Teacher's Guide to Organizing Your Computer Files, Part 1

I am fastidious about keeping my computer files organized.  EVERYTHING must go in a folder, and most of my folders have more folders within folders.  Ask me for anything I may have on my computer, and I can find it in seconds.  The packet I made for Back to School Night two years ago?  Check.  The unit on money I bought on TPT last spring?  Check.  Those Halloween-themed writing prompts?  Check.  

I have teacher friends whose computer desktops are filled with random files and TPT products that have yet to find a digital home.  

Every teacher needs the following digital folders in her computer to organize the hundreds (thousands?) of teacher resource files we all have floating around on our hard drives:

RECOMMENDED TEACHER FOLDER #1: Lesson Plans by Season (True, nearly all the files in these folders are not formal lesson plans, but in fact either printables, center activities, or templates for art projects, but I've always just titled my folders "Lesson Plans" because it covers everything I may use in a lesson for that topic.)

Within that folder (Lesson Plans by Season), I have a subfolder for each holiday I have resources for.  When titling folders by month, I always put the number of the month first, so that the folders will be in order from January to December (otherwise the folders would default to alphabetical order - and seeing April listed first, and then August and December would just throw me into an OCD tailspin).  Since Easter is always in a different month, that's the only folder that isn't placed in sequential order of the year's holidays.  Same goes for the 100th Day of School.  

Does it matter if the Valentine's Day worksheets/resources are for math, spelling, writing, etc?  Unless you literally have dozens of files relating to Valentine's Day, the answer is NO.  If it is a Valentine's Day-themed resource, it can all just go together in the Valentine's Day folder. And as long as your files themselves are labeled appropriately (which may be a whole other blog post), you should be able to find what you need within that one folder.  

RECOMMENDED TEACHER FOLDER #2: Lesson Plans by Subject
This folder is going to have a LOT of subfolders.  Every subject you teach (which, for us self-contained elementary classrooms, is all of the subjects) needs its own folder within the "Lesson Plans by Subject" folder. 

Each of these subject folders should in turn have a number of subfolders within them as well.  For example, my Phonics folder: 

My Phonics folder contains subfolders for all the phonics rules we learn in first grade:

• Beginning consonant sounds
• Ending consonant sounds
• Long vowels 
• Short vowels
• R-Controlled Vowels
• Variant Vowels
• Digraphs
• Dipthongs
• Inflectional Endings

And within those folders, then another series of subfolders, as you can see in the screen shot of my Short Vowels folder above, which includes Short A, Short E, Short I, Short O, and Short U. 

More to come on ways to keep those computer desktops clear of your TPT resources!

Assessing Sight Word Fluency

Your iPad is your best friend when it comes to testing for students' sight word fluency!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  

I do my best to formally assess each student on his/her sight word recall (using the Pre-Primer and Primer Dolch word lists) once a month, beginning with the first week of school.  I assess students again on these same words around the end of September, and then a third time around Halloween.  Historically by this point, all students but one or two will be able to demonstrate mastery with 100% accuracy in this area. Because these two lists are words that should have been learned and mastered in kindergarten, many students will show me that they know all the words during my first or second assessment.  (Whew!  I love it when this happens, because this means more of my time can be spent with small groups instead of assessing one-on-one.)  As soon as a student is able to recite an entire word list with 100% accuracy, I snip the corner off that student's assessment sheet so I can easily see that they do not need to be assessed in that area again. 

Which brings me to my Fluency Assessment Binder: 

I use a set of Avery binder dividers, numbered 1-31.  These, I'm sure, were intended to be used for each day of the month, however they work perfectly in my Fluency Assessment Binder (or any other binder requiring a tab for each student).  Students are assigned a number at the beginning of the year, and I file students' reading assessment data in this binder under their numbered tab.  This allows me to re-use the same dividers year after year (those suckers were expensive), and I don't need to spend the time meticulously printing beautiful and neat labels with each student's name on each tab.  EASY PEASY, right?  

Full-disclosure: if you have a class of students that numbers more than 31, as I did last year, you will not have a tab for each student.  I think Avery makes tabs that go up to higher numbers, but a trip to Staples to investigate at the start of the year just didn't happen.  And then I decided there were just too many other things to worry about than making sure the last four students at the end of the alphabet had an individual tab in my assessment binder.  So, if you find yourself in the same position as me last year, do what I did: paper clip the groups of papers for students numbered 31 through 35, and stick them at the end of the binder with no tab at all.  Surprisingly, this hackneyed system of separating papers worked just fine.  Now this year I'm back to a class of only 26 students, and all is well again with the world.  

