Tips for Organization in Middle School

There are many ways to organize anything, and you need to find out what works best for you. If you are able to figure that out early on, you will be setting yourself up for success! Here are some strategies you may want to use:

  • Check each morning to make sure you have pencils, pens, or other necessary items that you may need for classes that day
  • Color code notebooks and covers by subject area or decorate them so you know which decoration goes with each subject
  • Keep the color-coding for your subjects the same every year so it is easier to remember and you may be able to reuse items
  • Face spines of books outward with names written on the spines so you can tell which book you are grabbing and the pages in the book do not get bent
  • Use a special folder for homework and notes to parents and carry this to all classes and home with you daily
  • Keep all materials for the same class together so they are easy to grab
  • Put materials for each class in chronological order as your classes occur on your schedule
  • As you finish a class, put books, papers, and homework assignments that you need into your backpack inside your locker so you are ready to go at the end of the day
  • Keep your agenda with you ALL day long and use it to write down your assignments; it should go home with you as well
  • If you have big projects assigned, break the steps down in your agenda so you make your own due dates for each part and don't feel overwhelmed doing it all at once
  • At the end of each day, read your agenda and look at the items you have put into your backpack to make sure it all matches up and you have all the items to complete your assignments
  • Keep phone numbers of two people in each class in case you ever need to ask someone about an assignment
  • Keep a copy of your schedule on your locker and with you until you get familiar with it
  • Keep binders and folders organized and periodically take them home and clean them out, but only after you have finished a unit, chapter, or marking period; do not throw things away that you may need to study for mid-terms or final exams; if you are running out of room in your locker, put old papers/projects in a special place at home with labels on them in case you need to refer back to them later on
  • Put your name on everything that is yours
  • Take home anything in your locker that you are not using so you do not have an overcrowded or messy locker
  • Plan ahead
  • If you are having trouble organizing yourself, come see your counselor or talk to other students who have developed their own plan of organization.

    If you are successful, please share your ideas with other students! Being organized will help you to prevent losing assignments and other items, being late for classes, falling behind in classes, and feeling overwhelmed or stressed out!