If this isn’t your first rodeo, you must now be a seasoned veteran in the art of making it to the copy machine before anyone else. Beginning of the year copying time is painful.
I’m sure you’ve already discovered that the best time to copy is at the end of the year. Why? Because at the beginning of the year you’re going to be too busy prepping your classroom and laminating all the things. Nobody wants to stand in a long line waiting to make copies only to have it finally be their turn and the copy machine is jammed or out of ink.
You know copying now will be most beneficial, but what do you copy exactly? There are many things you could be putting in that feeder, but here are three things to copy now so that the beginning of the year goes a lot smoother.
1. Lesson plans and correlating materials
Make sure you copy all of those beginning of the school year papers that you’ll need the first 1-3 weeks. I like
to keep my things organized in bins. All of my beginning of the year things are kept neatly in one space. At the end of the year, I pull it all out and copy. Some of us don’t usually know how many students we will have the
following year, so just ballpark it. Some people don’t dive right into the curriculum until the second week of school, but when you do-it’s best to be prepared.
to keep my things organized in bins. All of my beginning of the year things are kept neatly in one space. At the end of the year, I pull it all out and copy. Some of us don’t usually know how many students we will have the
following year, so just ballpark it. Some people don’t dive right into the curriculum until the second week of school, but when you do-it’s best to be prepared.
2. Things that need to be laminated
Summer should be spent relaxing, but it is also good to take at least 1-2 hours each week to start prepping things
for the next year. It is extremely exhausting to print, cut, and laminate for hours on end those two weeks leading up to the start of the year. Print now & cut and laminate throughout the summer. Here’s a list of things you will probably be laminating.
for the next year. It is extremely exhausting to print, cut, and laminate for hours on end those two weeks leading up to the start of the year. Print now & cut and laminate throughout the summer. Here’s a list of things you will probably be laminating.
- Nameplates
- Focus Wall Materials
- Accountable Talk Poster (Free in my resource library)
- Classroom Rules Posters (Free in my TPT shop)
- 7 Step Vocabulary Posters (Free in my TPT shop)
- Schedule Cards
- Portable Word Wall
- Number Posters
- Birthday Bulletin Board
- Classroom Library Labels
3. Homework and Packets
In recent years I discovered that keeping track of homework was tiresome. The daily pile was overwhelming and some days I couldn’t get to it. Not to mention, how hard it was to keep track of who did or did not have their
homework. These past two years I have been putting my homework into weekly packets. It has been a lifesaver! I only collect homework on Fridays and correct over the weekend. I also create fluency sentence books that each student gets at the beginning of the year. These self-contained packs help my students become better, more fluent readers! My kiddos are able to track their progress and improve their sight word knowledge.
Download the preview from my shop for 2 free samples to try with your students today!
The end is near. We are ready to pack things up and be cool for the summer, but a little advanced prepping can save you time and sanity later. Run to that copy machine before someone jams it! 😉
What else do you like to copy at the end of the year? Tell me in the comments below.
Happy Copying,
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