I copied enough sheets of the Sight Word Fluency Checklists to place one behind each student's number tab in my binder.  There are three columns, for each possible assessment date during the first trimester.  (As I mentioned before, some students will not need to be assessed more than once, if they can read all words during the first assessment.)  If, after three assessments however, a student has still not mastered his sight words, simply make a second copy of the Sight Word Fluency Checklist, and place it in your Fluency Assessment Binder in front of the first copy.  Continue to do this, assessing about once a month, until the student is able to show mastery of all required words.  

Here's where the iPad comes in!  (Side note: You can do all of this with a lap top computer, or even in front of a desktop computer.  I just like the flexibility of the iPad, which allows you to find a quiet spot anywhere.)  I believe that all iPads can now download for free the apps for Pages, Numbers, and (the app I use during Fluency Assessments) Keynote.  Keynote is just Apple's version of PowerPoint, and while it took me a minute or two to get the hang of it, it is actually pretty simple to use.  

I used the Keynote app to create a slideshow of the Dolch Sight Words Pre-Primer list (and later, additional slideshows for each subsequent Dolch List).  Simply type one word on each slide, (making sure to use the same word order that you have on your checklist).  If you are creating your own checklist, do NOT list the words in alphabetical order.  Students need to see these words in a random order, out of context, and still be able to read them correctly.  

Find a quiet place for you and your student to sit, and then set the slideshow to run, with a three-second delay between transitions to the new slide (sight word).   All you need is your iPad, (either propped up where the student can see, or in the student's lap), and a clipboard, pencil, and that student's Fluency Checklist.  Once the slide show begins to play, the student only has a few seconds to answer before the slide show moves on to the next slide/word.  Everything is automated through the iPad, and therefore everyone gets a completely fair and objective assessment.  Each student is guaranteed to receive the same amount of time per word as everyone else.  (Plus, I've found there are fewer comments from the students such as, "Slow down, you're going too fast!" or, "Go back, I missed one!")  The only thing your student needs to do is say the words aloud as he/she is able to read them, and your only job is to either place a check mark next to a word to show that it was read correctly, or leave the box blank, to indicate that no response was given.  I will write in the box whatever word (or beginning sound) the child does say, however, as these extra notes can often help me guide instruction in reading groups.  

And that's it!

Stay Organized with Teacher Charts, Forms, and Checklists

I am continually creating (and recreating) charts, forms, and checklists to help me stay organized in the classroom.  I've revised most of them at least three or four times, working to make them as efficient as they can be in serving their purpose: to help me save time and energy so I can place more focus on getting my first graders to achieve.  

I've decided to compile many of these forms into a single TPT product so they can also be of use to YOU.  I will be adding to the pack as I reformat additional checklists for public use, as well as writing additional individualized blog posts on how these forms and checklists fit into my various classroom procedures and learning routines.  

FORMS THAT TRACK ASSESSMENT:

~ Dolch Sight Word Assessment Checklists ~ 
Provided in blackline only, as you will need to copy one page for every student

~ Letter Reversal Tracking Checklist ~ 

Provided in both color and blackline

Print a single master copy each trimester/term.  Keep beside you when reading your students' writing, and make notes of which letters your little firsts are still struggling with.  Use this form to inform handwriting instruction, and to aid in assigning handwriting grades at the end of the trimester/quarter.

~ Number Reversal Tracking Checklist ~ 

Provided in both color and blackline

Print a single master copy each trimester/term.  Like with the Letter Reversals form, keep on hand while reviewing students' math work, making note of which numbers need additional practice from specific students.  Every couple weeks I go through my checklist and send home worksheets with students who need more practice printing certain numbers. This also provides me with documentation to inform parents of areas their child could use more help with at home.  

