Teacher Planner - DIY

Detailed Binder set-up video

After looking at several planners available for teachers, I came to the realization that it would be easier to just create my own. There are a lot of amazing lesson plan binders out there as well as printables for teachers, but I could never find one that would house everything I wanted to have in one place.

I opted for the mini 3 ring binder.  I have used full sized binders in the past, but as my main teaching planner, they would become too heavy for me to carry back and forth between home and school.  I now have a comprehensive planner I can use daily and transport with ease.  

Using Power Point, I changed the paper size to 8.5 x 5.5, which is 1/2 of a sheet of letter sized paper.  I reworked my forms and lesson plan templates to fit on these smaller pages. 

Section 1: Business

1) In this section I have a calendar spread of a school year on 2 pages where I plan on keeping track of my absences, professional development and per session work. 

2) Seating Chart

3) Parent phone #'s

4) Parent Call Log

5) Parent Communication Form

Section 2: Calendar

1) Monthly Calendar

2) Undated Weekly Planner

3) Section for notes and to do's

Section 3: Lesson Plans

I created a two sided generic template to use for more detailed planning if necessary.

Section 4: Assessment

1) Homework Log where I keep track of the assignments I give out.

2) Grade tracker where I track the homework, classwork, tests, quizzes, and projects.

(Each marking period is a different color)

Section 5: Standards

Using the common core standards, I created a tracker to help me to monitor the students' progression through the different standards.

In the very back of the binder, I have sheet protectors which contain conference sheets, and daily assessment sheets.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time...

Filofax? What on Earth is a Filofax?

Yes, it's true.  Until about 3 months ago I had never heard of a Filofax.  I also had no idea how it would impact my life.  I came across them when I was in one of my organizing moods and was looking on YouTube for inspiration.  I kept bumping into Filofax decorating videos.  I was sold 5 minutes into the first video (by My_Planner).  The idea that this planner (or any other) could actually corral all of my favorite things in one place was amazing!  

Making Lists

Writing To Dos

Using Post-its

Decorating

Scrapbooking

Citing Quotes

Using Stickers

Making dividers

Planning

Writing Notes

Creating Dividers

Creating all types of graphic organizers!

Once I had decided on the right Filofax for me I had to wait until one became available.  In the meantime, I had bought a very cute notebook as a substitute until I got the real thing.

Then it arrived.  A personal Malden,  in all of its purple glory...so soft, so beautiful...but smaller than I am used to.  At first I thought it might be too small and I would miss using my notebook, but I adapted and made it work for me.  I copied the cover of the notebook and use it as a dashboard right in the front.  So after several trips to Target, Staples and Michaels, and experimenting with many different inserts, I have a set up that I am very happy with!

 

This simple discovery...filofaxing....gave me a renewed sense of excitement and reminded me of all of the passions that I had been neglecting for a long time. I have more energy now than I know what to do with and the creative juices are flowing.  I was at the right place at the right time!