Classroom storage tips and tricks
Sign up to receive our latest news and blogs!
Classroom storage tips and tricks
Say goodbye to
spending your evenings cleaning up your teaching space with these useful
classroom storage tips. Having an organised classroom brings many benefits, but
above all else, it makes your life as a teacher easier. By not always having to
hunt for resources, your teaching can be more effective and efficient, as you
can minimise disruption in class and know where everything is for when you need
it.
Here’s how
classroom organisation can save you time and reduce stress, while also helping
to create a learning environment that pupils will love.
Organise your books into boxes
Shelves of books can look tidy, but it doesn’t mean you can find a particular title in a hurry. Instead, look to group books together into collections by year group or topic, as this means you can reduce the number of texts you’ll have to search through at any given time. The same can be applied to printed worksheets and other resources, and again, you may wish to group these by subject matter, by alphabetical order, or even by lesson plan if you have everything planned out that far in advance.
Turn to colour
While different
coloured post-it notes can be used on note boards or in your diary to show
tasks of varying urgency, the clever use of colour can also benefit your
teaching space. Look to colour code books and journals by year group or class
(even a small piece of electrical tape on the spine can work), before using
coloured boxes to then store them in. This way, you’ll always know what
resources are required for each class, while it’s also easier to manage marking
and other essential tasks.
Laminate where you can
If you can, look to
laminate key worksheets and other resources so they can be reused with different
classes. Not only does this enable you to help the environment, but it can also
reduce marking if you talk through it all in lessons instead. It’s also great
if you need to teach multiple classes the same content, as you can use
dry-erase markers and store the sheets in collections ready for each set of
lessons.
Have a dedicated space for classroom supplies
From missing glue
sticks to colouring pens and other essential classroom supplies, having a set
space for them can help to keep your classroom organised. Make it clear to
pupils that everything must be returned to the correct drawers or boxes at the
end of every lesson, and use numbers to help identify when items are missing.
Look to use a permanent marker to add corresponding numbers to every item and
its lid, as that way pupils can look to match the numbers at the end of every
class.
Keep your desk clear
A cluttered desk is not conducive for work and it can also
give off the wrong impression to pupils if it’s not tidy. Ensure it’s placed in
a position where you can see the whole classroom and look to keep your desk
free from as many items as possible. Ideally, you’ll have space for your coffee
mug and a desk organiser, basket or tray where pupils can hand-in work for
submission. If you have multiple classes, you may even want to colour code the
different trays of your organiser so that pupils have a set tray to leave work
in.
Have a note board or mailbox for key communications
Dedicate one area of wall space in your classroom to key
messages and notes for pupils – such as work deadlines or details of school
events. This way, you can leave important documents in these areas and make it
the responsibility of each pupil to stay up-to-date on things. You could also
add numbers or letters to each document to represent each pupil if necessary,
enabling you to keep track of who is looking at everything.
Create a magnetic wall calendar
An approach that can be especially useful in primary school
settings is to have a magnetic calendar on the wall which displays all of the
key tasks for that particular day. You can list out subject topics and
activities on each magnet, and switch them each day so that every child has an
immediate reference point of what to expect.
Organising your classroom shouldn’t be a chore, and it’s
worth investing a bit of time early in the academic year to get it right.
Regardless of which steps and approaches you take, be sure that they work for
you – what works for one, won’t necessarily work for all!
How Tradewind can support you in finding your perfect role in education
We have hundreds
of vacancies available, take your next career move and apply for our
current roles. Alternatively, you can submit your CV - your local education
recruitment consultant will get in touch with you shortly.
Related jobs
£80 - £85 per day
Tameside, Greater Manchester
£34502 - £53482 per annum
Tower Hamlets, London
£16 - £17 per hour
Hackney, London
£80 - £85.00 per day
Tameside, Greater Manchester
£16 - £17 per hour
Tower Hamlets, London
£80 - £85.00 per day
Tameside, Greater Manchester
£206 - £269 per day + MPS 3 - UPS 1
Tower Hamlets, London
£34502 - £53482 per annum
Hackney, London
£80 - £95 per day
Chatteris, Cambridgeshire