Tips for Organizing Your Class

By: Rida Afrilyasanti

organized classroom

Classroom accommodations can greatly differ in size and comfort and as teachers we have to be ready with all of those situations. Some classrooms may be modern, spacious, and airy; while, others are cramped, outdated, and crumbling. As teachers, we all know that the classroom accommodations provided to us can differ greatly in size and comfort.  This condition somehow makes your teaching less efficient and becomes burdensome for you and your students. Learning a new language is a tough stuff and for sure, you do not want to create much more burden on your students. Here are some inspiring suggestions to lighten up, create flow, and help your EFL class run more smoothly.

1. Have student-centered teaching. A classroom can be associated as a ship, as a teacher, you are the captain of the ship, but still, its owner is your students. Teach everything that is on your students’ needs. Do not give too many materials at once. Minimizing and organizing materials is essential for an organized, efficient classroom. Start the planning of your room with the perspective of your students in mind.  They should have enough room to work, move around the classroom, access their materials, and there should be different seating options for them.  Even if desks or tables need to be moved, hopefully you can find a way to create different arrangements for learning. If clunky desks are taking up all of your space, consider if tables that seat 4-6 students could create more possibilities.  If you make this switch, you may provide each student with a bin for storing materials.  Although you will need to make room for a shelf for these bins, the tables may create more flexibility than the desks.  They also help to maintain more of a community feeling than desks.

2. Recycle your Old Stuffs! Teachers are responsible for teaching so much and having a great variety of things for different projects and units.  Now you need to choose which stuff that can be still available in your class and which one which have to be recycled. Create comfortable spaces for your students and yourself.  Save the irreplaceable stuff.  Save the pricey stuff.  But that box of outdated books or magazines that a generous parent dumped on you five years ago has to go.  The materials which are bulky, old, can be borrowed, are only used once a year, or that you know that you plan to use someday but who knows when, also need to go.  Don’t be hesitated, you are creating space for you and your students to work more efficiently each day. You have to be able to decide by how much you need to reduce your collection in order to make your classroom space more workable.  It can be hard, emotional even, to let go of materials.  You can then take digital photos of your favorite old junk if it’s what you need to do to let it go.  Donate worthwhile materials or recycle what needs to be recycled.

3. Put Label on your Stuffs. Clearly labeled plastic bins with lids that fit in whatever storage receptacles you have are a good way to go.  Use name tag type stickers and permanent markers for the labeling.  You could even color code the labels by subject. Break things down in a way that works for you, perhaps by subject, unit, or month.  This will help you to find it easier and faster as you need it.

a well organized classroom

4. Create Sheet Flow. In your teaching, you might give your students homework, assignment, project, or test that they have to submit. That is why you need a box or shelf in which your students can submit their works. You can make the box for each student or based on the tasks you give. Don’t forget to also give separated boxes in which your students can take their work that have already been graded.

5. Ask your students to take part in managing the classroom. You can choose or assign the students to be captain of the class, librarian, locker organizer, recycle bin monitor, plant technician, cleaning leader, or others depend on your classroom facilities and your needs. It is such a great lesson for students.  They will feel more invested in their classroom, they will have to work to solve problems to complete their task, they will learn to work together, and they will learn responsibility.  They may even be more careful about the messes they make when they know that they need to clean them up.

6. Create a free space for guest. May be once in a while your headmaster, supervisors, or parents want to visit your class and observe your teaching as well as the students. Therefore, you need to create an empty space for your guests. If you have morning meetings, leave an extra chair for guests.  Your visitors will come away with a completely different experience if they have felt welcomed into your room.

7. Maximize use of natural light. Notice the times of day that natural light comes into your room and try to open the blinds to maximize its use and to minimize the use of fluorescent lights when possible.  We know that natural sunlight is good for our health and our brains, so what better time to access it than when you expect your students to really be flexing those brain muscles?  Use of softer light from lamps when possible is also a great alternative.

8. Keep your classroom fresh and clean. Cleaning your classroom not only will make your tables, desks, and shelves feel and look clean, but they will be sanitized of all the cold germs in your class and your room will smell fresh.  Students really enjoy being in a clean classroom.  I believe that it improves their concentration and focus.

9. Put educational and motivating posters. You can ask your students to help you with this. It is preferable to take out and post these materials at the time that you teach them. Then, as you assign them to do other stuffs that can be displayed on the wall, you can ask them to keep the old one. However, of course, you have some reference posters that will stay up all year, such as the word wall, number and alphabet (or cursive) strip, and posters listing procedures or rules.  But having some blank space on your walls is a good thing.  Change bulletin boards regularly, take down materials from old units, and teach students where to refer for current information.  This will help you to create new situations for your students. Keep word walls and other reference information ‘alive’ and functioning by referring to them frequently.

10. Help students to be responsible on their personal stuffs. Let your students know a regular time available to them to clean and organize their desks, lockers, coat hook areas, etc.  Encourage the students to take home old materials and personal items such as clothing that are cluttering up spaces.  You can encourage your students to organize and maintain their space by giving reward to the students with neat and organized space. The rewards can be a special note or a treat.

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