The take-home folder. It’s every teacher’s best friend, and for good reason! This one simple tool can help keep your students organized, informed, and on track all year long. It’s also a way one way to ensure that parents are kept in the loop. So what should you include in your take-home folder? Here are a few ideas to get you started…
Folder vs. Binder
The first question you need to answer yourself – folder or binder? If you want to add a bunch of reference items like handbooks, behavior expectations, and class lists you might need the extra space that a binder provides. Personally, I find the binders to be a little bulky and too much to cart back and forth. I like to keep it streamlined by using a vinyl plastic folder with brads. They are cheap, durable, and big enough to include all these essentials.
A Homework Tracker
Another essential item for your take-home folder is a homework tracker. This can be as simple as a sheet of paper with the days of the week listed at the top and a space for each student and parent to initial after they complete their homework for the day. This is an easy way for students (and parents!) to keep track of which assignments have been completed and which still need to be finished. Trust me, this will come in handy on more than one occasion! 😉
One of the most frustrating things for a parent is not knowing when their child has homework or when papers need to be signed and returned to school. Help them out by including a place for students to keep track of these things in the take-home folder. This will take some of the guesswork out of parenting and help ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks.
I highly recommend setting aside one pocket of the folder dedicated to homework and things like field trip permission slips that need to be returned to school. While the other side is dedicated to papers that can go home and stay home, such as the weekly newsletter and graded papers.
Essential Tools To Help In Completing Homework
Add a few page sleeve inserts to the 3 ring brads in the middle of the folder so you can include things like a multiplication chart, a list of spelling words, sight words, fraction strips, technology passwords or other reference tools in the take-home folder. This way students have everything they need to complete their homework without having to rely on mom or dad for help.
This will empower them to be independent learners and give parents a break from being homework helpers every night. Having these pages in the middle of the folder also serves as a divided between the leave-at-home papers and the return-to-school papers on each side of the folder.
A Weekly Newsletter
One of the most important things you can include in your take-home folder is a weekly newsletter. Yes, you emailed this to parents…but let’s be honest, there are some parents who will not read your emails. So, I add a printed copy of this important info to the plastic sleeves in the middle.
The newsletter doesn’t have to be cute, as long as it includes the most important information in a quick and easy-to-read layout. Be sure to include important dates, upcoming events, and a rundown of the week’s lesson plans.
This will give parents a chance to ask their child about what they’re learning in school and start conversations about the topics you’re covering. Plus, it’ll let them know when projects are due and when tests are coming up so they can help their child prepare.
There you have it! These are just a few of the things you can include in your take-home folder to help make your students’ lives and your own lives a little bit easier. So go ahead and give it a try…your students and their parents will thank you!
Now that your take-home folders are all set up, you’re ready to launch into the school year with some great back to school activities for math and language arts.
