Binders and notebooks are a great way to stay organized... especially if your curriculum has been compacted and you are assimilating information quickly! Like journals, binders can be very personal; what works for one person might not be good for another. For that reason, here are some quick tips. If you click on the button above, there a really cool comic book type organizational guide that was created by Cary Junior High School. Similarly, if you're more of the video type or the visual/auditory learner, you can watch a video on YouTube called "Back to School Organizing Tips: Binder and School Notebook Organization" -- it lasts about 11 minutes. For those of you who happen to be in a hurry, here are some tips at a glance.
A) Make sure that your notebooks are different colors or that they have easily identifiable covers so that you can distinguish them quickly. B) Make sure that you have clearly written your name on both the inside and outside covers as well as the subject. C) Make sure to go through the notebook at least once a week (if not more) and organize any loose papers -- pick the same day and time each week so that this becomes a habit. D) Make sure to color code your sections. If I was going to set up a Language Arts notebook, and my teachers hadn't specified which section that I needed to have, I might include the following sections: A) Work in Progress B) Vocabulary C) Notes D) Literary Devices and Important Handouts E) Current Projects F) Stories G) Completed Work H) Grammar Handouts