Have you ever struggled to stay organized at school?
I’ve finally found an amazing solution for keeping my brainstorming sheets, monthly calendars, planbook, and unit materials organized and user-friendly. The best part? It’s an all-in-one system. The Arc organizational notebooks at Staples use discs (available in several sizes) to hold leather or acrylic covers in which materials can be easily inserted and removed as needed.
Problems with other systems
Through my years as a teacher, I have tried various methods to record my lesson plans from traditional green Teacher Planbooks, to fancy weekly planners and even online trackers. All of the planners drove me crazy because I had to write everything down, so changes required erasing. Online systems worked fairly well, but they weren’t in calendar format for ease in planning.
I’ve relied on file folders and three-ring binders to hold unit materials. This spread handouts into multiple folders, and I had to make time to keep up with my filing. Besides, my plans and materials were never in the same place, so when it came time to review what was done the year before, it took time to pull everything together.
Benefits of the Arc system
With the Arc system, I combine all of my unit materials together – weekly lesson plans, monthly calendars, note pages, and all unit handouts. My curriculum includes one major writing and reading unit each quarter or eight major units during the school year. Since I teach two grade levels, I have room in one notebook to include everything for both of those units. At the end of the year, I will have eight notebooks with materials for 7th and 8th grade. All I have to do is pull a notebook from my shelf to see each week’s lessons with the accompanying handouts/assignments given to students.
I use the clear acrylic Arc notebook (about $10) and two dividers (one 7th and one 8th grade) for each unit. The notebook holds everything for the unit: a monthly calendar that I print from my computer; the weekly plans that I type up and print out; all handouts given to students during the unit; and even my district’s standards for the unit for easy reference. Having everything in one place makes it convenient when I go to PLC meetings each week. And next year, planning will be even easier. Everything will be at my fingertips when my PLC makes decisions about how we want to revise our units.
One of the best features is the ability to remove pages from the notebook and re-arrange them. The pages pop right out and back in with minimal effort, making the process extremely convenient. I purchased the special Arc hole punch (about $37) that allows me to put any materials in my notebook, not just the brand’s pre-punched note pages and calendar pages, so once I have all of my notebooks for each unit, I will never need to purchase additional supplies.
The Office Depot/Office Max chain has a similar product called the TUL Discbound Notebook. This brand is interchangeable with the Arc system, so materials can be selected at either store. Although I have purchased from both brands, I find Staples has a larger selection of notebooks, dividers, and page inserts – at least in stores in my area.
Happy organizing!
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