How to organize and use your binder
Students are required to have a one and a half inch binder for English. Their binder should have the following sections:
A) Goal- each six weeks, students will make academic goals related to the course, and then make a plan for meeting that goal.
B) Kick Off- class starts each day with a question intended to review the previous day's lesson. During the last few minutes of class, we return to this page to reflect on what we've learned. This is a great place for parents to look if they're trying to get a sense of what happened during the day.
C) Agenda- students record the learning goal and activities for the day, as well as the homework due next class. This is another good page for parents to look at if they wish to monitor homework.
D) Passes to the bathroom, etc.
E) Binder Check - this is a score card, illustrating how you will be evaluated for the upkeep and usage of your binder.
F) Syllabus
G) Tool Kit- Perhaps the most valuable section of the binder, this section contains resources that will be useful throughout the year. It has a table of contents in front, which students fill out throughout the year, as they add handouts and notes to it. as a class, we label and number each page (G1, G2, G3, etc so that it's easy to find the information you need.) At the end of the year, this section will be placed in your portfolio, so that you have it next year. As the tool kit is made up of resources, it's a good place to start if you're having trouble with a particular task. More often than not, the information you need is in your binder just waiting to be used.
H) Unit Work- Like the tool kit, this section has a table of contents and the pages will be labeled. All assignments not filed in another part of the binder should be placed here. Once a unit is completed, we will remove this segment from the binder and begin a new one. Parents who are interested in seeing the work their child is doing, should look in this section. However, please keep in mind that final drafts of essays are kept in the portfolios in the classroom so that they don't get lost. You are welcome to arrange to come in and see your child's portfolio.
I) Independent Reading - Like the two previous sections, this segment has a table of contents and the pages will be labeled. All work related to independent reading will be filed here.
J) Vocabulary- Like the previous sections, this segment has a table of contents and pages will be labeled. All work related to vocabulary development will be filed here.
Additional notes on the binder:
A) Goal- each six weeks, students will make academic goals related to the course, and then make a plan for meeting that goal.
B) Kick Off- class starts each day with a question intended to review the previous day's lesson. During the last few minutes of class, we return to this page to reflect on what we've learned. This is a great place for parents to look if they're trying to get a sense of what happened during the day.
C) Agenda- students record the learning goal and activities for the day, as well as the homework due next class. This is another good page for parents to look at if they wish to monitor homework.
D) Passes to the bathroom, etc.
E) Binder Check - this is a score card, illustrating how you will be evaluated for the upkeep and usage of your binder.
F) Syllabus
G) Tool Kit- Perhaps the most valuable section of the binder, this section contains resources that will be useful throughout the year. It has a table of contents in front, which students fill out throughout the year, as they add handouts and notes to it. as a class, we label and number each page (G1, G2, G3, etc so that it's easy to find the information you need.) At the end of the year, this section will be placed in your portfolio, so that you have it next year. As the tool kit is made up of resources, it's a good place to start if you're having trouble with a particular task. More often than not, the information you need is in your binder just waiting to be used.
H) Unit Work- Like the tool kit, this section has a table of contents and the pages will be labeled. All assignments not filed in another part of the binder should be placed here. Once a unit is completed, we will remove this segment from the binder and begin a new one. Parents who are interested in seeing the work their child is doing, should look in this section. However, please keep in mind that final drafts of essays are kept in the portfolios in the classroom so that they don't get lost. You are welcome to arrange to come in and see your child's portfolio.
I) Independent Reading - Like the two previous sections, this segment has a table of contents and the pages will be labeled. All work related to independent reading will be filed here.
J) Vocabulary- Like the previous sections, this segment has a table of contents and pages will be labeled. All work related to vocabulary development will be filed here.
Additional notes on the binder:
- Each section has a different colored cover page, making it easy to find. However, I strongly suggest using tabs to separate the major ones (B, C, G, H, I, J).
- If your binder is well organized, there should be NOTHING in the pockets. If you'd like to tape them shut, please see me for some colorful duck tape.
- All pages will be three hole punched. However, heavily used pages may start to rip. You can always three hole punch the other side of the paper and put it in backwards. Or you can tape the paper and then hole punch through the tape. Or you might want hole reinforcements.