It is about this time of summer when the first “Back to School” commercials appear. Suddenly, as kids with backpacks and shiny sneakers parade across the television screen, I am filled with disbelief at how quickly the summer has flown by, and
It is about this time of summer when the first “Back to School” commercials appear. Suddenly, as kids with backpacks and shiny sneakers parade across the television screen, I am filled with disbelief at how quickly the summer has flown by, and excitement about what the new school year will bring.
Many middle schoolers start the year with a backpack full of fresh school supplies – clean binders, unsharpened pencils, folders that make a satisfying “crack” the first time they’re opened. Every year, I find that students try to put these supplies to good use at the beginning of the year and stay quite organized during the first days and weeks.
And every year, a few weeks into school, I notice that students begin struggling to find specific papers amidst a growing pile of handouts, homework assignments, and permission slips. Especially for students just starting middle school, September often marks the first time they will need to balance multiple subjects, different teachers’ expectations, and a larger number of papers and assignments.
Here are some helpful tips to help middle schoolers stay organized this September and beyond:
- Use binders instead of folders if your teachers allow it. Folders often lead to an explosion of handouts that are crushed and out of order. In a binder, you can rifle through papers more easily.
- Depending on the number of classes you have, you may want a 1-inch binder for each subject. Make sure each binder is a different color with the name of the subject on the front and side so you can locate it easily in your locker and backpack
- Place a flat 3-hole punch and a small ream of reinforcements in the front of your binder so you can keep papers hole-punched and in the proper place.
- Keep handouts in chronological order. When a teacher asks you to take out a paper, it will be much simpler to find it if papers are in the order in which they were given out. It will also be easier to consult notes or study for a test when papers are in the same order as they were when you looked a