~ Words Their Way Spelling: Students' Sorts Checklist ~ 

Provided in blackline only

Forms included for Letter Name Sort, as well as Emergent, Within Word, and Derivational Endings.  Since the entire first grade class is not working from the same starting point in the Words Their Way program, I created a tracking form to help me remember which students are on what sorts.  I used to have the students listed according to their group, but as I try to transition to the Daily 5/CAFE system, my initial reading group levels are a bit in flux.  Thus, I've decided to track individual student progress in spelling rather than group progress.  Students who started ahead of Sort 1 at the beginning of the year had a line drawn through the skipped sorts to show their new starting point (based on the Words Their Way Spelling Inventory I gave at the beginning of the year).  Sometimes I simply place a check mark to show that a sort has been successfully completed, sometimes I write the date the final sorting mat was turned in.  Sometimes I give the students a grade (out of 5 points) to show that the student has not entirely grasped this spelling pattern.  Honestly, I'm a bit all over the place right now in how I utilize this form while I figure out what system and procedure will work best for me.  

{Future post coming soon on how I've been navigating the Words Their Way system, and the ways I've kept myself organized with three different groups working on separate word sort patterns.}  

FORMS THAT KEEP YOU ORGANIZED:

~ Teacher Accounts Passwords ~ 
Provided in both color and blackline
I swear, I register for more teacher resource websites than I can even remember, and every single one of them seem to have different requirements for their password.  Sooooo, that means I have to make slight modifications to my usual password, but I can never remember which modifications had to be made to each site!  Did I need to include uppercase and lowercase letters in this password, or did they make me include a punctuation mark?  Did the password for this site have to be at least 8 characters long?  Or did they simply reject my usual password for being "too weak"?  I'm usually pulling my hair out by the third password attempt.  And then, when I realize that I might not even have the correct user name, and have to retry all the passwords I previously entered several minutes ago but thought were incorrect because the user name was incorrect . . . that's when I'm about ready to throw my laptop out the window.  
I've since started saving passwords to Apple's Key Chain for sites with non-sensitive data, but I highly recommend keeping a paper copy handy in addition to saving passwords on your computer.  Keep these pages in a safe place, for those instances when you're not at your own computer, (for example, I don't save passwords on my work computer, only on my personal computer, so if I accidentally left my laptop at home one day, I'd be out of luck), or in case your computer bites the dust, and takes your information along with it.  (I do have an iCloud account though.  Note to self: check to see if Key Chain access is preserved through iCloud if something happened to my computer and I needed to replace it.)

FORMS THAT MANAGE BEHAVIOR:

~ Parent Communication Log ~ 

Provided in color and blackline

Keep plenty of blank forms on hand to track and document all of your 

meetings, phone calls, and emails with parents.

~ Bathroom Log ~ 
Provided in blackline only

Print a new blank form at the beginning of each week to monitor students'  trips to the bathroom.

Use to document excessive bathroom use, or to provide documentation for a possible medical issue.

    

How to Keep Student Folders Neat

I noticed that even after giving my students folders for their morning work, their papers were simply destroyed at the end of the week when they turned them in. I realized that the main reason for this was that first graders don't know how to properly put papers into folders. While they attempt to cram each sheet into one of the two folder pockets, most students' papers will inevitably look like a paper factory explosion after being "put away" in their folder.

To solve this, I think I've come up with a quick and easy hack for teaching students how to make sure their papers stay neat in their folders:

Take a highlighter, or in this case below, a thick Crayola marker, and draw a line along the seam/fold line of each folder. 

Instruct students to make sure the entire length of the yellow line (or whatever color you choose) is visible before closing their folders.  This gives students a visual self-check when putting papers away.  

This hasn't immediately fixed the problem of messy papers for every one of my firsties, but it has definitely helped about half the class become better organized with their folders since I introduced this idea several weeks ago.  I had to remind students constantly at first, asking, "Can you see your folder's yellow line?" but their necessity for reminders has lessened each day. 

Try it!  It will take you less than 5 minutes to mark your students' folders, and even if it helps half your class, that's a huge battle won against the paper monster right there. 

Reading Fluency Resources

I don't know about you, but the reading program my school (Imagine It! by SRA) doesn't really have a good reading fluency assessment system that I like.  SO, I've been looking around the internet for other resources that I can use to track my firsties' fluency.  Now, I know they say you shouldn't test for fluency until at least the winter of first grade, but I start testing fluency from the first week of school.  I always have at least a handful of kids who can read when they enter first grade, and I like being able to track their growth over the first few months of school (instead of waiting until December or January).

