Students Desk Organization

As someone who struggled with organizational skills in elementary school, I have been looking for exciting yet motivating ways on how elementary children can stay organized with their school work and desk materials. Many pros contribute to students' organizational skills that can lead to future success not only in their academic life but also in their personal life. 

After scrolling through TikTok, I found an interesting video that shows how a teacher motivates students to keep their desks organized and clean. One thing that stood out to me was how entertaining and creative the teacher made the process of organizing. Using a stuffed animal called desk monkey, she placed it on a desk that was the best organized, indicating that this student's desk has a clean area to sit and complete work. She rewards students by placing the desk monkey on their desks to acknowledge their success in having an organized work area. This means that binders are appropriately placed with no excess or loose paper hanging out of the desk, and pencils and erasers are placed towards the front of the desk opening, which is easy to access. Writing and math folders are often located on the top, which is what students access the most. 

Another interesting finding was that when no student had a clean and organized desk, the teacher placed the monkey at the front of the classroom, with a message on the board indicating that there was no room for the monkey to sit. As shown in the screenshot of the TikTok, the board says, "Third grades! I couldn't find a place to sit! Please clean your desks <3 Desk Monkey". This type of classroom engagement is done in a creative way yet also teaches students a lesson on how to be organized. Having a well-organized structure sends a clear and positive message to students. 

As a future educator, I will use tips like the desk monkey to show the importance of organization and how it can produce productive work for students once they know their materials are organized. These types of classroom management tips help set the foundation of student responsibility. It teaches them to prioritize activities, set and achieve goals and increase productivity and efficiency. And most of all, it's entertaining for students! In the future, I hope to implement my ways to motivate students to become organized through interactive activities. 

Courtesy of: Alexia@NU-OTECF