Basic Classroom Organization

I think that new and veteran teachers continually struggle with Basic Classroom Organization.

Placement of desks, papers, tools, books, and everything else makes running a classroom more than just "teaching".

If you have tips or tricks to make this part of your career easier - please share them here.

Congratulations to the winners of the "Basic Classroom Organization" contest.

Our Grand Prize winner was Elizabeth from Texas who received a $25 Amazon.com gift card for her student desk organizers idea.

The five runner up who received Primary Literacy Centers were:

Thanks again for sharing your amazing ideas!

Please share your photos and ideas here!

Do you have a great Basic Classroom Organization idea? Share it!

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What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Student Desk Organizers Not rated yet
Everyone on my Kinder team uses painted bricks & baskets to organize student supplies.

Students keep their pencils and scissors in the bricks as well …

Mobile Listening Library Not rated yet
I wanted a listening center for my kindergarten students, but I ran out of tables this year! I decided to move my big books from the mobile bookshelf …

Lunch Count and Attendance Not rated yet
In looking for a quick and easy method for taking lunch count and attendance, I came up with this idea.

The students are responsible for coming in …

Interactive Math Wall  
Math is my favorite subject to teach.

In First grade calendar is a big part of our daily routine.

I love having an interactive wall where students …

Classwork Display Quilt  Not rated yet
Our classroom is one of seven rooms which open to an outdoor hallway.

In order to display my students' work, I made a quilt of work pockets from electric …

Hanging Charts High 
This is actually a very simple idea, but I have found it to be a tremendous time-saver, and it allows me to hang posters & charts without having to drag …

Magazine Holders for Centers Not rated yet
I have a tiny classroom and saving space is my number one task.

I use magazine holders from Ikea (only $3 for 4!) to hold my literacy centers. …

Magnetic Holders for Centers Not rated yet
I use card games a lot during our math centers.

I would keep the cards in zip lock bags but in a very short time the bags were ripped and very messy …

Sign-In Board 
I am a Prep (Kinder) teacher and I find this is a great way to teach children how to write their name and also keep track of who is at school each day. …

Desk Organization- I Love My Benches!  
I put my husband to work to save my desks from becoming a mess.

He made benches that sit between pods of 4.

They stand as high as the legs of …

Pocket Mailboxes 
I wish I could take credit for this creative idea, but I have to give it to a great friend of mine who is not even a teacher!

She found this pocket …

Headphone Hang-ups Not rated yet
I hate how tangled up headphones can get!

The kids spend more time trying to untangle headphones than they do actually listening to a book on CD. …

Supplies and Folders Not rated yet
When our library put out this old card catalog table many years ago, I grabbed it quickly!

I use the drawers to store pencils (old and new), rulers, …

Classroom library organization 
I bought many different colored baskets to use to organize my classroom library books.

I color coded and numbered the books according to which basket …

Homemade Chair Pockets 
I use homemade chair pockets on my 3rd grade students' desk chairs to help them stay organized.

Their desks are fairly small for all the books we …

Centers in Containers  
I purchased several inexpensive stackable pull out drawer containers from Wal-Mart.

I then printed out nine of my second grade learning centers and …

Center Pencils 
Organizing simple objects such as pencils in your Literacy Centers can be a real time saver and management tool.

Every year before school begins I …

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Contest Directions:

1. Go to The "Basic Classroom Organization" Contest and submit a photo and paragraph about your favorite “Basic Classroom Organization” classroom idea. (See pointers below.)

2. Go to Contact Me and send me an email with your name, email address and the name of your “tip”. Your submission will only be considered complete once I receive this email.

Contest Pointers:

The judges will be looking for original, well-written, classroom concepts that will be beneficial to new or veteran teachers. Tell us about your idea as thoroughly as possible. Both the photo and paragraph will be judged.

Contest Rules:

1. You must be age 18 or older at the time you submit your contest entry form. By submitting your entry form, you are acknowledging that you are age 18 or older.

2. Your photo must NOT include any children.

3. You may enter the contest up to three times. Just fill out a new form for each new idea that you'd like to enter, and be sure to contact us with the required information each time.

4. To be eligible to win this contest, you must include your name and a valid e-mail address. Whoever wins the contest will be contacted by the e-mail address submitted with their entry. If the winner's e-mail address is invalid when the contest winner is chosen, a new winner will be chosen.

5. Contest entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on September 4th, 2010.

6. The choice of the winning entries will be at the sole discretion of the judges and elementary-teacher-resources.com.

7. The winners will be notified by email by the 15th of September, 2010. Winner(s) will have 48 hours after notification to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Arrangements will then be made for the transfer of the prize(s).

8. This contest is void where prohibited.

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