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Organizational skills are a key to a student's success at any age. However it can be quite boring to get the students to learn and implement them. This blog sheds light on four easy yet interesting ways to teach organizational skills to students right from the kindergarten stage till middle school.
 

Make It Real and Personal
 

Most students often come across the statement “you need to be organized”; however, the problem lies in the fact that they don’t know what this means or what it looks like to be organized. Hence, the first step of any teacher to teach organizational skills to her students is to show students how to have an organized desk and backpack. Illustrate them with examples and non-examples.
 

The next step would be getting the students to learn the importance of organization and the necessary reasons behind it, so if you are looking to have your students grasp the concept of organization real quick, then talk to them about how being organized can help them in making their lives easier.
 

The next step would be to work with your students and help them create their plan for improving their organizational skills. Sometimes you will find them jotting down the steps to become organized and sometimes they will involve their parents or teacher about having an adult facilitate regular “backpack cleanouts”.
 

Show Impact of Disorganization
 

You can only show your students the impact of being organized and disorganized is by showing them how long being organized vs. unorganized takes us. You can give them a messy backpack full of trash and loose papers and a “scavenger hunt” checklist of things to find in the back pack. Measure the time taken to find those items in the backpack. Then repeat the same thing with a clean and organized backpack and take its time too. Compare the difference in time. Next, ask your students to clean up the messy backpack and again measure the time.
 

Here, involve your students to compare time, energy and effort used with each assignment, feelings going through the messy backpack and finally what they would do with the “extra” time that comes with organization.
 

To-do list
 

Teachers must mainly focus on helping students learn how to organize their time and one of the easiest ways to do so is by maintaining a to-do list. Students put project deadlines, homework, and test dates on the list, as well as, non-school related activities. This helps them to take ownership of their academics and other related work.
 

Incorporate It into Lessons
 

Teaching students organizational skills is indeed an important part of your job as a school counsellor. Try incorporating this skill in every lesson that you teach. For instance, allot 10 minutes at the end of every lesson to teach a mini-lesson on organizational topics such as cleaning out your backpack, maintaining a to-do list, etc.
 

In all of these lessons and sessions, you can also use a “fictional school athlete” and share his hard-earned life lessons in becoming an organized, successful student. You will find that your students love hearing how to stay organized from the “fictional school athlete”. This kind of innovative teaching organization methods can be learnt by enrolling in courses for child counselling.