Teaching Lifelong Organizational Habits

Christine Dewey, M.Ed.

"Let all things be done decently and in order" (I Corinthians 4:10). Orderliness is pleasing to God and provides practical, lifelong benefit. The teacher who implements organizational techniques can gain significant benefits in efficiency. Here is a checklist of suggestions that will benefit the teacher.

1. Keep lesson plans, handouts, etc., in labeled folders or notebooks where they can be located easily.
2. Plan where books, papers, etc., are to be located, and keep them in the right place in and on the desk.
3. List what needs to be taken to and from school in the teacher's briefcase, and use the list to make quick selections and then to have what is needed.
4. List tasks to do for the hour, day, or week, and check them off as they are completed.
5. Write tasks on a calendar on the date they need to be completed. Plan steps for completion of large tasks, and write each step on the day it should be done.
6. Make a basic weekly schedule on which time is allotted for lesson planning and paper grading as well as non-school responsibilities. In a weekly planning time, list what needs to be done during the upcoming week and when it will be done.

The accomplished, experienced teacher who is, herself, organized can by precept and example teach her students permanent habits of systematic planning and procedures.

Here is a checklist of habits she can develop in her students.

1. Provide elementary age children with labeled folders or envelopes for holding loose papers and taking them home.
2. Recommend the use of loose leaf ring binders, because they are the most flexible notebooks. As soon as students collect papers for several subjects, have them arrange them in folders or notebooks. When they use notebooks, they should label each subject and keep their papers in order. A periodic notebook check would encourage orderliness and could be part of the grade for high school classes.
3. Help children in elementary school neatly arrange the materials in their desks. They might make a "floor plan" for their books, papers, pencils, etc. The teacher can remind them to "put your book in your desk in the right section." As an incentive for good organization, occasional recognition or reward might be given for students who get out the needed materials very quickly.
4. Have students make a list of materials they should carry in their bookbags.
5. Have students list tasks to do and check off each one when it is accomplished.
6. Provide calendars on which students write assignments or tasks on the date they are due. Break large projects into smaller steps, and write each step on the day it should be completed.
7. Teach students to plan their time by listing the time to study and the study tasks to be done. When children work in the elementary school classroom, the teacher can write the time and tasks on the chalkboard. High school students can make a weekly time schedule on which they mark hours for study and other activities. In a weekly planning time, they can plan their activities for the upcoming week.

Planning and organization increase productivity and decrease frustration. The school provides an excellent setting in which to develop and use good organizational habits.

Reprinted from Balance, a publication of the School of Education, Bob Jones University. Used with permission of Bob Jones University. Please write BJU Press, for permission to reproduce this article.