As a teacher, if you’re not organized, you’re losing. You just can’t win if your classroom is in disarray. And I’m not saying that your classroom has to be kept neat and tidy. What I am saying is that you need a place for everything. Read more about that in my blog post on classroom organization tools. You need a place for collecting work, for handing back work, but even more important than that, is the need to organize the work.
What do you teach on the 57th day of school. How about in January? Listen to my podcast episode on putting your curriculum on a calendar! How do your students keep up with this? What you need is a way to organize your lessons, worksheets, notes, curriculum, Google Classroom and EVERYTHING ELSE you do in the exact same synchronous way. And the way I keep my classroom on track is with a coding system.
Coding System for my Lessons
My classroom coding system is SO easy! Everything is do is Unit – dot – lesson. 2.3? Unit 2, Lesson 3, in fact that is my Rutherford Model of the Atom lesson. I use this coding system everywhere: notes, worksheets, Google Classroom, unit plans for me, unit maps for the kids. When we use a coding system, everything in my classroom is running on the EXACT same system.
In doing this, my students are more organized. They know exactly where to look at all times. When they have issues understanding lesson 4.6, they can look anywhere in their notebook, or folder or on Google Classroom for more on 4.6 and easily find it. They will immediately use their notes over a Google search because I’ve made it foolproof for them.
When it comes to interactive notebooks, (read about my unpopular opinions here) I don’t have to worry about page numbers. Instead, we use the codes as our page numbers. The code is obviously in numerical order, so it works for numbering the pages of a book.
How the Coding System Keeps my Classroom on Track
My kids use this system for everything. It takes them about a month to really understand the coding system and how helpful it is. We usually have to get through the first unit and a little ways into the second to really see the benefits. I give a quiz, and I can say “this quiz is on everything from 2.1-2.5” and the kids know where to look in their notes. They appreciate me for looking out for them, and for showing them how easy it can be to use their notes. You can read more about building relationships with students here.
This coding system helps to keep my entire classroom on track. It doesn’t just help my students but it helps me with my curriculum planning. You can learn more about my All Star Planning Curriculum Writing Method here. I could never not use this coding system. It is EVERYTHING to my course. It is honestly what holds everything together for me.
In addition to that, the coding system is amazing for parent communication. I teach chemistry, and most parents can’t help their kids with their chemistry homework. It’s just not in the everyday person’s wheelhouse. (And I can’t blame them, chemistry is stinking hard!) When parents want to help their kids at home, my coding system will kind of work to explain to them exactly what the kid is struggling with and what needs to be worked on. It’s not all that easy for me to say, “your child is struggling with the effects of intermolecular forces.” Saying, your child needs to review lesson 5.5 in their notes and on Google Classroom is easier to communicate. I talk more specifics about the coding system and how I keep my students organized in my All Star Planning Introductory Masterclass, as well as in this podcast episode.
Unit Maps to Keep Your Classroom on Track
I give my students a Unit Map every time we start a new unit. It’s kind of like the student version of a unit plan. This is how they navigate the coding system. I put all of the due dates for major assignments, their homework and test dates. These unit maps get uploaded to Google Classroom for the students to reference. It also goes on my classroom wall, and each student gets a printed version for their folder. Because I give my students unit tests, this essentially tells them everything that will be on the test!
The only reason I’m able to give my students so much information at once is because of the All Star Planning Method. The ASP Method helped me to plan an EFFECTIVE curriculum for my course that I know is reliable. This means that I can give the kids more information up front. There’s only been one or two occasions where my unit maps needed updating, and both were caused by my absence from school. If you are interested in the All Star Planning Method, you can check out the free Masterclass here. My specific Unit Map template is provided in the full All Star Planning course.
