- hope you enjoyed the teaser! 

Happy planning and happy teaching!

Love, 

Miss Laura

Summer

Hello, Summer!

It's been two months since my last post to the day. You know what that means, don't you? This teacher/student/Jane-of-all-trades has been BUSY! That's not to say my mind hasn't been swirling with ideas for the coming school year, though! I am brainstorming many ideas for the classroom (my Pinterest classroom board is overflowing!). 

Some of the things I will be posting on before the school year begins are:
-a before and after of my classroom (I get a blank slate! woohoo!)
-my binder/notebook system I am scheming up
-the spelling "curriculum" I created for the year
-some of the writing workshops and projects I have planned
-our reading plan for the year
-a personal favorite: " How to have an AWESOME middle school classroom even though the middle school years are the most overlooked in education and there are minimal resources available to teachers to make their classrooms just a tad more inviting than a prison cell..." (rant-alert!)
-anddddd, drum roll, please! If all goes as planned I will be posting a before and after of the desk I am refurbishing! (The same desk that I nearly broke my thumb on while moving it into my house!)

Most of you probably don't care about anything in this post (I don't blame you!), but writing it was my way of promising myself (and you!) that these things will be done and shared before the end of summer! Accountability! Woo! 

To those that read this, happy summer! Have fun! Catch some rays, some Z's, some lightning bugs and most certainly harass me about this post if you see me in person! 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Miss Laura