No More "What's Due?" Manage the paper monster!

How do you manage your classroom work and objectives? I am sure if your classroom is anything in the form of a normal classroom you have a lot going on throughout the week. Things can start piling up if you do not have some kind of a system in place. Even if a majority of what you do is in Interactive Notebooks, Seesaw, etc you can still get bogged down with what needs to be checked. Well I have tried various different things over the years and finally have settled on my newest technique. I have tweaked it and have seen such good results. And I promise you even 1st graders can manage it! 

The To-Do board! 

I have posted in the past about my kids having the chance to earn Fun Friday. After they accomplish all of their goals for the week they can earn that extra time to just be a kid and have some fun. I mean we work so hard during the week! 

On my back wall I have two empty cabinet fronts (prime real estate ya know?). I made picture icons of the objectives they would typically be faced with throughout the week as well as icons for what to do with the assignments when complete. I mean who just craves hearing..."I'm done!" What do I do with this? Where do I put it?" Well I can tell you I do not haha...I really want to foster independence and problem solving skills within those 4 walls. 

(I would have offered the icons as a freebie but it is tailored to what we do specifically, you would need to take pictures for your own icons-sorry!) 

Now we had a lot rolling this week so it looks kind of overwhelming to the naked eye lol...but my little owls have been trained on this and can execute it pretty well now days.

I put any assignment we have started and needs to be finished by Friday on the left side. On the right side I put the picture icon for where or what they need to do with it so they do not have to ask. 

"Corner of desk"- this tells me non-verbally I am done and you can come check my work. Most of these assignments/work was done in their interactive notebooks or folders where we didn't have to have extra copies made and waste paper or bury them in worksheets. 

"File"- I have made a file system at the front of the room with all their numbers on a file folder. They can slip their finished work in their and on Thursday and Friday morning I will check it.

"Picture of Me" - they can hand deliver it or also put it out on desk so I can come snatch it at my convenience. I don't typically use this one often but will when it is something I want right away.

"Work folder"- everyone every week has to have this out before starting Fun Friday. I do have some try to slip through the cracks each week and "say" they are done ;) ya know what I mean Vern?

The numbers next to the assignment are the magic numbers for the kids whose items I have not checked or have turned in. Once it is done I get to erase it off the board. I can tell you they love seeing their number go away. This is also helpful for some of my friends who are still learning to read. They know their number by heart already and the picture icons are obviously super fast to see as well! 

Here are some up close looks:

I really can't tell you how efficient this has made our weeks, and I love being able to see them turn around without me having to really say anything and check the to-do board on their own and Get 'Er Done! 

 I hope it sparked your interest if you are looking to streamline paper/assignment management in your classroom! 

Have a BLESSED week!!!