I have been a speech and language pathologist for 37 years (YIKES!). Each year I think I think of a different way to better organize my data, my materials and how to stay on top of each of my student’s goals. This is part of a linky party that has other speech and language pathologists organizational tips.LInky Party on Organization Ideas. This is the Frenzied SLP page.
There are several ideas that I have really found to work really well.
- Colored coded folders: I use a different color for each grade level and store them in a corresponding color-coded bin. The students come into the room and get their folders and bring them to the work table.In these folders are:
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- School calendar: I use this for attendance and I circle the date that I see them or write “A” for absent.
- Student goal: The students have a short term goal that they then put a sticker on to state when they are successful. When they get 3 stars they bring the paper home. These are SMART goals so the children know exactly what they have to do. These are numbered and dated so that I can see how the student is progressing or if they take a long time to achieve a goal why might this be and is there a need for a change in the methodology
- Sticker charts: I use an incentive chart
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- Whiteboard with magnets
- I use a center approach to some of my group work. I use a large whiteboard with magnets with different pictures with the names of the children on them. These have been made by the child as they pick the picture I laminate it and put a piece of magnetic tape on it. This allows me to move it around depending on the particular need of the child. They come in and look at the board and then go to that activity.
- Milk crates, hanging folders and rolling cart
- I use milk crates organized by activities and then have hanging folders in them arranged alphabetically. This allows me to pick up a milk crate and bring it to the space I need it. This is particularly helpful when I am working in the severe and profound room as I am able to put the milk crate into a rolling cart and have all my specialized materials handy.
Here are some other Speech Pathologists that participated in this linky about organization.
I can attest to the fact that you practice what you preach in this article! Thanks Pat!
I really like the idea of adding stickers to short-term goals to help students track their success. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
I had a grad school supervisor who used color coded folders for grade levels. It was a great system. I work in a year round school so I use the color coding to differentiate the four tracks. It helps to keep me updated on who is at school and who is on a break. Thanks so much for sharing!