Teacher Binder Time

I have been on summer vacation for a few weeks and I am already thinking about next school year.  My first project is a revamp of my Teacher Binder.  In this binder I keep all of my important non-assessment school papers. I carry my trusty binder back and forth each day so all my papers are always at my finger tips.  In here you can find my class contact info, faculty contact info, school calendar, monthly calendars, class schedule and instructional charts from my text book manufactures of what skills are covered each chapter.  I also kept tabs for each day of the week - the intention was to put any pages that I would copy for each day of the week for quick reference.

This year my binder will still house all my important school papers, but I am organizing it a bit differently.
Section 1 - Calendars
My binder will still open up to my master school calendar, monthly school calendars and my class schedule.  I need these for quick reference all the time.
Section 2 - Instructional
This turns out to be a greatly used section.  I start by photocopying the table of contents from any student workbooks I use.  As I plan, I put a check mark next to any pages we use.  This way I always know with a quick glance any material I have skipped or what review materials are still available. Next I like to keep the instructional charts from the book manufactures. My school uses the Treasures reading program so I have the print outs from Treasures.  At a quick glance these lists give me the spelling and vocabulary words, the phonics pattern, the grammar skill and the writing trait. Talk about easy reference! This year I am going to divide this section by program that I use in the classroom - reading, phonics, math...
Section 3 - Procedures
This is the section that I keep reference copies of all the school emergency procedures, but I also keep some of my own procedures. I also have one page with general classroom procedures and how to help students that I give to in-class support or student teachers.
Section 4 - Contacts
This is the easiest section! In here go all class lists, parent email addresses, class birthday list and faculty contact list.  This way I can always get in touch.  Speaking of contacting parents - at the start of the school year I create a class list in my phones contacts. (I title it with the year so I can delete the numbers and emails at the end of the school year.) This lets me make a quick call home easily! I can also email parents from my phone. I have found this to come in handy when I have had places to go after school with my own children.