Getting Organized: Student Binders and Homework Papers

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Low-level ESOL, Study Skills

Class time is so precious; I hate to waste it on students’ looking for papers, so I try to limit the papers and keep them organized.  Here are some ways to keep the chaos contained. 

Use Binders

• Binders are great because students can add and subtract papers, and reorganize as needed.
• Go for the slim binders.  They’re less expensive, and, the tight space forces students to clean through their papers more frequently.
• Create a few sections, not more than three.  You don’t want to make it too complicated.  It’s supposed to save time and focus effort, not become the focus of effort!
• Bring out the recycling bin:  Regularly encourage students to go through their binders and get rid of papers that are they are not going to look at again.  My criteria questions are:  Is this paper important?  Why?  Will I study it again?
• Binders are a tool for test prep.  Before every test, have students go through their binders and decide what they need to study.  They can tag the important papers with stickies.  (And any extraneous paper can go in the recycling bin.)

A Sample Binder from My Class:

Up front:  Before the first section

a.  Name and number.

Student copy and complete the information in the front of their books.

This book belongs to _________.

If found please call _______________.

b.  Class calendar We circle the days of class and write in any important holidays, projects, or field trips.

c.  School numbers.  

Person to call when absent.

Person to call for homework assignments (for example: a learning buddy).

School computer password.

School cancellation number.

Section 1:  Class Notes

This is the current content unit we are studying at the moment. Students can place all current class notes, handouts, homework and writing work in this section, from front to back.

Section 2:  Word Study

Here students maintain their vocabulary lists and spelling lists.

Section 3:  Study Again

This section has all the highlights from previous units.  Because we know recycling is essential and that students need to touch on old learning to keep it active, I encourage students to study these pages intermittently.  To ensure students do the studying, I integrate material from prior units in tests and quizzes.

What about homework assignments?  

Students put a bright little sticky on each homework assignment whether it is in the textbook or on a handout in their binder.  They place the sticky so it sticks out like a tab.  This makes it super easy for everyone to locate homework papers at home and in class. At the end of each class, as when getting the next class assignment, students remove the stickies from their finished homework and re-paste the stickies.to their new assignment pages.

For more Organizing Tips check out:

Getting organized for the new school year

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Getting Organized for the New School Year

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Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

I use manila folders as a way to organize the flow of papers between me and the students. This is my system.

Folders as Mailboxes

Manila Folders

Each student has a manila folder. On the first day of class students write their name on the label on the folder. I explain that the folders are our mail system. Any papers they want me to read and correct, they put in the folder. Student put in dictations, writings, homework assignments, tape recording of them reading aloud, and anything they’d like me to review and correct. I promise to review and respond to their work by the next class.

Before each class, I place the folders by the door. As students come in, they pick up their folder. All corrected papers are in the student’s folder. Students take those transitional early moments of class to empty their folder, read my corrections, and put away the papers. I circulate to answer any questions they may have about my comments or corrections. This is a great moment for students to organize their papers, write out their new spelling words, and generally get themselves oriented to their study of English.

At first the system is counter-intuitive. Everyone wants to store papers in the folder, but if you use the mail box metaphor it seems to help.

Staying Organized
During class, I may hand out papers for learning activities. The folders of absent students are still unclaimed and sitting by the door, so I just pop the hand-outs in those folders as well. This means late-comers can come in, pick up their folder, and get up to speed without interrupting the class or asking me for papers. Students who are absent the entire class know all their missed-class papers are waiting for them in their folder. Sometimes my students come by after hours to pick up the contents of their folder.

Multi-level Classes
This folder idea came about when I was teaching a multi-level class and I wanted to differentiate student curricula but every time I handed students their individual packets, I would hear the inevitable “me too” chorus. The folders provided privacy. The folders are a mailbox and only the recipient is allowed to peek inside.

Self-directed Study
Over the years I have found this folder system encourages students to initiate direct communications with me. Students may enclose a note they need to write for work or extra writing they did on their own. I still use the folders as a way to slip individual students some extra practice worksheets or readings. Students complete the extra assignments at their own pace. Once they return a completed assignment, I correct it, and then send them another in their folder. This way students establish the pace. Some students give me work every class. Others do it occasionally, as time permits.

A Record of Completed Work
If you have certain requirements for participation in your class, like completing a certain number of assignments or attending a certain number of days, you can also use the folder as a log. When I was teaching credit classes in a community college, I stapled a checklist of assignments to the inside of each student’s folder. (Of course it had many blank spaces for assignments we added during the semester). As students completed the assignments, I recorded it in my books and in the folder so students could see where they stood.