Part 2 Managing a Daily Teaching Schedule In order to organize your schedule as a teacher you need to first write down everything you need to do on a regular basis Include lesson planning grading activity preparation organization and anything else that you find yourself doing every day Once you have everything written down take a separate piece of paper and write out your daily schedule This needs to include everything from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night Between these two activities you must find time to get everything done Wagaman 2008 Throw out unused materials Admittedly for some of us pack rats this is the most difficult step Do you really need those worksheets you have had filed away for the past five years just waiting for the right time to use them Be ruthless If you haven t used a thing for more than two years then it is probably time to let go of it You may want to put them in a box write Free on the side and put them in your school s faculty lounge Lesson plans Lesson plan ideas It is a good idea to keep individual lesson plans in their own folder properly labeled You may also want to keep any ancillary material in there also transparencies handouts any item you will use with that particular lesson Student information if you have more than one class make a separate folder for each class Discipline Issues Student scores Correspondence Schedules Forms Originals of handouts worksheets etc Test Quiz Masters and Answer Keys Substitute Information including emergency lesson plans instructions Place your now full file folders in a file cabinet or holder You may want to alphabetize them put them in order of use or according to color Wagner 2004 There are ways of gaining control over the Mt Everest of paperwork you must deal with every day Try these suggestions period of the day Use colored file folders to file papers Select a different color for each subject or for each If you haven t looked at a piece of paper in more than a year throw it away It s not that important Business management experts coach you to handle a piece of paper only once It s tough to follow particularly for teachers but try to keep it in mind the next time you stuff your briefcase with papers Use a Rolodex file for phone numbers addresses PINs e mail addresses and other frequently used information A Rolodex file takes up less room than a pile of papers Like most teachers you probably have lots of books These may be professional books old textbooks or resource books If you haven t looked at a book in 2 years donate it to your local library or community fund drive Designate 1 day every month for example the third Tuesday of the month as filing day Use it to file all the papers that have accumulated on your desk during the month Designate 1 day every 6 months as purging day Use it to get rid of all the files and papers you haven t used in the last 12 months Use your computer as a filing system Use your word processing program to organize frequently used forms exams and records Designate a special file drawer for each subject you teach Organize it with colored files o Red Lesson plans o Green Tests quizzes and exams o Blue Handouts and worksheets o Yellow Transparencies and PowerPoint disks o Black Unit plans o Gray Supplemental resources and websites Purchase two file baskets from a local office supply store Label one To and from the School Office the other To and from Home Place them on your desk and keep the papers you typically handle moving in and out of them daily Photocopy your class roster and laminate it Use it for multiple purposes to record incoming homework parent permission slips lunch money etc Use a wax crayon to mark each task and then erase it when the task is complete Many efficiency experts suggest that you establish time limits on how long you ll keep various types of paperwork Here are a few suggestions o Memos 1 week o Minutes of meetings 4 weeks o Letters to parents 3 months o Attendance records 1 year o Professional articles 2 years o Lesson plans 2 years o Grade books 3 years Date each piece of paper you receive When its expiration date arrives get rid of it Sort all incoming paperwork into three piles The A pile gets your attention right away the B pile gets your attention within the next 48 hours and the C pile can wait until sometime in the future Flow refers to the way in which learning activities move smoothly and briskly There s no stop and start rhythm to the class but rather one activity leads naturally into another activity You can maintain that flow through an awareness of the following Ignore minor behaviors that have nothing to do with the lesson For example a student is twisting a strand of her hair It s not necessary to stop the lesson and point out that behavior to the student Move over to the student put a hand on her back nod and keep the lesson going Some teachers jump back and forth between activities They start one activity or lesson go back and make a comment about a previous lesson or activity and then return to the new activity Keep your lessons flowing in a forward direction Often teachers will continue to explain a point or concept until as students would say it s been beaten into the ground The trick is to know when students understand and then stop at that point Fredericks 2005 I think several of this tips well help since I am very organized person and the more organized I can be the better I really like the third sources ideas the best The first source that comments on being a pack rat is true of me and I will have to include weeding out of material and items in my organization abilities The second source had a good plan for lesson planning I think the more organized I am the less stressful it will be I find this true in my current work also References Wagaman J 2008 Time Management Tips for Teachers Retrieved May 9 2009 from http newteachersupport suite101 com article cfm time management tips for teachers Wagner K J 2004 Time Saving Tips for Teachers Retrieved May 9 2009 from http www educationoasis com resources Articles time saving tips htm Fredericks A D 2005 Time Management Tips for Teachers Retrieved May 9 2009 from http www teachervision fen com classroom management new teacher 48352 html page 2