A color coded classroom isn’t just for the looks, it helps make a classroom extremely functional! Not only does it help staff locate things quickly, but it also allows students take ownership of their own supplies! Color coding is a win-win for all. Below, I’ve compiled a list of ideas of our favorite ways to color in our classroom. Before we dive in, I wanted to stress that if you ever cannot find a certain color of something, astro brights paper is your best friend! You can easily use paper/laminate/tape to label something by color! I’ll talk more about this below.
School Supply Boxes
Pencil boxes are awesome for kids to easily keep track of their own supplies. I love to use this free visual from You Aut-a Know’s TPT store so that students can be reminded of what stays inside the box. If you don’t have colored boxes or can’t find a certain color, you can use clear boxes and print a colored label on Astrobrights paper!
Binders
I always stock up on 1 inch white binders at the beginning of the school year. I like to use them for morning work, but I also send binders with students to their inclusion classes. You can use colored binders too, but I like to do white because they are cheaper in bulk and you can print a simple label on colored paper for student’s to identify their color.
Binder Index Dividers
These are perfect for organizing your IEP’s or data collection. Having colored dividers helps you easily find all your students by color and quickly flip to that section of paperwork! Only sped teachers know how tall the mountains of paperwork are.
Folders
Folders are my go-to for parent/teacher communication, data collection folders, inclusion class folders, and so much more. Trust me when I say skip the paper folders and just get plastic! Durability is key if you want it to last the school year.
Book Bins
Though these are pricey, I love them! This is how I organize all of the file folders that students complete during their independent work stations. I also organize books by genre in book bins too. I’ve used Lakeshore, Target, and Dollar Tree bins. My recommendation is to go for the Lakeshore bins, they’ll last you many years longer.
Cubby Bins
This is how cubby organization magic happens! All of the student’s completed work lives here. That way it all stays organized and it can be placed into take home folders at the end of the week. I’ve tried both the Target and Lakeshore cubby bins. I’d go with Target for these! Though at Target these are limited to back to school season only.
Data Bins
My favorite Dollar Tree bin! They carry these year around and it’s my favorite way to organize IEP materials. Just like the picture shows, I’d place all the bins on a shelf and label by color. Inside each bin I would place my data collection folders. Inside the bins is also where I would keep any data collections materials like file folders, task boxes, manipulatives or anything that ties to IEP goals per student.
Visuals
Another reason why Astrobrights is your best friend! Nothing else needed but paper and printer for this one. A few visuals I would always color code are, schedule icons, independent work station visuals, missing pieces card holders and so much more!
Rainbow Carts
Gosh I love these! This is where I would organize all of my student’s fine motor activities. Anything from play dough to put-in tasks to clip cards go here.
File Folders
Chances are that if you’re sped teacher, you’re teaching multiple grades. File folders is the only way that helped keep me organized when I was teaching 5 grades of the same subject. I’d organize all of the work by subject. Math was red, reading with green, ELA was yellow, and science/social studies was orange. Within each folder I’d divide all of the differentiated work and divide each level with a paper clip. It was one of the best organization systems I ever created for my classroom!
I hope this gave you a few more ideas on ways to add to your color coded classroom! Reading this, may seem overwhelming in the cost department. Don’t be afraid to ask parents at the beginning of the year to keep an eye out for a certain color of school supplies. My student’s parents were always more than happy to purchase color coded supplies for their kids.
If you liked this sped teacher content, check out my other sped teacher classroom tips here!
