I started OWL binders in my classroom last year in second grade and adored how organized it kept my parents and students (and me)! This year, I’m doing it again with first graders. I was a little worried because my kiddos are a year younger, but they are doing JUST AS WELL! Parents are telling me how organized it is and how excited their kids are to show their OWL binders once they get home!
O.W.L Organizational Binders
O.W.L stands for “Organized While Learning” and that is certainly something that holds true. I’m teaching these kids how to organize themselves and become independent and I love it.
Here is a look at the front of the O.W.L. organizational binders. I hate to admit it, but I ran out of printer ink and didn’t feel like spending another dime on it. I swear I’ve spent $200 just on ink this summer. So, I printed all the boys’ binder covers on blue paper and all the girls’ binder covers on pink/purple paper. They are six and seven years old! They don’t judge!
The first page they see is a binder contents sheet.
Before any of the tabs, there is…
- table of contents
- contract
- rules
Here is the contract that teachers, parents, and students sign just promising that papers will be added daily by teachers and papers will be checked by parents.
.jpg)
Then, there are rules that the children sign.
Then a little parent letter to let them know what the binder is for and what the purpose is.
O.W.L Organizational Binders
Now we get to the tabs….
Your O.W.L organizational binders will need four tabs. Label them with a Sharpie, or you can make them cuter than I did. Then, slip in those papers to label them with words. I felt like I need something easy, so I just wrote on them with a Sharpie!
Funny story… My phone DIED and couldn’t get any more pictures!
Tab Sections
Section 1: Parent Section
Section 2: O.W.L. Report (Our Weekly Learning) (Newsletters)
Section 3: Homework Section
Section 4: Behavior Section
I REALLY wanted to show a picture of part of my parent section. For every kid, I bought a $1 zipper pouch where I place communications for parents. I stick thank you notes, reminders, important notes. Parents send money and transportation notes. The zipper pouch is a new plus I am really enjoying!
Click HERE for a link to buy a set of 24. This is my affiliate link on Amazon.
Here is my outline of what I did last year to give you another idea of it!
Click here for a walkthrough of last year’s binders.
Classroom Resources
And now, it is available as an EDITABLE document that you can use in your own classroom!
For my content on O.W.L. organizational binders, check out this post.
