A great way to stay organized as a teacher is to have a teaching binder. I keep my teaching binder on my desk, take it home with me if I need to, and even take it to all my meetings. This binder includes EVERYTHING I need throughout the day and it keeps it all in one place, so I am not looking everywhere for something.

A teaching binder is so nice to keep everything in. Below are the sections in my teaching binder and what I keep in each section. This is just what works for me, you can take what works for you! I just highly recommend having some type of binder to keep all these important papers in.

My teaching binder is a 2 inch 3 ring binder. I feel like this is big enough for all the papers I put in it, but not too big to carry around with me. Using a 3 ring binder is nice so you can easily remove or add in papers as needed. Also, I use divider tabs for each section. A lot of the papers I use is from an awesome TPT resource I found. It is a complete binder system with lesson planning pages. Click here to check it out. A lot of what I use is from this resource if you are wondering!

Now, here are the 12 sections I include in my teaching binder!

Standards

The very first section of my teaching binder is for my state standards. I include standards for every subject I teach. I actually use more divider tabs right behind the main divider for standards for each subject I teach. Behind every subject tab, I print out the state standards I am supposed to teach for my grade level. Also, I include any curriculum maps or pacing guides I have for that subject.

I love having all the standards for my grade level right in my teaching binder. I can easily reference any standard when I am planning for future lessons or collaborating with my grade level partners. Also, I like to highlight or check the standards as I teach them, so I know I have taught them all by the end of the year.

I find having my standards printed out is easily for me to reference than looking them up every time I want to read a standard. This saves me a lot of time during lesson planning and meetings.

Weekly Lesson Plans

The next section is my weekly lesson plans. I personally like to write down my lesson plans. These are not my super detailed lesson plans, it is basically just notes for me to remember what I am teaching for each subject that week. I like to have my binder open on my desk to the week’s lesson plans throughout the day, so I can easily reference it and it keeps me on track.

My “super detailed” lesson plans are actually on planbook.com. My school wants all teachers to type their complete lesson plans on this online template, so the principal can easily check our lessons. I usually do not print these lessons, I just leave them online. This weekly lesson plan spread is just used for me for a quick reference during the week.

Planning Resources

The next section is for planning resources. This is just a place where I can put extra lesson plan templates and any special papers my school wants me to consider when I am planning.

Month at a Glance

Next, I have a Month at a Glance section. This is where I keep a calendar for each month. I like to fill out the calendar with any meetings or events I need to remember. I just like seeing my month all at once.

Class Information

This section is where I keep any important papers concerning my students. This includes personal student information sheets with birthdates, student number, home contact information, etc. I also keep a class roster with full names and each student’s number.

Schedules

The next section is where I keep all my schedules. I keep my daily classroom schedule and my specials schedule. I also keep schedules for the students that go to choir, speech, multi-cat, etc. This way, if I ever forget where a student is or if they forget what days or times they go, I can easily look here.

Websites and Logins

This section is where I keep all my teaching logins. In my school, we use many different computer programs and testing programs. There are so many websites I have to remember. I like to keep all my logins and passwords in one section, so if I ever forget one I know exactly where to look!

Attendance

This section is where I keep my student attendance. I keep track of which students are absent, tardy, and if they bring in an excuse. The office at my school also keeps all this information, but they like being able to have an extra copy just in case something is filed wrong. Also, if I am in a meeting, I can easily reference student attendance if that is needed.

Student Data

In this section, I keep all my student data. I keep print outs of test scores. I also keep any classroom data from weekly tests and some formative assessment data if it is appropriate. I like to be able to reference student data and student growth at meetings or when collaborating with my grade level team. This is a nice place to keep all the important data numbers that I can easily access.

IEP’s

This section is for Individual Education Plans. If any student in my class has an IEP, I keep the IEP here, as well as what accommodations I am supposed to do in the classroom. It is nice to have this in my teaching binder, especially when I am lesson planning or creating assessments. This way, I can easily look up all accommodations that I need to be doing in the classroom in case I forget. Also, it is nice to have a copy during teaching meetings if needed. With the IEP’s, you also need to keep track of all the accommodations you do and when you do it on a calendar, so I always have access to this to add it in.

Communication/Student Check List

In this section, I keep any student communication forms. I will also keep some stationary or post cards, so I can easily fill out and give to students whenever I need to. I keep a communication log to keep track of who I am sending positive messages home to. Also, I have a compliment tracker that I can keep track of all the compliments I give to my students and how many compliments I give them. One goal I have is to compliment every student at least twice every nine weeks. If you want to check out our compliment tracker click here!

I also like to keep student check lists in this section. I keep student names in a blank checklist and anytime I need to collect signed papers from them, I can mark off who has turned theirs in. This way, I know exactly who I need to remind to bring in the papers.

Meeting Notes

The very last section of my teaching binder is a place for meeting notes. I can easily write down any notes I may need to remember in this section. I also keep some notebook paper in the back, just in case I need to write extra notes or give something to someone. Since, I always have my teaching binder with me, I always have a place to take notes and I can always refer back to them. No more random notes laying around or not knowing where my notes are!

I hope you enjoyed learning about how I organize my teaching binder. I think having a teaching binder is so important to being the best teacher you can be. Everything you need is organized and easy to find!

Here are some more of our organizing articles to check out:

7 Essentials for an Organized Teacher Desk

6 Tips for a Functional and Organized Classroom Space

The BEST Way to Organize Teaching Resources

Thank you for Continually Learning with us!

Kyle and Sarah

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