Creative Classroom: Seatwork Folders

In my third grade class, there are several boys who struggle with organization, unintentionally losing and crumpling many of their unfinished worksheets and other important papers in their chronically messy desks. I saw a solution on Pinterest—a great idea shared by a 2nd grade teacher on her blog 2ndgradesandcastle.blogspot.com. I relayed the idea to the teacher I assist, Mrs. D, and she was eager to give it a try. 

In the featured picture (from the blog), the teacher taped the file folders on the front of the students' desks. However, since we have aisle space between our desks, we taped the folders to the side of the desks.  We also let the children decorate their own folders before we taped them up.

Right now we're only two weeks into our new system, and I'm curious to see how durable the folders will be. I used scotch tape to create the pockets, but I think I should have used packaging tape instead. Today I stapled them, for reinforcement.

I love our new system! Not only is it much easier now for the kids to organize their unfinished papers, but also it's much more convenient for Mrs. D and me to keep track of the students' progress. With a mere glance around the room, we can easily tell who is finished, who has a little bit of work yet, and who is lagging with lots of work piled.    

Cheers!