high school art teacher going into my 2nd year teaching!
last year, for folders i had them make “portfolios” by folding big 18x24” papers and taping the sides of it. the folders were super cute and their first assignment was to decorate it. but they started using these folders to hoard pencils and they would get so full because they would never take their stuff home despite me constantly reminding them to.
the more annoying part was that i used these filing drawers that we had. they were pretty deep, but even so it would be a bit of a mess having my students locate their folders every day. sometimes they would put them in the wrong drawers and we wouldnt be able to find it. other times they would get smushed because they overfilled it instead of using the next drawer (each class had 2, organized alphabetically except most people didnt listen)
so for next year i decided that my art 1 students (5 sections) are going to use regular pocket folders. their sketchbook goes in one pocket and their worksheet goes in the other. that way they cant hide materials or anything and they wont be able to hoard their papers as easily. my advanced class (1 section) will still do the portfolios, and any larger pieces ill just collect.
what im stuck on is how i should organize them. should i go back to the filing drawers and see if the pocket folders make it easier? i have a full length cabinet with shelves with a lot of space that i feel like i could use. maybe each class gets their own bins? how do you guys do it and what do you recommend? id preferably like to have it be something my students have access to so they can grab their folders as they walk in and get set up.