• set meal times
• play times
• homework
• packing school bag and lunch
• house chores
• getting school clothes ready
• times to get up and go to bed

• lists
• wall charts
• white boards
• star charts
• calendars

Remember most students with learning difficulties need lists kept simple.

• remembering which books they need to take to school or bring home
• drawers or lockers that become very messy with bits and pieces of paper, books, personal belongings
• remembering the events e.g. meetings, lessons, where they need special equipment
• copying instructions properly. The instructions are not detailed and they can’t match the keyword to the task that is associated with it
• They forget to bring their homework home or take it back to school.

I often have parents contact SPELD with students in both primary and high school asking what we can do to help the students cope with disorganisation at school. In this instance, I ask the parents to consider what is in the drawer or locker of the child.

• Do they need as many books? (How many books come home half filled at the end of the year?)
• Can they reduce the number of books by using each end for a different subject?
• Can you colour code the books and lessons?
  • By linking a lesson to a colour code you make it easier and quicker for a child to work out what needs to be taken with them to the lesson
  • “English has been blocked as a blue subject. It’s 11 o’clock, English time, grab the blue folder from my locker.”
• Can you reduce the amount of loose paper in the drawer or locker?
  • Teach the child to trim and stick loose worksheets into their workbook before they start writing on them
  • Get them to keep their own glue stick and a pair of scissors in their pencil case for this purpose

For high school students, there are new challenges:-

• different teachers for each class
• different classrooms to find quickly as they move between lessons
• detention if they forget to bring their homework, books and stationery to class
• expectations that they shouldn’t need a teacher to help them become organised

One strategy that works for my children is for them to keep all their books at home on a table so that I can help supervise and match which books go into their school bag for a particular day’s lessons.

• when they come home they have a snack
• do their homework
• their books go straight back onto the table (after homework is completed)
• we help them file those loose instructional sheets they are given
• some students may need a folder that holds the equipment for each lesson so they just have to grab one or two colour coded folders at lesson changeovers

These are just suggestions. Talk to your child and their teacher(s) regularly and work out if the system is working. If not, work out why and revise the strategies you have used. You may need to make the routine easier. Remember, once these structured routines are set in place, the child will still need an adult’s supervision to ensure they carry out the tasks every day until they become automatic. It may take months of supervision and reminding and then each New Year will bring new challenges.

How to combat disorganisation in the classroom

Teachers can help students by:-

• introducing colour coding in their class timetables, book coverings, sections in folders and using A4 coloured wallets
• creating visual diaries and calendars with colour blocking for different subject areas and due dates for assignments
• making checklists that are ticked off throughout the day so that the student knows everything has been done
• providing time to check off the list
• allowing students to practise the routine each day
• creating special places for books to be stored so they are not mixed up in the student’s drawer or locker e.g. make a permanent space at the front of the class for each subject’s books and appoint monitors to hand out and collect the books
• providing fewer books to by including two subjects in the one book
• checking student diaries and ensuring that enough information has been included for a student to complete their homework
• writing ‘NONE’ in the diary if there is no homework set (to help parents!)
• making homework due dates the same day each week
• giving students you know have memory problems their homework list at the end of the day and having them show you they have placed the books needed in their bag
• breaking down large tasks into mini tasks that will be completed and handed up in stages
• Planning the homework and lesson requirements for the term in advance, and communicating with parents so they can plan the home routines around the time table (see Google Calendar)

• sending out a printed calendar that has been colour coded
• school diary
• using the mobile text messaging systems many schools now have
• emailing each parent and student with the assignment outlines due during the term

• viewed from your school’s website
• transferred into teachers’, students’ and parents’ personal outlook calendars
• viewed on mobile phones, smart phones, i-phones and the internet, from anywhere including the school, home, office and library
  

• be aware of key dates such as community events
• organise events around exams and tests
• time manage assignments and due dates
• gain important life skills by effectively learning how to time manage using a calandar
• open lines of communication between the home and school
• act as a backup for the school diary

Below is an example of a monthly view of a calendar that was used for year 8 students in 2009

Google Calendars are free and require some basic online skills to set up. If you are a teacher and would like to set up a Google Calendar for your students or for your school, follow instructions below to get you started on creating your own Google Calendar.

Step 1: You will need to consider what email account to use eg. If you are going to use the calendar to share your year 8 subject area you might create a g-mail account This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

and the password might be year82009

Once you have created an email account to use for the project go to the link below and create your new accounthttps://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount

Step 2: Sign in to your Google account

You would have received an email asking for verification. You will need to activate the account before you can use any features.

Your Google Account gives you access to Google Calendar and other Google services.

Once you have created your account you can sign in to manage it at anytime.

Bookmark the link https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount

Or your account can be accessed on the top right hand corner of your Google homepage

Step 3. Create your calendar

When you log in to your account click on the calendar link you will now see under my products

You will then see your initial calendar.

Step 4. Personalise your calendar

The drop down arrow next to your calendar is where you can edit the settings

This is where you can change the

• Calendar colour

• Create events

• Manage sharing

• Manage notifications

Step 5. Create a new calendar for each new subject area

Click on create a calendar and follow the promts.

You can now start adding events to your calendar.

The calendar can be shared with chosen people by adding them to an email list and selecting their access options or to the general public.

Concluding

My mum always says, “people with short-term memory problems blink and their memory banks clear.”

The lists, charts and visual cues we give students enable them to complete various tasks they would not have been able to do due to disorganisation.

Supplying a way of getting assignment information online can help parents ensure that the work is completed on time.

Practice within a well structured, repetitive routine, is the only way some students will ever be organised enough to get through the everyday tasks they will encounter for the rest of their lives.

As I know in my own life, making the time and adjustments to create such an environment in the home, when our lives are so busy can be challenging, but the hard work and effort do pay off. Students do learn how to organize themselves and appreciate that simple structured routines enable them to cope with the things they forget.

If you would like more information and instruction on how to implement a Google Calendar in your school setting or home, please contact Sandy Russo through the SPELD SA office on 8431 1655