Keep ziploc bags of various sizes for holding unit materials and activities together.
Keep a running record of lesson plans on the bulletin board, which cuts down the time absent students spend inquiring about work they missed.
Keep all plans including transparencies, notes, handouts, and assignments in a binder. This portfolio is great for organizing and makes it easy to revise lessons in the future.
For bulletin boards use cloth backgrounds or a neutral background and change the border for different seasons.
Negotiate with textbook publishers for a classroom set of textbooks so students can keep their copy at home and you can eliminate students carrying heavy backpacks.
Use color-coded signs outside your door to remind students about materials they need for class. Ex. - orange sign for orange grammar book, brown sign for brown literature book.
It's important to make sure your daily schedule is posted.
Before you have a pet in the classroom, make sure students are not afraid of the kind of animal and be sure to send letters home announcing the presence of the pet and asking about allergies.
Have "Silent Sustained Reading" time for the last 10 minutes of the day or after morning announcements.
To let others know where your class is at a given time during the day, place a hook on the outside of the door or in the hallway and hang index cards that have hole punched corners with the location of the class on them (library, gym, lunch etc.)
Many school districts have a teacher center with staff available to help teachers create attractive learning environments. If your district does not have one, you can contact a neighboring one.
To minimize the number of students out of their seats during group work, assign a "runner" for each group. The runner is then the only group member allowed out of their seat to ask questions or go for supplies.
If you are unable to leave centers set-up during the day, place the materials for the centers in labeled, colored plastic containers. You can teach student leadesr to set-up and clean up center materials.