Over the years, I have spent a ton of money and way too-much time trying a million and one different things looking for a system to help keep me organized for writer's workshop. And after all this time, I have realized that sometimes the best systems are the most straight-forward.

These "ride or die", must-have teaching tools for writing are simple and they are the exact ones that I use in my classroom to create and establish a system of organization that allows me to meet with my guided writing groups and hold 1:1 conferences with students during writing workshop without wasting even a minute of our precious time.

A ROLLING CART WITH DRAWERS

Whether I am conferencing with students OR teaching a small group writing lesson, I like to meet with students where they are. It is faster for me to move than for the students to and it shows students that I respect their work time. It is a subtle message that has a powerful impact.

This cart is perfect. I have a comfortable seat to sit on and I can keep all of my pens, papers, notepads, stickies, and more in the drawers. During student writing time, I can easily roll my cart up to the students' desks with everything I need literally at my fingertips to make the most out of my small group or conferencing time. My coffee can even sit on the tray and the pad keeps my tush from hurting. (Now that is #teacherstyle!)

A MINI-NOTEBOOK FOR EACH STUDENT

I learned a long time ago that having student data at my fingertips was a game-changer. It allows me to keep all of my notes on each student in one place. Any anecdotal records, informal assessment data, conference points, parent/teacher conference notes, communication records, and IEP specifics can be put into one notebook that is small and thin enough to store in the students' folders, pop into a book bag, take to an IEP meeting, etc. There are 65 pages in these little cuties which is just enough that when I toss them at the end of the year, I don't feel bad having wasted half of the notebook.

ERASABLE PENS

The beauty of erasable pens CANNOT be understated. These wonderful gifts from the writing gods have changed my life. They allow me to color-code information, highlight important parts in my notes, write processes & steps for students in color, AND they are erasable. If I mess up (which I tend to do because...you know... I'm human), I don't have to fiddle with correcting tape, white-out, scribbling over mistakes, or having to start over. They are also a great incentive for students--"star students" get use an erasable pen for the day! They are a WIN-WIN!!

POCKET FOLDERS WITH A CLEAR PLASTIC SLEEVE IN FRONT

These folders allow me to add full page labels to the front of each, so I can use them for all kinds of things. They are easily identifiable to students, parent volunteers, classroom assistants, substitutes, and parents which elevates stress and confusion. And, since I like things organized, I color-code mine and use all that same color folders for student writing folders, student reading response folders, homework folders,"Catch-Up" folders (Mine are red...get it? Ketchup! LOL), etc. They are also a great way to teach higher level student success skills and reinforce organization and responsibility too!

AVERY LABELS

Honesty time...I really dislike handwritten labels. I think they look hurried, ugly, and unprofessional. Therefore, my love affair with labeling things goes waaaay back. To this day, these sticky miracles are still one of the first things I order each year. (I have them in all sorts of shapes and sizes!)

At the beginning of each school year, I print out one full page of "name stickers" for each student and label EVERYTHING. Notebooks, folders, consumable workbooks, book bags/boxes, art projects, talking sticks, student job cards, pencil boxes, crayon boxes...you name it! They are a huge time saver and they keep everything looking neat and tidy.

ROLLING DRAWERS

Let's get real. Is there ever enough storage in a classroom?

The answer is NEVER.

That's why this is a must-have for me. Writing with kids requires a solid and easy to manage organizational strategy that the students can successfully navigate for housing all of the different kinds of organizers, papers, & "go-to" materials the students need. You also have to have a way for students to turn in work so that your desk top doesn't turn into a horrible heap of papers.

I love these drawers because they easily keep writing organizers, different types of writing paper, and student materials organized in one place. You can color-code table groups, or pods, to match the drawers so students can clearly see which drawers contain the materials for their table group. I use the deeper drawers for turning in student work and rearrange the smaller colored drawers to line up with the deeper ones keeping all of the colors together rather than in the rainbow-like pattern seen in the photo.

The bottom line is that organization is all about creating systems that are "grab and go" for you and easy enough that students of all ages can successfully follow. The more organized you and your students can be, the more time you are going to save and getting your students involved in the process means less work for you which will give students agency over their learning.

Until next time, my friends,

*Note: The links included in this post are not affiliate links. I don't make a commission off of the click-through sale of any of these items. The links are provided for your convenience only.