Get Ready, Get Wise, Get Organized! {Back to School STUDENT Planner}

There are so many amazing organizational planners out there created by so many amazing SLP bloggers and TPT store owners!   I think SLP’s have got to be the most organized group of professionals around!   So I thought it would be great to get our busy student’s lives on the right track to organization too.  You know they are going to see our great planning systems and want to be just as planned out and organized!!   (Well, maybe some of my middle school boys won’t feel this way immediately, but once they see how much it improves their ability to get motivated, focused and on-track they are going to be glad that I helped them!)

In my last post, I blogged about the importance of helping our students make the shift from summer to school.  I created a game that addressed Executive Functioning strategies to help them gear up for the new school year.  That product is available in my TpT store.  It’s a great way of turning a not-so-exciting  topic into a fun and interactive learning tool.  I hope you have a chance to take a look at it and grab it!      So now I’ve taken good organization and time management to the next level with a practical student organizer.  This is not your typical classroom homework planner!  It is more of a “Now that I’m home, how do I keep track of all my homework, tests,  projects, other activities and chores?” planner.  Unlike the school homework planner that many  students receive from their school district, this planner breaks down and organizes a student’s after school routine by the hour, day, week and month.  Not all the pages need to be used every day.  The planner can be tailor-fit to the needs of the student and what’s going on in their lives at the moment.   As the SLP, your role is to give your student a set of these planner pages, review and discuss how to use them at home and then occasionally check back with the student to see that he/she is utilizing them.  Have them bring back the planner from time to time so that you can monitor their organization skills.  It also serves as a great communication tool between student, parent and SLP!

I made this product with my middle/high school students in mind, but upper elementary students could take advantage of this planner as well. Find it in my TpT store here!!

Let’s take a look inside to see what is included and how your students can benefit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Please note that this planner will print out in landscape format (across the page with a horizontal orientation).  I felt that I could fit more information onto each page, with less crowding,  by doing so. 

(The planner was created using simple  graphics and kept primarily in black and white in order to lessen distractions and cut down on colored ink usage. )

• I created a Letter to the Parents .  It explains the purpose of the planner and how to use it at home with their child.
• Three different versions of a cover page were created so students can decide which theme best suites their personality.
• Monday –Friday home organization pages to keep track of  homework/activities and the time needed for each.  These pages address time management to help students become more aware of how much time they realistically need to complete tasks. Spaces are provided for estimated vs actual times needed for tasks.
• Morning routine organizer: Fill in this chart with tasks that need to occur in your morning routine. You can fill it in the NIGHT BEFORE to get an idea of what your morning  should LOOK  LIKE in advance!  Did you lay out your clothes? Make your lunch?  Check your book bag? Consider doing THESE things BEFORE bed!
• What does my WEEK look like? Fill in the Key graphics: Fill in the tests, projects and other tasks that need to get done during the week.
• What does my MONTH look like? Fill in at the beginning of each month. Color code/highlight    each task i.e—all test in blue, sports practices in green, etc .
• Project organizer—Although students generally receive a rubric when assigned a      class project, this organizer addresses some practical areas that a class rubric may  not include (estimated time needed to complete, steps required to start and  complete project)
• Homework completion chart .Color in one star for every homework assignment completed each day.  Decide how many stars will earn a reward at the end of the week.
• Homework coupons for home use.  Two pages of original reward ideas and one page of blank coupons to fill in with reward ideas created by student. Students can cut out and submit coupons (after working out a reward system agreed upon by their parents.
• Home organization reminders.  This graphic is a check list that students should review after school and before bed time to help prepare for the next day.
• 6 Subject black/white labels (math, spelling, writing, social studies, science, reading) that can be color-coded according to student’s needs and used for organizing home folders, dividers, containers or for use on school notebooks, folders, book covers.

 

First, choose a cover with your student from the three different styles.  (Pardon my ink for running low in the photo shown!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although this planner is for home use, this is the part that the SLP can help set up with the students.    Help students organize a meaningful layout and decide which order will best suit their needs.

 

Planner sheets can be hole punched and placed into a 3 ring binder (this one has a 1″ ring).  I organized the pages so that two sheets would face each other when opened for at-a-glance viewing.  You can double side when you print or tape/staple pages back to back, depending on the order you would like to organize them in the binder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The coupon page can be cut out and laminated and placed into a separate zip lock bag so they are ready to go when a home reward is warranted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made the spaces large on the fill in sheets so there is plenty of room to write lists.  The monthly planner has spaces to the right to add details about things occurring during the month.  It is meant to be a quick reference—the detailed specifics should be included in the daily and weekly pages.

 

I hope your students find this planner helpful in getting their school year off to a great start!      This item is for sale in my TPT store for $4.50.   If you purchase this item along with the Back to School Executive Functioning Strategies game ($3.50) , you can pick them both up for $6.00….for a savings of $2.00.  Check it out in my store!