- Houston Independent School District
- Effective Practices
- I-5 Maximizing Instructional Time
- Material Organization
OLD-Professional Development
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- Design, Media, and Online Learning (DMOL)
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Effective Practices
- PL Toolkit
- PL-1 Develops Student Learning Goals
- PL-2 Data-driven instruction
- PL-3 Design Effective Lesson Plans, Units & Assessments
- I-1 Objective Driven Lessons
-
I-2 Check for Understanding
- Assess Mastery
- Begin with the End
- Checkpoints
- Chunking Text
- Closure
- Cold Call
- Exit Ticket
- Graphic Organizer
- Guided Practice
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Post It
- Randomizing Responses
- Right is Right
- Running Roster
- Stretch It
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student Conferences
- Student-Generated Questions
- Teach Back
-
I-3 Differentiation
- Chunking Text
- Double Plan
- Exit Ticket
- Flexible Grouping
- Graphic Organizer
- Grappling
- HOT Question
- Independent Practice
- Leveled Text
- Multimedia
- Open-Ended Responses
- Post It
- Product Menus
- Right is Right
- Running Roster
- Stretch It
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student-Generated Questions
- Take a Stand
- Tiered Assignments
- Workstations
- I-4 Higher Level Thinking
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I-5 Maximizing Instructional Time
- 100 Percent
- Academic Posture
- Call and Response
- Cold Call
- Do Now
- Entry Routine
- Exit Routine
- Job Assignments
- Material Organization
- Non-Verbal Interventions
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Pacing Tools
- Right is Right
- Stretch It
- Strong Voice
- Student Conference
- Teach Back
- Tight Transitions
- Work the Clock
- Workstations
- I-6 Communicating Content/Concepts
- I-7 High Academic Expectations
-
I-8 Student Engagement
- Academic Posture
- Call and Response
- Closure
- Cold Call
- Do Now
- Engage and Connect
- Graphic Organizer
- HOT Question
- Independent Practice
- J-Factor
- Job Assignments
- Leveled Text
- Non-Verbal Signals
- Open-Ended Responses
- Product Menus
- Randomizing Responses
- Real-World Connections
- Reinforcers
- Structured Peer Conversation
- Student-Generated Questions
- Workstations
- Work Hard, Get Smart
- I-9 Classroom Management
- I-10 Classroom Climate
- Literacy Routines
- Academics
- Swivl Pilot Program
- Professional Development
Description
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Material Organization is a systematic approach to storing and retrieving materials. The specific organization is dependent on the arrangement and space in the classroom and on the style and preferences of the teacher(s) and students who work in the room. The goal of organizing materials is to give students and teacher(s) quick access to the correct materials with a minimum amount of disruption to learning.
- Look at the classroom and determine what materials will be frequently used.
- Decide on a location where materials will be stored that will be easily accessible to all students with minimal loss of instructional time.
- Gather storage containers. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Clear storage boxes
- Plastic baskets
- Plastic tubs
- Trays
- Magazine holders
- Tote bags
- “Name” the storage container by labeling it with what is inside.
- Sort and place only the items on the label in the specific container.
- Teach students where the items will be located and the procedure to obtain and return the materials.
- Model for students.
- Practice obtaining and returning materials.
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Alerts
If materials begin to find themselves out of order, re-set expectations by taking a few minutes to review with the students the procedure for obtaining and storing materials in their proper places.
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Quick Tips
Consider allowing students to help decide how and where to store materials. This will build student investment and ownership.
Save money by re-purposing food containers, asking for parent donations, or visiting a local dollar store for storage containers.
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Other Strategies
Library Organization
Save time by using round colored label stickers to identify books by genre, author, and/or category. Use one color per category. Place the same color label on the storage container and on each individual book on the top right corner or on the spine.
Backpacks
Use clear plastic backpacks to store materials that are not used frequently or materials that students can take home for practice.