Organization as a teacher

Our prep time may be limited and interrupted, but you can achieve organization as a teacher. I have not always been that teacher, so how did I do it?

At the start of 2025, I developed a new routine for my prep times and waited to see if it would fail like so many others before it. I practiced it for the last six months of the school year and all the following year, and I stuck with it.

You can edit this for your particulars, but I am in love.

**This workflow assumes that all texts and vocabulary have been selected for the grading period and a broad daily calendar has been built. Decide these things ahead of time and then trust your decision. You can always make notes for next year. For more on unit and grading period planning, check out The Only 4 Things to Prep for a New Grading Period.

Monday

Slides day for the following week. I teach three classes, so I build 3 sets of weekly slides, reading instruction slides, and vocabulary slides.

• My template has made weekly slides a breeze. For something as disposable as day-of-the-week slides, this is the way to go.
• Reading instruction (reading slides I’ll use from year-to-year) are fairly simple, unless there’s text engineering involved. Most general teachers won’t do too much of that, however. Here are my two protocols for the differing levels of text complexity.
• Vocabulary slides are just adding pictures since I bulk-create with Canva.
• I don’t make writing slides because I built general reusable activities. Any specific instruction is on an assignment, so I project that instead of making another slide for no reason.

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

• Each day is appointed one class as a focus. I make all the copies I need for that one class for the next week. I frame this like a fun challenge. It HAS to happen on its day. This forces me to print instead of pick at things.
• An extra layer of challenge has been that if I finish early, I challenge myself to work ahead. This will help me have a buffer if something comes up. Ideally, I want two weeks of buffer.
• If I taught fewer different classes, I would make the extras dedicated grading days.

Friday

By Friday, my brain is not good for planning deciding, or creating, so I focus on the following.

• Communication: sending class messages, positive notes, and student referrals
• Cleaning: dusting and organizing the library, wiping down boards
• Canvas: publishing the Canvas assignments/links for the following week
• Catch-all: anything else that comes up through the week but can wait until Friday (e.g. letters of recommendation)

What about no-school days?

If it’s planned in advance (e.g. a holiday), I double-up the week before. If it’s a surprise (e.g. snow day or illness), I hope I have a buffer. If I don’t, I get the bare minimum done as quickly as possible. That’s life.

What about grading?

Grading also happens whatever day I take in the assignment. In general, I only grade one assignment a week, so that helps. I try to stagger them as best I can. Grades, while important to stakeholders, are one of the least important parts of my job. I want to spend the bulk of my time planning and responding to real-time data. Small assignments don’t have a chance for revisions, so I grade them fast because they’re over. Large assignments have an opportunity for revision, but I still grade them fast because students will need to meet with me about them anyway.

Organizing teacher supplies

I love these Teacher Toolbox labels. These keep all of my supplies at my fingertips.

Organizing teacher files

For my copies, I use these three-drawer labels.

Since I am working ahead on copies, I can put them in the right day ahead of time. This has been a life-saver when I had a sub! I was able to direct a colleague to where to find my supplies–so handy! For student work, I have an inbox (just one for everything). I also have an outgoing crate with folders where I paperclip and store graded work until I return it. Extra copies of work are in folders where the students can access them.

You Can Be Organized!

My routine is just a sample that I hope will spark your thinking. It has brought such new life to my teaching and focus to my prep. You can do this!