By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I’m a huge fan of lists. I’m a fan not only for my own personal geekish reasons but also for reasons based on cognitive science. (In case you didn’t hear, our brains can not store endless amounts of information.) I’ve written about lists many times, in a variety of contexts: here are the top 10 lists students should have, here are tips for keeping track of homework, here’s how to use a list as an inbox (scroll to #2), and here’s how to use lists to reverse engineer your goals. This post is all about Master Lists vs. to-do lists. You are likely familiar with and probably already use a basic to-do list, but here I’m teaching you about a secret weapon called the Master List. Let’s start with some simple definitions:
I argue that we need both types of lists to operate fully. Master Lists and to-do lists have different functions, both of which are critical for students and working professionals. Differences between Master Lists and to-do lists:Master List
To-do list
Examples of a Master ListsIf you’re new to the idea of a Master List, you might find some examples helpful. Below, I include some basic ideas of what you might put on a Master List in various contexts. Again, you don’t have to divide your list by context (I personally just use one Master List for everything), but that’s just how I’m formatting my examples. Master List for school:
Master List for work:
Master List for personal life:
Master Lists are not only excellent productivity tools, but they help us feel less overwhelmed by the anxiety-producing feeling of “forgetting” something. They are a simple way to store our non-urgent tasks, goals and projects so that our brain can focus on the more urgent tasks on our to-do list. This is a great way to organize data on your current ELL students in your school. It has the following information: student names, students' school year, ACCESS composite scores, lowest language domain, ELL services provided, teacher names, languages spoken, the number of students per each composite score (past and current school years), the number of K-WAPT/Screened/Alternative ACCESS assessments, RFEP numbers, a key describing ELL services; and a 2nd page of Redesignated Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students, test out date, monitored year and teacher names.
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Classroom routines and procedures are paramount for a successful classroom! You have to think through your day and anticipate each and every routine or procedure. Then you have to teach them to your students. To help you get started, I have collected some routines and procedures you may need! If you don't establish routines, your students will be lost. They won't know how to get a pencil. They won't know how to turn in a paper. Getting students to line up will be a free-for-all. Entering the classroom will become social hour and dismissal with be a chaotic mess! I am always looking for ways to establish routines and procedures in my classroom at the beginning of school. I have compiled a master list of classroom routines! Here are some great blog articles and ideas detailing classroom routines you will need for your students.Looking for more back to school tips! Check out my Crazy for Back to School Pinterest board! |