Visuals Make My Classroom Function

Walk into my classroom and you’ll find visuals pretty much everywhere. And that can be a blessing.. and a curse! Managing visuals and resources can be a full-time job. Each of my students uses a visual schedule and those 2″x2″ pieces end up everywhere. We started by storing visuals in baggies and it was a disaster trying to find what we needed quickly. My assistants and I put our heads together a few years ago and we finally came up with an organizational system that helps us know exactly where to find our visuals. Over the years it’s evolved from a resource from just our classroom into a resource for the entire school. If anyone needs a visual, they know exactly where to find it! Here’s how we did it.

Storage Drawers

I grabbed these storage drawers from Amazon. I picked the container that holds 64 drawers. That means a space for 64 visuals – a dream come true! I started with one container and then added a second a few months later when we outgrew the first container. Each drawer is 2-7/32 x 1-9/16 inches, so while the visuals sit at a slight angle, overall they fit well.

Prep the Visuals

Next, I started organizing and prepping my visuals. My entire goal with this organization system was to make finding and using visuals easier. I started by making 5 more visuals than I planned on needing. I laminated, cut and velcro’ed all of the visuals and separated them into sandwich baggies so they were ready to go in the drawers.

Create Labels

First, I came up with a system of how I wanted to find visuals. Since using visuals and finding them in the classroom was something my entire team did, we came up with the system together. We decided to organize them by their function and color-code them:

• things that make us go/reinforcers were color-coded green
• things that remind us/yield were color-coded yellow
• things that are non-negotiable/things we have to stop to do were color-coded red

Then, within the colors, we alphabetized them so they would be easy to find.

Once done, I created a Google Slide with labels the right size, printed the labels, laminated, and put velcro on it to attach it to the drawer. The velcro allows the label to easily be changed in the future.

Load the Drawers!

Start loading the drawers with all of your visuals. I found it was easiest to lay the drawers on top of the baggies with the visuals and then work one section (green, yellow, red) at a time so I could easily alphabetize them. Before adding the drawers back to the container, I checked to see if we needed to add any visuals that were specific to my learners. I ended up creating a few (including this Minecraft visual) for my students and adding them in.

This whole project ended up taking an afternoon, but the outcome was so worth the effort! Not only can my classroom staff easily find visuals, everyone within my school can now access them if they have a student in need. Once a year I go through, re-organize, replace and replenish the visuals that need it. When items are organized and where you need them to be, they are more likely to be used. This is 100% the case with these visual pieces! Happy organizing!