Organizing Documents

Purpose: Adult students have adult responsibilities, including organizing and storing documents. Finding the organizational method that works best for them is a vital self-management skill, as described in the Transitions Integration Framework.

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Materials: Organizing Documents worksheet (see link below); organizing supplies such as a folder, binder, and/or file folder (optional); a projector (helpful, but not required).

Prep: Obtain the materials.

Procedure:

1. If possible, hold up items for organizing documents such as a folder, file folder, binder, etc and ask students to share what they know about these items. If items are not available, use the pictures on the first page of the Organizing Documents worksheet.
2. Students read the questions on the first page of the worksheet and think about their answers for a minute.
3. In a group setting students share their answers in pairs. For one-to-one tutoring, discuss answers to the questions with your student.
4. While students discuss answers, listen for common themes. What successes can you highlight? What challenges do students have?
5. Call on a few students to share their experiences with storing papers and documents with the class.
6. Use a projector to show students the second page of the worksheet. Elicit ideas for advantages and disadvantages from students for using a folder for school papers and model how to write them in the table.  Invite a student to write an advantage of using a binder and another to write a disadvantage.
7. Elicit from students other places to store papers or documents that they might write in the blank box. Students may choose to write any storage method they wish in this box.
8. Students fill out the worksheet. Circulate with your own copy of the worksheet and note any answers you wish to highlight with the class and write any points you wish to emphasize, such as students not realizing that a security box is fire proof.
9. Choose a method for students to share or summarize their answers with the class. One possibility is to have students vote for which method they currently use and then vote for which method they want to use in the future. Call on students to explain their choices.