All About Organization

Clutter.  Loose Papers. Trash. Old Snacks. Broken Pencils. Are you having flashbacks of any of the student desks at your school?! I hope the above picture is an extreme example, but organization is an area where many students struggle, especially as they move into the upper elementary grades.  I decided to tackle this important academic habit with my third graders in classroom lessons in January and February.  Depending on the classroom teacher, my third grade students have desks, book boxes, or cubbies they use to keep materials organized; some of the classrooms use tables instead of desks, but they all have some type of organizational system.

My lesson started with students brainstorming all the areas they could organize at school.  After a

sharing discussion, we specifically pinpointed the areas of backpacks, desks, and cubbies, and students rated their current level of organization 1-3 on a pre-test (3 was best). Next, we tacked backpacks and students had to transform my LEVEL 1 backpacks into LEVEL 3 backpacks while also completing a backpack scavenger hunt.  Each team received a scavenger hunt card of 5 items they had to find within the backpack while also organizing it. This activity was a great way to practice teamwork AND organizational skills!  I also used this fun rocket timer found here to jazz up the scavenger hunt a little more.

After students completed the scavenger hunt, we discussed the steps they took to organize the backpacks and students reflected on the changes they needed to make with their own backpacks. Students circled the specific strategies they could use on their pre-survey. Next, we tackled desks or book boxes/cubbies.  Again, students rated themselves on their current level of organization, 1-3. They completed a planning template of whichever area they were organizing, and we highlighted model examples as students completed the templates.

The final step was letting students know that there would be a check-in from the "desk fairy" or "organization fairy" in a few weeks to see if they had implemented any of the organizational strategies.  One important note is that I asked teachers to allow a few minutes during arrival and dismissal time so students could practice what we learned. That practice time is key if we want students to be successful and will affect how these follow up checks go.

So far, I have visited three classrooms and handed out special desk check "congratulation notes."  As always, I can tell some students really took the lesson to heart and are improving while others haven't invested the time to make changes yet.  I will return to the classrooms for a quick post-test (on the back of my pre-test) where they will rate themselves 1-3 again and do some reflection about whether they have followed through on the strategies they circled.  This lesson is really about promoting awareness of organization, its importance, and the specific strategies students can use to not be "that kid with the overflowing desk."

If you are interested in teaching this lesson and want my pre-made lesson plan, pre/post survey, planning templates, congratulations notes, and scavenger hunt cards all in one EASY packet, check it out here at my Life on the Fly TPT store.

Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

Organizing Quick Tips

A teacher at school gave me the nicest compliment today.   She said, "When I grow up, I want to be organized like you."  Obviously, this teacher's compliment was a little tongue-in-cheek, and most of the time I just brush comments like these to the side, but today I thought, "YES! I am making progress!"

I have really been trying to step up my game with staying organized during this busy time of the year.  I have continued some of my time-tested organization strategies:

• Google calendar- I use it to keep track of EVERYTHING:  My classroom guidance schedule, school/parent meetings, small group times, etc. I especially like inputting my individual counseling appointments for specific time slots during the current week and then creating future meeting times for students so I don't forget follow up appointments in the weeks to come.
• A ready made individual counseling sheet that jogs my memory to have students scale or give feedback about their feelings so I can chart growth.  The photo below shows the front side of the sheet where I document if a student made a happy, straight, or sad face for "School", "Home", or "Friends" on the playdoh sheet I use.  See my post about that here.
• Bins that hold all my lesson materials so everything is together when I need to go to a specific grade level for classroom guidance.

 







And, I have implemented some new ideas:

• A Google form for individual counseling so I can track my sessions with students by date, whether I need to follow up with them in the future, and by topic.  I still use the paper sheet for jotting down quick notes and documenting feeling faces during my student meetings, but I also fill out the form on my Google drive at the end of the day so I can track the information more easily.  It literally takes 2 minutes with the way I have it set up.  

When I go to "Summary of Responses" under the "Responses" menu, I can sort whatever field I choose.  I love sorting by the field - Follow Up "Yes" or Grade Level so I can quickly remind myself who I need to check in with.

• Small Group folders- Perhaps it is because I am running so many groups right now or because I am getting busier in my life overall, but I have had a tough time keeping all my groups separate in my mind this year. I decided I needed a system and started organizing everything with folders.  I put the student booklets (or folders) that I create for each small group and keep them in a manila file folder.  On the interior left side, I put the students who are in each group, the time we meet, and the homeroom teacher. On the interior right side, I put a quick guide of topics we are covering throughout the group and the date we get to each one so I always know which group session we are on. It has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Also, I keep all of these handy file folders in a hanging pocket organizer next to my filing cabinet so they are easy to access.  Photos are below, BUT I blurred out the names of the students on the folders so pardon the way they look. :o)  
  
  
  
  Happy Counseling! ~  Angela

Making a List and Checking it Twice

To say things are busy at my school right now is an understatement. It is hard for me to make it down the hallway without a student asking me when I am going to see them or a teacher relaying a concern about a child.  Sound familiar?! I am also running a lot of small groups simultaneously, and I'm trying to stay organized with so many balls in the air at one time......because that's what school counselors do!

The small groups that I am running are "School Success Groups", and I am using the Stephen Covey 7 Habits to organize our meetings (more on this topic in a later post).  However, I really want daily face time with these students to ensure they are meeting their goals for doing homework, being PROACTIVE and in charge of their behavior, and maintaining "Sunny Thoughts"  when frustration arises.  I can tell that morning meetings with these students get their days started off on the right tone.

So, I followed Santa's lead and have created a check-in sheet to use with my school success students as well as other students that can benefit from frequent check-ins.  I downloaded some free borders from the 3AM Teacher on TPT here.  I chose my favorite and then inserted a table with the headings of Student Name, Days of the Week, and Comments. I started out with 10 rows but could have definitely made 15 or 20, as evidenced by my writings in the margins...ha!

I pasted my sheet on cardstock and laminated it for repeated use.  I write the initials of the students I need to check in with each morning, give them a check mark if they stop in, and a star if they did their homework. I also write any comments about issues I need to remember. At the end of the week, I take a picture of the chart with my Ipad for documentation purposes, and I erase all of the stars and checks.  The lamination really keeps it flexible because as I end current groups or start working with different students, I will simply replace old initials with new ones and continue the cycle.

What I love best is that I feel like my 30 minutes of morning duty time is so much more productive and focused now. The majority of the students are coming each day, and they like it as much as I do!

Also, it's working!!!! A lot of the kids are doing homework more consistently now than they were a month ago, and  I truly believe the accountability piece of knowing I am going to ask them EVERY morning is making a difference.

How are you staying organized in this busy time leading up to the holidays? I would love to hear!
Happy Counseling! ~Angela