Let’s just be honest. Back to school is the busiest, sometimes most stressful, time of year. We have so much to prepare and plan before our new students arrive to learn, but don’t worry. I’m sharing some quick, and easy to implement templates to streamline your back to school prep. This time of year doesn’t have to be super stressful.
Back to School Planning Calendar
The first thing I do every year is print out a planning calendar for each of my classes. This very simple calendar is where I simply write out the topics that I will complete on those days. To start the new year, I cross out any holidays and breaks, and then fill in the first two weeks of what I plan to cover.
Bonus tip: cross dates out in pencil! You never know what can change.
Back to School Prep Template: Editable Pacing Guide
Full disclaimer: I don’t stick to this entirely. (Does anyone?) To help plan the year, I fill dates into the Pacing Guide, and how long I estimate it will take me to cover a topic. I try to add in as many days as possible to see how the units will fall within our marking periods.
Back to School Prep: IEP/504 Modifications & Accommodations Forms
Throughout the year, I find it helpful to have the IEP/504 Modifications & Accommodates form filled out. Anytime I schedule an assessment, I consult this document to make sure that my students’ needs will be met. At my school, the alternative is to look up each student individually. To maintain confidentiality, I keep this form safely locked in my filing cabinet when I’m not using it.
Communication Log
As I reach out to parents and guardians throughout the year, I like to keep track on a communication log. In preparation for the new school year, I print out a few copies of my communication log so I’m not scrambling to find information from a meeting on a post-it note.
Sign Out Sheet & Editable Passes
Every year, I prep fresh sign out sheets and editable passes. These are huge time savers everytime a student asks to use the bathroom, visit their locker, the office, nurse etc. I simply ask the student to sign out and take the appropriate pass. I don’t have to do a thing. You can use ID badge protectors and lanyards or coil bracelets to make the passes. For additional convenience, my passes are hung up by my door next to the sign out sheet clipboard.
Teacher To Do Lists
While I do love to use a to do list specifically for back to school, I use a special to do list as back to school prep ramps up and throughout the school year. This teacher to do list allows me to create a weekly brain dump and power list in one. Since I started using this to do list, I have bene able to plan my weekly tasks much more efficiently.
Daily Slide Templates
Okay, this is not specifically for back to school prep either, but it does streamline the opening of your class year-round. Every day I use this daily slide template to give students the directions they need to start class successfully. Starting with a slide like this from the first day helps students to learn classroom procedures.
Scope & Sequence Template
Every summer, I go through my scope and sequence for each course, and update them with any changes. This year I switched to a Google Sheets template to streamline the process. Now it’s sharable with anyone that needs access to it, and accessible from anywhere. Additionally, I love that each unit has its own sheet, and the tabs at the bottom allow me to get to the unit I need quickly.
Back to School Prep Template Bundle
Save yourself time and money! All of these resources are available in my store individually (many of them for free), and now they are also available in a bundle. You can get all of your back to school needs taken care of with the click of a button!
Looking to get organized for back to school? Check out my teacher organization and productivity page!
