Student Organization = Student Success!!




ORGANIZATION. We all know the word and strive to achieve it, but sometimes still are left flustered with ideas and things piled up in every which way. As a busy teacher, you know what I’m talking about! I find that the more organized I am in the classroom, the more organized my students become…not just with their physical materials, like desktop bins and folders, but also with their ideas, how they learn, and how they demonstrate their knowledge. Kelly and I share this passion of striving to be highly organized, and after working so closely together for the past 3 years, we finally found a system that keeps us as teachers as well as our students more organized in everything that takes place in our classrooms.


We created hands on, interactive pocketbook portfolios that are (you guessed it!) highly organized. After teaching units this way for so long, our students have picked up these positive habits and absolutely thrive on this style of presenting materials and information. As a result, we found that their success has just skyrocketed, and they are retaining and demonstrating knowledge now more than ever.

Continents Pocketbook Portfolio 
So what are pocketbook portfolios? They are comprehensive units that create a hands-on, interactive portfolio of student materials that relate to a particular overlying science or social studies topic. Subcategories of the topic are broken down and given a "pocket" that is used to organize all student work and materials used throughout the unit. At the end, the individual pocket folders are combined to create the larger pocketbook portfolio, which provides students with a comprehensive look at their completed work over the course of the unit. Materials in each pocket are interactive, systematic, and hands-on, and truly give students ownership of their learning. Information is also presented in the same format every week, which provides routine, consistency and clear expectations to students as they move from subcategory to subcategory throughout the unit. Information and activities are scaffolded, and progress in difficulty and higher order thinking throughout the week. Take a look at a sample schedule below!!!




*Note: This is the schedule that works for our students, but another benefit of the Pocketbook Portfolio is that it is very easy to differentiate...feel free to move activities and adjust to fit the needs of your learners!!!



We're so pleased with the way that our students have responded to this format, and are excited to see them become more independent with each activity as the weeks go on. Feel free to check out some of our Pocketbook Portfolios below! :)  


Summer Olympics Pocketbook Portfolio

Solar System Pocketbook Portfolio



Thanks for reading! We hope your students enjoy them as much as ours do! :)

18 comments

  1. I struggle with organization! I try to accomplish one little thing a day, but it certainly does not come naturally to me. I appreciated the fact that you must teach these skills to students.

    Your work is absolutely beautiful. I am sure your students benefit greatly from these pocket portfolios. They are not only learning content, but the skills involved in keeping things organized as well.

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  2. This is a great blog. I tried to invite you to Pinterest through Learn, Lead and Love, but it didn't pick up, so you're probably not following the boards. I will send you a Tailwind Tribe membership. Every time you pin to the tribe board, you must pin someone else's product. The board has few members, so I try to pin everything that is pinned to my Tribe. So far, I've been successful but may have trouble doing this when it is not summer.

    https://www.pinterest.com/joycelansky/

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  3. I love the idea of Pocket Portfolios! Great way to keep student's learning organized and I am sure they enjoy them!
    Julie
    Big Ideas For Little Hands

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  4. These are some great ideas!! I always organized stations/Daily 5 in labeled folders and then placed them into the station with Dish Drying racks to provide choice at that station! Your Pocket Portfolios are a super idea!! Kathy Sunshine and Lollipops

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  5. Great organizational tips and ideas. Thank you

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  6. This is awesome!! Organization is key!

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  7. Organization is always such an issue. Thank you for the awesome ideas!!!

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  8. What a creative resource!! I am definitely going to look into these in your store! :)

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  9. Just added this to my wish list!! Thanks for the giveaway :)

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  10. I love the thought of organizing students!

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  11. I can not believe being organized could save me so much time! I will spend the time to organize this year!!

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  12. This is a great way to help students get organized!

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  13. Great ideas for helping students with their organisation skills!

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