The Best Way to Keep Graded Papers Organized (And off your desk!)

It's a simple tool that costs only $20, but it's arguably the most important item in my classroom...behind my laminator of course. It's helped me find my reading table from underneath piles of paperwork, helps my students relieve more timely feedback, and organizes my favorite parent communication method.

It's a bird...
It's a plane...
It's a...
Sorter?

I wish this doo-dad had an exciting name to match up to its capabilities. It's a simple tool (that I'm confident you could actually make yourself if you wanted to save the money), and kids can use it too!

The long plastic piece holds heavy paper, staggered to create sections underneath each numbered piece. I keep student work in a bin behind my desk, and when I'm finished grading it, I place it in a red folder in the same bin. My "Friday Papers People" (we need a new, fancier name for this job too) file the graded paperwork behind each student's number on the sorter. 

We keep the sorter on a shelf, filing it as papers are graded throughout the week. On Fridays, the "Friday Papers People" remove each stack of work from the numbered section and staple a classroom newsletter on top. The result is an organized packet of graded student work with a newsletter on top for parents and kids to review together over the weekend.

Some weeks I write a newsletter myself with some happenings from the week, upcoming events, and topics to talk about at home over the weekend. Once a month, kids create a personalized newsletter using my monthly Google Drawing tutorial newsletter templates. When I don't have time to do either, I print this cover page (FREEBIE alert!), and it has a place for a parent signature and student reflection.

I try to leave a spot for parents to comment, which is often positive reinforcement on the student work (Yay!). The 5th grader's weekend homework is always to fix or finish any work in the "Friday Papers Packet".

If a student was absent or had late work from the week, I also attach a notice with a list of missing assignments along with blank copies of the work. Amazingly, the kids often "find" the missing work when there's a blank copy in the Friday Papers Packet!

Parents are always complimenting this organizational hack. They expect the work to come home each Friday, which also gives me a weekly deadline for returning work. (Much needed on my part!) Kids know if the work isn't done with quality the first time, they will need to fix it over the weekend- now there's some motivation all around!

The Friday Papers Packet keeps backpacks clear of wrinkled and ripped random papers during the week, and keeps everything in one place! No more desks, bins or folders overflowing with random papers.

When the kids return the packets to school on Mondays, check-in does take a little longer, but it's worth it! I consider Monday mornings my mini-conference time with each kid. I call them up to my table one at a time and go over the corrections. If they still have questions, I make a pile of packets to work on with students later during the day.

You could return the papers after checking, but I hang on to everything in a crate for the trimester in case I need any additional information about a student's work. (Meetings about progress, additional data points for report cards, etc.) Maybe I'm a hoarder? I probably don't need to hang on to them. (Channeling my inner Marie Kondo.) At the end of the trimester, I make a folder from long construction paper and send all the packets home at once.

My Friday papers tip came from a veteran teacher when I first started teaching, and I say a little thank you to her every time I send a batch of these home. I'm grateful for the (forced) timely feedback, the opportunity to communicate with parents weekly about student progress, and the fact that I can actually use my table that is no longer full of student work!