Here's a link to the passages I'm using this year to test my kids' fluency:
http://rti.dadeschools.net/pdfs/ORF-OPM_grs1-5.pdf

Just download the pdf file, and then you have everything you need for grades first through fifth in one file.  (Very handy.)  Now that the whole class is reading (albeit at widely differing levels), I'm testing my students' fluency every other week.  It's a lot of work, but it really gives me a good quantitative measure of how they're improving, as well as giving me some hard data to use during conferences with parents who believe their first grader is ready to read Chaucer.  (I'm only slightly exaggerating.)  

I keep all my fluency assessment sheets in a two-inch binder, with numbered dividers to keep each student's assessments separated.  (If you haven't already assigned each student a number, I highly recommend doing so.)  Last year I only had 28 students, so I was able to buy the dividers with tabs numbered 1-31 (which presumably are meant to be used for the days of the month), but now I have 35 students, so kiddos 31-35 are just separated by paperclips.  I'm pretty sure Staples has dividers that are numbered through 50, but I just keep forgetting to stop on my way home from school -- and when I do happen to remember, I tell myself I'll stop in another day, because getting home and into sweatpants trumps any need I may have to organize this binder.  

Here are a few more links that have good resources for reading assessment:
https://dibels.uoregon.edu/market/assessment/materialdownload?agree=true

http://www.comprehensivereadingsolutions.com/category/grades-k-5/

http://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/teacher-support-toolbox-library

Rubrics for Reading Fluency: 
http://books.heinemann.com/comprehending/pdfs/ScaleForAssessingFluency.pdf

http://www.cdl.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/Hasbrouck-Tindal-Table.jpg

It's a lot of work to get through 35 students every two weeks, but I use my guided reading time during literacy centers every other Monday morning. The worst is when a student is absent, and then I have to find time to make up their Running Records assessment.  But quite honestly, I often times leave their score blank for that week, and just test them in two more weeks with the rest of the class's next round of fluency testing. 

I'd love to hear about the systems you use to test and track your students' fluency! 

Substitute Teacher Binder - New Freebie!

I recently decided to make my substitute binder a freebie in my TPT store!  

Here are a few of the pages that are included:

 

Please leave feedback in my TPT store.  Enjoy!

Summer's Finally Here!

Summer is finally here!  I had to put everything in my classroom either in my cabinets, or on the bookcase behind butcher paper.  It was like a giant game of Tetris, getting every book, every basket, every manipulative, and every miscellaneous piece of teaching material into those cabinets.  But I did it!  Nothing but the furniture, the rug, and printer has been left out.  We'll see how organized I really packed everything when it comes time to take it all back out in August. . .

Me versus the Paper Monster

Can I just tell you, I hate grading papers. It is a deplorable chore that I put off and put off, until finally I'm in a situation like this:

Now, I'm preetttttty organized in regards to school supplies, books, and my filing cabinet.  But when it comes to my students' finished work, I'm a mess.  (See above.)  So every couple weeks, I have to spend (what feels like) an eternity going through the piles of paper, grading and filing, until the same table looks like this:

As you can see, I needed a Starbucks break somewhere in there, but I all but finished!  Whew! 

One of my projects this summer will be to come up with a system for taming the paper monster. I'm open for suggestions, people!  How do you stay on top of grading, and keep the deluge of paper at bay?

Favorite Things ~ Erin Condren Planners

I want to start sharing all of my favorite finds with you, readers, and here is a biggie: Erin Condren Life Planners and Notebooks.  And because I just got an email from her about a big sale, I decided this was perfect to start with! 

       

I love everything Erin Condren!  I have the Life Planner (which I use for my personal life schedule), as well as the notebook with calendar insert, which I use to keep track of school events and deadlines, along with blogging ideas, lesson plan units I want to write, and miscellaneous teacher ideas I want to keep track of. True, they're a little pricey, but if you join her email-mailing list, you can just wait for one if her awesome promos (like right now!). I just got the above email this afternoon.  If I didn't already have the one (okay, two!) I'd be taking advantage of this new promo tonight!  Full disclosure: if you like to write a lot for each day, (like a lot), you might find this format a little limiting. (That's why I have a whole other notebook for my teaching schedule and notes, separate from my personal Life Planner.)  But the covers are soooo beautiful, it's easy to get past. I mean, it even looks pretty sitting on my night table next to my Sprite Zero!

Okay, I can't wait to share more of my favorite things!  Until next time!

Classroom Pictures: Guided Reading Center