How I Handle Student Work

If you've read my post on Duct Tape, you'll know that I have a possibly unhealthy obsession with Target and that I have taped up some boxes and folders to be used in my classroom.

Here now is how I use those things.

First, the boxes.  On one of the bookshelves in my room, I have six duct taped boxes.  There is one for each of my classes (I teach five blocks of Writing for 7/8th graders) and a sixth one for No Name work.
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Very simply, whenever I get something graded, I put it into the appropriate class box.  This way, if there is time at the end of class or if I NEED to have something handed back to the students, I just pick a volunteer to grab their class box and pass things out.  The students are also in the habit to look in the box themselves if they want to pick out some work.

The sixth box is covered in some special tape:  Frozen themed!  Although I enjoyed the movie, the students have reached that point where Frozen is no longer "cool" so they don't want to look into the box if they don't have to.
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Instead of just throwing those papers out, I put the words "Name??" on the top and the date that it was collected.  This way, whenever I inevitably hear the words, "Ms. Smith, I turned in blah blah assignment but the gradebook says it's missing!" I can just say to them to check the Frozen box.

By putting the date it was collected at the top, this solves a few problems for myself- If it was turned in on time, I don't have to guess and can give the student full points.  If it was turned in late, I still don't have to guess when it was turned in late versus when they finally put their name on it and turned it back in so I can still award the appropriate amount of points for the assignment (Our middle school team policy is 5% the amount the assignment is worth taken every day it is late.)

I also have five folders that are taped in the same colors as the class boxes that the students use to turn in their assignments.  These folders are used to keep the classes organized and then at the end of the day I can collect the folders and stick them in my bag for grading later.  Everything stays together, and the students have an easily spotted place to turn everything in! Win-Win.
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What colorful organizational tools do you use in your classroom? Share in the comments below!