{"id":2104,"date":"2019-06-04T22:27:38","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T22:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=2104"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:06:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T19:06:46","slug":"5-end-of-the-school-year-tips-to-make-back-to-school-teaching-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/5-end-of-the-school-year-tips-to-make-back-to-school-teaching-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"5 End-of-the-School-Year Tips to Make Back-to-School Teaching Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Does anything feel better than walking out of your classroom and into the sunshine on the last day of the school year? I understand your desire to rush out of the building as soon as you can! But before you leave for the summer, stop and think about Future You.<\/strong> Do you want to walk into a disorganized mess in September when you’re stressing about new students and new units? Or do you want to walk into a beautiful space, perfectly organized for educational success? This blog post is going to cover a few end-of-the-school-year tips for closing out your classroom to make coming back to school easier. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pin this for later!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tip #1: Throw it away!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ok, as far as end-of-the-school-year tips go, I know this one isn’t earth-shattering. But it IS the most important!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a coworker, who will remain nameless. Every day, she does current events. By the end of the year, her classroom is COVERED in old newspapers. The daily news piles grow into skyscrapers, and you can’t see anything<\/em>. Boxes of other tools and resources seemed shoved and piled into every nook and cranny. Walking into that room is suffocating<\/strong>. It doesn’t feel good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t be that teacher. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The easiest way to keep a classroom clean is to not have anything extraneous. If you haven’t used it–a resource, furniture, a poster, a book, anything–in a couple of years, toss it.<\/strong> That poster you haven’t hung up since your first year of teaching? Toss it. That file of worksheets you didn’t use this year? Toss it (especially if you have digital copies).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give away furniture you no longer use. Ask the custodian if you can throw extra supplies in a storage room somewhere. Place used books in Little Libraries around your community or give them to students. Whatever “it” is that’s taking up space, find a way to get rid of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I highly recommend signing up for <\/strong>Building Book Love’s Classroom Design Challenge<\/strong><\/a> for this<\/strong>. If you’re not familiar with Ashley Bible’s amazing English resources, then get familiar! They’re fantastic! But only do so after you signed up for her classroom design challenge–perfect for the end of the school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It walks you through seven days of organizing and designing your classroom. I did it last year and while my process for organizing and cleaning didn’t change much, it did give me some ideas about reorganizing my room and how to get rid of some furniture. It also inspired me to add some fun decorations to my classroom, like a couple of beautiful (but fake) cacti!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pin this for later!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tip #2: Organize Anything You’ll Reuse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you’re left with only the essentials, you’ll want to systemize how you store them<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I organize my files, for example, in a hanging file drawer. They’re grouped together by unit and the folders themselves are all labeled. I put worksheets away with the answer keys on the front, so I can find them easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My classroom library is organized alphabetically by author’s last name, although I hope to move to a genre system soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My art supplies are divided among totes. When we need markers, glue, or colored pencils, I take them out of my cabinet and distribute them amongst tables in my room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find all kinds of organizing tips and ideas for the end of the school year. Find a system that works for you–maybe KonMari your whole classroom!–and stick with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything in your room should have a proper place.<\/strong> If it doesn’t, make one or consider tossing it. By the end of the school year, you should know exactly what you have and where everything goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n