Does your student have difficulties keeping their materials organized or turning assignments in on time? Check out these simple organization life hacks your students can start using right away!
1. Keep materials separated. As many parents know, kids aren’t always the best at keeping their school materials neatly organized. If your student’s materials are jumbled around in their backpack, it’s going to be very difficult for them to separate their materials by subject. For older students taking multiple classes, having a system to separate materials by subject is even more important. Colored folders, separate binders, and divider tabs are all great solutions.
2. Create a priority-based system. Students should have a way of distinguishing which responsibilities should take priority. We recommend students create an agenda at the start of each week, making sure to mark each assignment or responsibility with a) an estimate of completion time, b) any relevant due dates. At Tutor Doctor, we like to have students mark their responsibility as being either alpha (primary) or beta (secondary) tasks in order to create an effective weekly schedule. Procrastination is likely to lead to disorganization, so having a way to distinguish the most pressing responsibilities is a good place to start.
3. Use color-coding to your advantage. Here at Tutor Doctor, we’re huge fans of color-coding! When creating a weekly agenda as described in our previous tip, assigning each class or subject its own color is a good way to get a quick visual representation of upcoming assignments. So bust out those sticky notes and neon highlighters, because color-coding is sure to help your student stay organized! We also recommend using highlighters for individual classes – if your student is in middle school or beyond, highlighters are an absolutely essential tool when note-taking.
4. Pack up materials before bed. This is one of the easiest organization tips to do, but it’s also extremely effective. Parents are often surprised to hear that a large reason students receive bad grades isn’t always due to academic ability, but because they are failing to turn in their assignments on time (or not completing them). This is often due to a lack of organization – a.k.a. “not realizing something was due” at the last moment. Getting ready in the morning can already be hectic enough as it is, so there’s no reason for your child to be scrambling to prepare their school materials when it can be easily done the night before!
- Tutor Doctor Tip: We realize that with many students currently learning from home in virtual classrooms, backpacks may not be as relevant right now! Even so, we highly recommend students organize and prepare their class materials the night before, just as they would if they were physically attending school. Many parents have commented that since virtual learning began, their child’s school materials are strewn around the house. Organization is still a key component of academic success, even with virtual learning – so make sure to get prepped the night before!
