Organization Station-- More Ideas for Organizing Student Materials

We get so many great ideas for organizing student materials in the classrooms we coach. Last year we featured a whole post on Student Material Organization and this year we have even more examples to share!

Community Materials

For some classrooms, there are community materials that can be accessed by anyone in the class throughout the day. When you have community materials, you can facilitate opportunities for students to request items and/or students can practice social skills by taking turns passing out needed materials. Accessing community materials can often be a quick solution especially in classrooms where the students tend to do the same activities at once. 

Kelli Medina
Monticello Elementary, Huber Heights 

Pam Ellender
Mad River Middle School, Mad River

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Books are often centrally located so all students can access them during free time or during silent reading periods. Books can be organized by theme, reading level, author, or arranged alphabetically depending on the grade level of the students. Many classrooms use containers to hold common books in one place. Labels help students locate the book they are looking for quickly and efficiently. Labels also assist with filing books when finished. 

Kim Kohlrus
Beverly Gardens Elementary, Mad River

Annette Stine
Kyle Elementary, Troy

Kelly Sewell
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

Individual Materials

Having designated locations for individual materials can be helpful when differentiating materials or for when students travel to different classrooms throughout the day because they can take their belongings with them. 

Katie Bigelow and Casey Lathrop
Brookville Elementary, Brookville

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Jamie Minnish
Prass Elementary, Kettering

Brittany Bush
Spinning Hills Middle School, Mad River

Color coding can be a helpful visual strategy to help students find their materials easier. 

Molly Magoteaux
Kleptz ELC, Northmont

Mandy Whitfield from MCESC Learning Center- East uses color-coding to organize all aspects of her students day including their schedules, desks, folders, mailboxes, table spots, lockers and where to line up.

In addition to color coded visual supports, students benefit from organizational visual supports that help them know where to place their materials when finished. These visuals save time and energy because materials are returned to their designated spot without the need for additional time to clean up later. 

Annette Stine
Kyle Elementary, Troy

Annette Stine
Kyle Elementary, Troy

Remember when implementing an organizational system, that it is important to directly teach expectations to students so that they know what is expected. Provide opportunities to practice and use repetitive cuing when needed.