The Colors of My Art Room Part 2

In my previous post, I showed how I used color coding with my students. I also use color coding to keep track of the 6 different grade levels I teach. I've assigned a color to each grade level.
In recent years, I taught most grades in blocks. I might have 4th graders in the morning and 2nd grade in the afternoon. Seating charts were kept in color coordinated binders by grade level.

Here are the folders that the students use to place their 2-D work in. The labels with the teacher's name and classroom number are on green paper identifying these folders as belonging to 4th grade. Recently I added tabs on the fold. All the tabs from each class line up. If the tabs don't align, a folder belongs to another class. I can also tell from a distance which grade level a pile of folders belong to.

Maybe you've noticed that my cupboards and shelves don't match. For some reason when the art room was built, there were no built in shelves in the room except for the wall where the 4 sinks are located. All other built ins are in the storage rooms. As a result, I've collected, gathered, bought and created the storage within the Art room. These low shelves hold folders while they're not in use. The cupboards are for 3-D and finished projects or for folders not in use. I use the drawers to store lesson examples and extras for new or absent students.

I found this solution online last year. Color coordinating binder clips with each teacher's name on them identifying a shelf for a set of folders. There's a limited amount of shelves and my schedule changes each quarter. The clips get rotated back and forth following the schedule.

My schedule for quarters 2 and 4 last year. I place several of these in strategic locations around the art room.

Small binder clips labeled with each room number on the drying rack.

Vocabulary lists by grade level hung on cabinet doors. I used contact paper to attach a 2'' wide strip of galvanized metal to use magnets to hang the lists.

 

A few years ago one of our lead teachers taught a workshop showing us how she uses vocabulary posters to illustrate the various concepts we teach.  It's a pretty hefty stack of images.

I labeled each one on the back by color and the quarter when that concept is taught based on our pacing guides. I can drop an arm full of posters and get them straightened out in no time. I speak from experience...

There you have it. Organization for 6 grade levels at a glance! I have more years of teaching ahead of me. Got ideas of your own to share?

Marissa