Organization+and+Time+Management


 * __Organization/Time Management__**
 * __Definitions__** (from http://www.dyslexia-college.com/schedule.html)
 * Organization: an efficient and orderly approach to tasks
 * Time Management: the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, or productivity


 * __Common Characteristics of Students with Organizational/Time Management Difficulties__**
 * **Organization**
 * Organization problems in written notes (e.g., not understanding how to properly make an outline)
 * Organization problems in compositions (e.g., not understanding how to format an essay with multiple paragraphs into an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion)
 * Difficulty in organizing tasks into manageable parts (e.g., difficulties with following the steps for long division)
 * Difficulty in getting started on a project and then completing it
 * Forget books and homework at home or at school
 * Locker/cubby, backpack, and notebooks are messy and overflowing with papers, books, clothes and other things
 * **Time Management**
 * Unable to complete tests in the allotted time although material is understood
 * Spend too much time on studying one subject or completing one homework assignment (e.g., taking an hour to complete math problems when he also has homework in three other subjects)
 * Difficulty in discerning which tasks are of higher importance and completing them in order based on their priority (e.g., spending too much time on a worksheet when she also has to study for a test in another subject)
 * Turn in assignments late even when they have been assigned weeks before
 * Inefficient preparation for tests and taking tests (e.g., not studying enough for a test because he was doing something else)
 * Distorted sense of time; unaware of how long it will take to do something (e.g., student thinks that it will only take fifteen minutes to write an essay when it actually can take several hours)


 * __Classroom Accommodations, Modifications, and Suggestions__**
 * Provide the student with a planner so he can write in his assignments, homework, and tests each day
 * Daily/weekly planners are used to organize day-to-day activities
 * Long term planners can be used to map out the month so the student can plan ahead and see what he has coming up in the next couple weeks
 * Create a checklist/to-do list every day so she can have a visual reminder of what she has to do every day
 * Put the most important things at the top of the list so they get done first
 * When one of the items on the list is completed, the student checks it off
 * Provide two sets of books—one set for the classroom and one set for home—to eliminate forgetfulness
 * Use a timer for homework and only allow a certain amount of time to complete each task (e.g., allow 30 minutes for each task, and once the timer goes off, the student must move on to the next task)
 * Provide locker organizers and folders to keep books and homework organized
 * Use a dry-erase board to plan out activities for each day
 * Color-coordinate activities
 * Use post-it notes as reminders for tasks that need to be completed
 * Label where the student needs to put specific things (e.g., where to put his pencil, backpack, and books so he keeps his things organized and in the same place)
 * Have the student make an Activity Log so she can see how she spends her time every day after school
 * Write down the time spent on each activity so she can see how she spends her time and where she can be more efficient (e.g., she spends too much time on math homework each night and not enough time on writing)
 * Plan the student’s homework schedule at school with the teacher and write it down in the student’s assignment book
 * Use an hour-by-hour time management daily schedule in order to analyze how the student is spending his time every day
 * Color-coordinate each class to keep materials organized. Use the same colored notebook, folder, textbook cover, highlighter, pen color to write things in the assignment book, etc. (e.g., Math=blue, Science=green, etc.)
 * Create a material list that is taped to the student’s desk so he/she can check off each item every day before class starts to make sure he/she has everything (e.g., pencil, notebook, homework, etc.)
 * Provide the student with a teacher to check-in and check-out with every day to make sure he/she has all materials organized for the day

*Time and Project Management Series. //Study Guides and Strategies//. Retrieved from http://www.studygs.net/schedule/ Time Scheduling and Time Management for dyslexic students. Retrieved from http://www.dyslexia-college.com/schedule.html Characteristics of Students with Cognitive Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/learningsupport/facstaff/students/characteristics_ofstudentswithcognitivedisabilities.html#question_faq_9 Time Management. //Mind Tools//. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm
 * __References__**
 * great source for parents*