Daily file

I am notoriously unorganized. It's not that I don't have the tools or the knowledge, it's that I lack the motivation to be consistent with a plan.

Last year I made one of those supply chest things that are all over Pinterest. Well, I didnt really make it because i didn't paint it, label the drawers, or pretty it up at all. I just stocked it with paper clips, pencils, and the sort. In honesty it didn't make a difference because I could have just as easily kept paper clips in my desk drawer. It actually might be a bigger problem because now I have two places to stash boxes of pens.

The year before I got a stack of six drawers to keep manipulatives in, one for each chapter. Not only are they overstuffed, but by the fourth chapter this year I didn't even bother to sort through. I really should spend time deciding what's worth keeping, rather than just adding to the stash.

This year I made that planner that I'm so excited about. I'm hoping it will eliminate all the papers I've had on my desk for the past few years - the daily list of who didn't do homework, the scraps of papers with lesson ideas, the lists of things for upcoming committee meetings. I've used similar binders in the past but my interest always waned eventually and I would stop filing papers or not have a photocopy available. And forget the scheduled meetings that I missed because there was no reminder after that September email listing them for the remainder of the year. Yes, I recorded them in my calendar, but ask me where that can debar was come June. This year is all going into one book. One thing with everything.

But there's still the issue of papers. Lots of papers. And since I like to read useless stuff, I tend to print stuff and put it into my "read later" pile but never get to it. I'm so thankful to the special education teachers who give me a reminder the day before a CSE or BIP form is due. (I know some teachers like three weeks lead time for a CSE form. I like one day, so I just do it with information close to the meeting date. Give me three weeks and my mind will create a grandiose plan to gather things that I forget about and then I risk losing the form altogether!)

Enter the Daily File. I just read this idea here: http://organizedteaching.com/the_organized_teacher/daily_file.html
It's not new information, I've seen similar ideas in the areas of home life and business files (like for MLM things). But I'm thinking the file, in conjunction with the planner book, might be a life changing solution.

1. Monthly folders. Put anything I know I will need for the month in the folder, and then look at that folder at the end of the month. Either do it then, move it to the day, or get rid of it. I'm thinking that would be perfect for my birthday charts. I used to have this cute little bulletin board with a birthday wall, I wrote each kid's birthday on a little star in Spanish and hung them up for all to see. Kids loved it, but my own life took over (meaning, I had my daughter) and papers started to get lost and I got overwhelmed. If I make the stars now (I put them on PowerPoint eight to a page) and file them before school starts, they will be ready to go each month. I could also make one list with all the meeting dates and just move it from month to month (in addition to the calendar).
2. Daily folders. Label them 1-31, just use the ones needed each month and the rest sit empty. When a CSE or BIP form is due, put it In the file for the day before. When I see an article I want to read put it in the next empty folder. Dedicate five minutes a day to the folders, if the article is still in there it goes in the garbage. Also good for finding a place to keep upcoming tests, projects, things that need to be laminated or photocopied.

Best part of this system - it's FREE! Use the folders from my yearly supply (I get 100 each summer but can request more as needed). Use some washi tape I already have to color code months and days (or just the months ones), or even easier use different color markers to label months and days. Use a box from photocopy paper (if I don't already have a similar-size box sitting useless in my classroom, which is entirely possible). Done.

Cognates

This is a set that I used to have for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I made A LOT of money on this set, which sold for (I think) $2.  Then someone came in, made some incredibly negative and hurtful comments, and I pretty much took everything off of my TPT site.  Some comments were true, that there were two instances of autocorrect that I didn't catch, but the way the commenter worded it she insinuated (actually she stated outright) that I don't know Spanish because I think converser is a word.  Actually, I know the Spanish verb is conversAr but Microsoft doesn't know Spanish and changed it.  Considering the entire packet has words that are essentially one letter different than English, I'm surprised I caught as many of those autocorrect errors as I did.  And I actually question why an educated person wouldn't view it as an autocorrect issue and not just a Spanish issue.  (There was also a comment about colegio not being a cognate because it doesn't mean college.  I use that example as a "teachable moment" in my class, seeing that the word in context does provide enough information for students to realize it's a passage about a kid in school so then I tell students it's a false cognate.  I would think a teacher with more than a year of experience would realize that there are false cognates that students need to be aware of.  My biggest mistake, I guess, was not including a "how to use these handouts" page.  I've since added one.)

So the packet, which I'm linking for FREE, is meant to be some background activities as you begin the school year.  There are three handouts that are short, independent activities and then a series of pages that could be used as a bulletin board.

• Mis favoritos - I've been giving this handout pretty much every year for 24 years as the first homework assignment.  Students LOVE it.  It's clearly in Spanish but students can answer "in English" since most answers are proper nouns.  They are asked to state their favorite actor, singer, TV show, restaurant, etc.
• Los cognados - Definition of and examples of cognates.  The second side of the handout gives many occupations in the masculine and feminine forms, and then introduces the idea of masculine/feminine nouns with the definite articles el and la.  The handout ends with three critical thinking questions.  I'd imagine an immersion-oriented teacher would NOT be happy with this handout as it presents words out of context AND it talks about Spanish more than in Spanish.  I created it for use in my classroom, where I'm expected to have students think-pair-share at regular intervals (and on days two and three of Spanish that conversation MUST be in English!!!), and where I must respond to parents who question the perceived overuse of Spanish in my Spanish class. 
• María - I saw similar paragraphs but decided to create my own that included many of the vocabulary topics covered in my curriculum.  It's about a young girl who goes to school, what she likes to do, and what her family is like.  It's meant to give students the chance to read in Spanish and see how much they understand, not to test them but as a confidence boost.  "If you can read this page after a few days, imagine what you'll be able to read and understand after a whole year!"
• Wordles - I modeled these after a similar set I purchased from AATF many years ago.  The French set said "Parlez vous..." and then cognates dealing with art, food (cuisine), travel (voyages), etc.  I didn't have the nice pretty images on the AATF posters but I had a lot of cognates.  The original packet included color and black-and-white copies, because I saw a lot of TPT teachers included color and b/w copies for teachers to decide how much color ink they wanted to use up printing things.  I only kept the color copies in now.  If you want to print them in b/w instead, just select the wordle and change the color setting to greyscale.  I also included some ideas on how to use these wordless in class, either as an interactive word wall activity for fast finishers or as an organized center activity, in the new "how to use this set" page at the end.
• Almost blank page at the end, just says "Los Cognados," to be used during the year as students encounter cognates in the curriculum.  I used it one year but gave up a few weeks into the year.  It's still in the set, in case someone wants to use it.  I think it could be a really cool page at the beginning of an interactive notebook.

Here is the link to my Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByqWX_oyFGzqMHB0QmQtc0VBcW8/view?usp=sharing

If you find a typo, an autocorrect error, or anything else that you think is really bad about it, please remember that I'm sharing this for FREE because I'm proud of it and I think other people might find it helpful.  If you don't want to use it, don't use it.  If you think it sucks, don't use it.  If you think it's OK but you can think of a way to improve it, please improve it and then let me know so I can update the set.  Please DO NOT copy it and sell it as your own on TPT or present it as your own at a workshop.  I have absolutely no problem sharing everything, but it would upset me terribly to find out someone else was making the money I used to make on my work before that person hurt my feelings.  :)  Thanks for understanding.