The
Organized Teacher 2nd Edition
Summary of Book
The Organized Teacher (2nd edition) written
by Steve Springer, Brandy Alexander, and Kimberly Persiani is a book full of
diagrams, guidelines and charts that are helpful hints on how to set up your
new classroom. I chose to read this book because I think it is important for
teachers to have the materials they need in accessible areas of the classroom
for kids to be able to reach. I wanted to have a few ideas of what I will need
in my classroom and how I can set it up. The book provides first day
checklists, sample room setups, classroom management and organizational ideas,
classroom tools, ways to keep records, gives a brief overview of the curriculum
and how to prepare for class. The book also suggests a few assessment formats
and ways to be prepared in the classroom. I am going to discuss a few of my
favourite areas of the book and I have also included copies of where I got the
information.
Calendar and Helper Chart (page 16 + 17)
My favourite idea from the book
was where it showed a Calendar and Helper Chart. I think the calendar is one of
the most important displays in kindergarten to grade 2 classrooms. The calendar center shown in this book also
includes different ways incorporate numbers and math into the daily calendar
task. Included in this center are tallies, money, news, schedules, reminders
and weather. The helper chart is a great way to give students jobs that teach the
students about responsibility and also help the teacher manage the classroom.
Assigning tasks for the students gives them a sense of ownership over their
learning environment and encourages them to take care of the classroom (Springer, Alexander, and Persiani, 2012, p. 17).
Teachers’ Workstation (page 67)
The teacher’s workstation described in the text would
be a great addition to the carpet area. A workstation contains drawers clearly
labelled with supplies that are used often and may also hold manipulatives that
a teacher will need accessible during carpet meetings (Springer et al., 2012, p.67). This can include white
board markers, index cards, name cards, dice, magnets, etc. Whatever you are
using at the time or may need for future lessons should be kept in the work
station to provide easy access and help lessons run smoothly.
Websites for Teachers (page 71)
I also included a page that has
websites the text suggests for additional classroom planning resources. Here
you can find websites that help you plan lessons, games, rubrics, worksheets,
and build your own classroom website. I inserted this page mainly because I
know that I appreciate having additional resources online that I can go to that
are free for teachers. The text suggests (2012) that “the Internet is the best
overall resource you can use.”
Home Study Folders (page 172)
Another section I liked in this book contained
printable sheets that you can use for decorating the students home-study
folder. They are black and white sheets that you can have the kids colour
before pasting them onto duotangs with pockets. These folders help students
organize their homework papers and can hold paper work being sent home to
parents (Springer et al., 2012, p.172). I would also suggest placing looseleaf in the duotang for
correspondence between the parents and teacher about important notes. These
folders should be checked daily by the teacher in case the parents have sent
notes with their child. The folders have shapes, colours, numbers, and the
alphabet along with other resources the kids can use to refer back to what they
are learning at school. I think these folders would also be a great way to keep
in touch with parents about what is going on in the classroom.
Sub Folder (page 191)
The text suggests having a sub folder that can be used
whether the lesson has been planned or not. This folder should consist of a
class list, emergency procedures, town list, bus list, meal lists, class duties
and maybe even a brief description of the regular routines (Springer et al., 2012, p.191). This basic
information is essential for the sub to have at their fingertips in order to
assist in making the day go smoothly. You can also provide the sub with extra papers
or worksheets for down time or if they run out of things to do with the class.
The book also suggests to include a sub feedback form so your replacement can
let you know how the day went and can help hold students accountable for their
behaviour.
Critique
Overall I thought the book was very helpful for how to
begin to set up the classroom and resources teachers can use when designing
classroom organization strategies and lesson plans. My five favourite areas of
the book (described above) is only a small portion of the very useful
information the book suggests. Although the front page of the book suggests it
is suitable for grades K-5, I think this book is mostly appropriate for grades 3
and under. The classroom setup ideas that the book suggests seem to be directed
to younger grades. The only part that I think would be good for older grades
is the curriculum portion. Although the curriculum portion is suitable for all
grades, it is mostly for the United States curriculum and it does not match up
with the Manitoban curriculum so it may be more difficult to use as an overall
guideline.
I almost felt
as though this book was oversimplified. I thought a few of the suggestions
could have gone into more detail and contained actual lists of what should be
included, for example in the sub folder they could have compiled a list of
documents and maybe included copies of actual documents you could use. I also
think a complete list of items to keep in the teachers workstation would be
helpful to give teachers an idea of things we will most likely need at the
carpet area in the middle of lessons. If the authors were to have gone into
more detail with some of their ideas I think they could have skipped the entire
curriculum chapter.
Conclusion
I think that this book is a
great resource for beginning teachers because it provides many ideas on how to
keep an organized classroom and provide students with necessary resources.
Teachers can use this book to find assessment strategies, classroom setup
ideas, and important information that teachers need to find out about their
students and school. I would highly recommend this book for teachers who are
not very organized and need to provide their students with a stress free
environment.
Reference: Springer, S., Alexander, B., and Persiani, K. (2012). The organized teacher: A hands-on guide to
setting up and running a terrific classroom. United States of America:
McGraw-Hill
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