Saturday, August 3, 2013

More to add with Binder Organization

All right... here is another one.  As I'm putting my stuff together for my room, I'm realizing how much stuff I actually have.  I also realized that when I'm teaching during the year, I sometimes forget what I've got in my toolbox for teaching.  For that reason, I'm organizing my curricular tools into a certain format in my binders now.  A lot of you saw my binder system from a previous post, but I've decided to tweak that just a bit this year for ease.  Instead of creating the lesson plans for each year, I want to remind myself of the resources I have available to me.  So for each unit of the different grade levels I'm composing a list that follows this format (for example)

1st Grade Rhythms (tells the unit)
Rhythm Performance (1 on 1 Assessment) (gives the assessments of the unit and their format)
Rhythm Creation (P/P Test)
Rhythm Dictation (P/P Test)
Cabinet: (location of resource with list of items I can use - in this case filing cabinet)
     - Rhythm Baseball Cards
     - Rhythm Books on Binder Rings
     - Pool Noodles with Rhythm Symbols
     - Rhythm Train Cards
     - etc.
Music Library: (Kid Picture books I use to teach with)
Curriculum Pages: (Pages in the textbooks I can use to teach concepts with)
Worksheets/Other Print Sources: (This would be kept in the binder)
Teacher Computer: (Things like powerpoints or SMARTboard lessons I have saved)
Videos: (Web-based or saved to my school computer)
Web-Based Resources: (Websites with games or things I can use)

Now when you look at it, you might think that it is some serious micromanaging... which it is... in the beginning.  If you don't have any videos or books to go with a unit, don't include that topic.  My thoughts are this though... I'm only going to put resources on here that I have used or I want to try.  I can easily add new things to the list each year or take things away.  The best part is that when I go to plan out my unit, I know what I have.  I know that I have to assess them three different ways at the end of the unit.  I know that I have rhythm books available for them to use on their own.  I know the different games that I want to play with them, and I'll know what other resources will make up my unit.  Anyways, I thought this would be a helpful idea for those that look at their classroom and realize they have all these resources and don't remember what they have and don't have when they start their unit.

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