Organizing differentiated groups can be difficult in a classroom that consists of many needs. Where do you store materials for each group? Can you access the materials easily? Will it be quick to maintain daily? Where will students turn in their work? Use these simple steps and materials to create easy-to-maintain differentiated groups. Make sure to download the free Differentiated Group Printables here to start setting up your groups.
The Funtastic Food Friends Pocket Folders are made out of very thick, durable material that is laminated. I love how bright and fun these folders are! Download the free labels here to set up the folders. I like to make sure each pocket is labeled to help keep students organized! After printing the labels, laminate and attach to the folder using Glue Dots. Now your students have a special folder they can use to keep their work neat and organized.
I love the Funtastic Food Friends Pocket Folders so much that I decided to base all of my groups off of food! The Dry Erase Group Posters are a quick and easy way to set up groups. I love that I can quickly erase a name and add a new name based on ability grouping. For a little extra fun, add a cute pizza, egg, hamburger and donut picture card to each sign using Mavalus Tape. Who wouldn't love to be called the Pizza Group?! You can grab the free signs here.
I like to organize all of my group materials in Black Book Organizers. I store these directly behind my teaching table. Label each container with the same cute food cards as the group signs! Inside each Black Book Organizer I store group materials in Transparent Folders with Fasteners. Each group is color coded based on the background of the labels. This helps me make sure that I have materials ready to go for each group! The Transparent Folders with Fasteners are perfect to store books, sight word cards, and many other things items.
Students need a place to turn in their work. I like to use the Black Paper Storage Bins because they are the perfect size for journals, folders, and papers. If you want a place for each group to separately turn in their work, label each bin with a matching food group. If not, label each bin with a subject! I've provided both options in the free downloadable labels here. I attached my labels using Mavalus Tape.
It is also important to make sure that your guided reading books are organized in a neat and simple way. Having the books organized will allow you to quickly grab the materials you need! To organize my guided reading books, I also used Black Book Organizers. These organizers are a great classroom investment that can be used for many different things.
How do you organize your student library? Is it easy for students to access and keep organized? See how I organized my own student library here! Having differentiated groups, teacher materials, and a student library that is well organized will help your classroom room run smoothly all year long.
