Do you have a teacher binder? What important things do you keep in it? In my teacher plan book I like to keep my weekly planner, curriculum information, student data, important school documents, and parent volunteer information. It is so nice to have all of these important documents all in one place. If you don’t already have a teacher binder, I would highly recommend one!
My binder really isn’t anything fancy. This year I am using a small 1 inch binder I got from Target HERE. I plan on taking this thing everywhere, so I don’t want it to be too bulky. If you want to make your own teacher binder, then basically any binder will work. I prefer mine to have a clear front pocket on the front.
To divide each section, I used 5-tab index dividers that you can find at almost any store.
Click HERE to check them out.
And of course, everything teacher-related needs a cute cover right?? Click HERE to download your own binder cover from my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. The font I used can be found for free HERE.
1. PLANNER: The picture below is a sample of my weekly planner. I will be printing this schedule off each week so I can make any necessary changes to it. Things change SO FREQUENTLY in first grade, which is why I can’t print it all off at the beginning of the year. You know what I mean… it would be out-dated mid September! I created this template in PowerPoint and you are welcome to use it! Click HERE to download your own weekly planner in PowerPoint from my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. BTW: It looks crazy in the Google Docs preview, so be sure to actually download it to your computer before editing.
2. CURRICULUM: In this section, I will be keeping all of my curriculum maps, so I can make sure I am staying on track and teaching my students what they need to know! At my school, we use the Houghton Mifflin reading program and the picture below is a year long schedule that I will be following this year.
I am also going to use Rachelle’s Math and ELA Common Core Checklists that I purchased on TeachersPayTeachers. And let me tell you friends, IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY! Click HERE to check out Rachelle’s Common Core Checklist.
I don’t have pictures of the next sections in my teacher binder, for obvious reasons,
so I will do my best to share what I put in each tab.
3. STUDENT INFO: This is a good place for class lists, student phone numbers, assessments, grades, etc.
4. SCHOOL INFO: In this section, I put important school documents, calendars, etc. {All those papers you get at the beginning of the school year that you don’t know what to do with, but you know you should hold on to them… } This section is important, because I usually lose these papers!
5. VOLUNTEERS: I keep all volunteer information in this section. These papers are important to keep close by just in case I need to contact a parent volunteer for whatever reason. It is also nice to know who is coming and when! Basically, these are documents I don’t want to be scrambling for at the last minute!
I am sure there are many other things I could keep in my teacher binder, but I have learned that these things are the most important to keep handy and readily available.
Don’t have time to make your own teacher planner?
Well I’ve already done the work for you! Check out my highly-rated Teacher Plan Book that will help you stay organized all year! It’s editable which means you can type in your information and lesson planning. Click on the images below to check it out on Teachers Pay Teachers.
