Managing Paper in the Music Classroom

• the papers stayed organized as long as students always followed procedures correctly
• it was free

Cons:

• Students don’t always follow procedures correctly
• No-name papers caused me grief
• The piles were quickly overcome with dust bunnies if left out for longer than a few days
• My inner clean freak freaked out

The Cardboard Mailbox
The pile system was quickly abandoned, and I decided to purchase a cardboard mailbox with enough slots for every class. Once I got past the sticker shock (cardboard is expensive), I settled on a mailbox similar to the one below.

Pros:

• the papers stayed organized by grade and class
• the papers remained dust-free
• the box was sturdy enough to hold some of my teacher binders

Cons:

• students often put their papers in the wrong slot
• papers still had to be passed out individually
• expensive considering the quality
• Mine never fell apart, but I’ve heard of this happening to other teachers

Sometime during this period, I ended up switching classrooms and was blessed with cabinets specifically made for holding papers. So, my experimentation stopped there. However, I’ve since discovered so many new methods for organizing papers, that I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Pros:

• you can color-code the crates by grade level or class
• they are stackable and sturdy
• students will be more likely to put their papers in the correct spot
• depending on your number of classes, you may be able to have individual folders for each student, which would mean no more having to pass papers back individually

Cons:

• if you don’t already have file folders on hand, the price of this project could add up quickly
• it’s unlikely that you’ll have the space for each student to have their own folder, which means that you’ll likely end up having to pass papers back individually

Pocket Charts
These might work for those of you with some extra wall space and zero cabinets. 

Pros:

• if you place the chart next to your door, you can easily collect papers in a folder as the students are leaving and then place the folder in its pocket before your next class enters
• the spacing of the pockets would make it easy to locate the correct grade level/class at a glance

Cons:

• this would be difficult to hang, especially on cement block walls
• with one class for each pocket (approximately 25 or more papers each), it will make for a tight fit

My Preferred System

In the end, I used the specialized wooden cabinets in my new (to me) music room to collect papers. Then, when it was time to hand them back, I placed the finished papers in my blue cardboard mailbox, which I kept behind my desk. Since not everyone is lucky enough to have mailbox cabinets pre-made, I would suggest looking into a plastic mailbox like the one below. The compartments can be snapped and stacked in the configuration of your choosing. The plastic would be easy to clean and sturdy enough to last a long time. Best of all, the half-moon cutouts in the front would make grabbing stacks of paper a breeze.