How I Organize My Guided Reading Supplies using an IKEA Raskog cart

When I saw the Raskog cart at IKEA a few years ago, I told myself I HAD to have it... if I could come up with a reason to use it!  Finally, I came up with a great reason to use it- to store my guided reading supplies!

First of all, let me just tell you how well made this cart is.  It was easy to put together, and it is very sturdy.  It doesn't wobble at all.  And the wheels are very smooth, so it is easy to pull it out to use it and roll back when I'm finished.  So I'm 100% thrilled that I purchased it, and I'm looking for a reason to purchase a second one.

The Raskog cart has 3 tiers, and they hold a ton of stuff!  The only things I don't have on my cart are my Guided Reading books and my big container of magnetic letters.   I have a separate bookshelf for my Guided Reading books.

So... on to the cart!  The top tier holds the stuff I tend to use the most often.  It has my Guided Reading binder which contains my Running Records, letter ID assessment forms, and group information.  In the toolbag, which used to sit on my desk, I have various other supplies for teaching reading.  (This toolbag is seriously the best- I have one at home for my tools too!  It comes in several other colors, including pink, if you're into that.)

1.  Guided Reading Binder- I keep my Guided Reading plans in a binder, separate from my regular lesson plans.  Each group has their own tab with their lessons.  I also keep running record sheets, letter ID assessments, and other stuff there as well.  It tucks there nicely next to the toolbox.

2.  Phonics Dance song- We use a program called the Phonics Dance, and I use my Guided Reading time to practice the Phonics Dance.  At the beginning of the year, I do it with all the students, and later in the year, I use it with my struggling students who need extra practice with their sounds.  This is also something they can do independently while I do a running record.

3.  Timer/Clock- My classroom clock is behind where I sit, so having a clock is handy.  I also use the timer to make sure I keep my groups within 15-20 minutes each.  And yes, I took that picture at 7:31pm. 

4.  Dry Erase Markers- I use these to let the students practice writing words on my dry erase boards.  

5.  Magnifying Glasses- We use these for finding words, sounds, or chunks in our books.  It makes it much more fun because they feel like detectives.  

6.  Sight Word Flashcards- I keep these handy on a ring.  We practice our sight words first whenever we come to the table.  

7.  Pointers- I have a variety of fun pointers that we use for finding words, sounds, or chunks.  I like to mix it up.  The kids love the different ways they can look through their books for different things.  

Inside the toolbox, I have some other items that I like to keep handy.  

1. and 5. Dry Erase Boards and Erasers- I love the smaller dry erase boards.  They came from the Target Dollar Spot several years ago, but I've seen them since I purchased these.  The dry erase erasers also came from Target.  They are usually available around back to school.

  2.  Reading Strategy cards.  These have a different reading strategy on each card that I can display when I am teaching them a new strategy.  I printed these 4 to a page so they are small.  

3.  Alphabet Flashcards-  I keep these handy for all students at the beginning of the year, and I taper them off as we go.  We use them to practice letter recognition and sound recognition.  

4.  Pointer fingers- These are especially helpful at the beginning of the year, because it helps the students remember to use their finger and point to each word.  

6.  We use Slinkies for breaking and stretching out words.  We s-t-r-e-t-c-h out those words and use the Slinkies to help.  

My toolbox has little side pockets that are great for holding cards. 

1.  Oddity Task Cards- These are a quick and easy way to help my students with phonemic awareness and sound discrimination.  The ones you see are Beginning Sounds, but I also have Rhyming Words, Middle Sounds, and Ending Sounds as well.  I switch them out as needed throughout the year.  

2.  Word Attack Strategy bookmarks- Once we've learned a few strategies, I use these with my students so they can try using more than one strategy.  We go over which strategies we've already learned and they can reference it while reading.

3.  Elkonin boxes-  These are great for breaking and segmenting sounds.

The BEST thing about the Raskog cart is that it has 2 more tiers for lots of Guided Reading materials!

1.  Glue Sticks- I use these if we do printable sorts, sight word scramble pages, etc...  

2.  Retelling gloves and strings- We use these for retelling stories after we've read them.  

3.  Timers- I use these to do quick activities.  One activity my students love is where they have one minute to write as many words as they can.  

4.  Cookie Sheets- I bought these small cookie sheets at Ollie's.  They are great for doing a sight word mix and fix activity.  I can put the letters they need on the cookie sheet and hand it to the student.  The magnetic letters stay on the cookie sheet and can be passed back to me easily.

5.  Smarties- I give Smarties as a treat when a student does a great job.  I call them "Smarties for my Smarties" and I hand out a few whenever a student or a group does a great job.  

6.  Scentos Markers, because... why not?  

7.  Pencils and erasers are great for writing activities that we do in my small groups

1-4.  This is something I had brand new this school year, and I absolutely loved it.  I made different cards for each sound that I teach, and organized them in library pockets.  Whenever we are working on a sound, or they need a review, I can pull out the cards I need and we can do an impromptu sort.  

5. M&Ms- I keep these as a treat for a group that does a great job.  They are also great for using with Elkonin boxes.

6.  Erasers- I have a bucket full of small erasers that I keep at my table.  I use these for Elkonin boxes.  They slide the erasers into the boxes to blend the sounds together.  I switch these out with the seasons, so sometimes they are pumpkins, or snowmen, or hearts!

So that's how I organize most of my Guided Reading Materials on one handy cart!

Apparently IKEA doesn't sell the turquoise RASKOG cart anymore (tear), but they do carry it in a beigea redish-brown, and black.  There are also several other carts that would work if you really have your heart set on blue, like I did.  I've also heard that other stores carry similar carts.  Or you could purchase one of the IKEA carts and paint it to whichever color your heart desires.

Here are a few different options from Amazon that aren't too expensive.

And this one from Michaels is also an option!

I hope this post helped any of you who are struggling with keeping your guided reading materials organized and accessible!  Having so much necessary stuff is a struggle, but it helps to have everything at your fingertips so that you can get your groups running and ready to go quickly!


  1. What a great post! Thank you for sharing your very effective organization tips. I dream of being that organized and now with your tips it might come true! Jodi

  2. Do you sell your sorts? The ones on the bottomshelf? Also, what is the container that you keep those in?

  3. I liked reading it. Thank you! I like the same things here

  4. I have been trying to find the perfect thing to do with my cart from Michael's! This will be great! Also interested in the sorts- do you sale those? Or could you share where they came from? Thanks!