Copies & Grading

I have to admit that when I was a child, I loved to pretend to be a teacher with my stuffed animals.  When I moved on to using my sister and younger neighbors as my students, I thought the greatest thing was to grade and put stickers on their papers!  I also remember helping my dad grade some of his students' high school science exams . . . I bet they were surprised to receive smiley face stickers on their tests!  

Now, as I am well into my teaching career, I'm not sure why I thought it would be so exciting to grade papers.  It's one of my least favorite parts of teaching! 

In order to help organize my papers and make my life just a bit easier, I came up with a great system.  I got a 3-Tier Mesh Organizer from a local Tag Sale (a.k.a. yard sale or garage sale) for a few bucks.  I set it on its side on a filing cabinet.  As soon as I added some well-placed labels, it was ready to go!

What is great about this shelving system is that it's easy and accessible for my classroom helpers.  I have a shared paraprofessional who often has some extra moments to help with grading or copying.  This filing system is in an easy-to-reach place and even has my copying code for her to use.  An organizational system like this would be great for parent volunteers as well. 

The top shelf is where I place items that need to be copied.  I also use Small Post-It Notes on the pages to label how many copies I need and any other special instructions.  That way, no one has to wonder what I have planned in my head.

The second shelf is where I put papers and assignments that need to be corrected.  If there is an answer key, I paper clip it to the sheets.  To be completely honest, some papers stay hidden on this shelf for w-a-y too long . . .

The bottom shelf is where I put things that I hope to work on.  It is sort of a miscellaneous shelf for things I hope to read, things to laminate, projects to try, and activities to prepare.  Again, some things collect dust on this shelf . . . but it's better than collecting dust on my desk, right???