Truth time… Has your desktop become a little bit like a digital junk drawer? Is it so packed with folders, PDFs, and random downloads that you can’t even remember what your background looks like? Don’t feel bad—most teachers barely have time to eat lunch, let alone sort through the endless virtual files that pile up! Teachers in our All Access membership told us how they’re saving even more time by organizing their favorite Lucky Little Learner files on Trello. Have you heard of Trello for teachers? Take a look at how they’re setting things up!
Think of Trello as a virtual bulletin board or planner. You can fill your Trello boards with images, links, lists and typed out plans leading to clickable resources!
Let's walk through practical ways to use Trello to organize digital files to streamline time spent lesson planning.
1. Set Up Your Trello for Teachers System
The most effective way to set up your Trello board for organizing digital files is to structure it in a way that mirrors how you naturally plan and organize—just like setting up a file cabinet. Here are a few examples inspired by All Access teachers.
a. Organize Files by Subject or Unit of Study
Have a board for each subject area, or for specific units, like the example below.
b. Organize lessons by week, skill, or activity
This board helps you organize your weekly teaching tasks in a simple, structured way. Use it to keep track of important events, plan for big assignments, and easily coordinate with your co-teachers.
The board below helps teachers plan their lessons by creating lists for each week or unit, attach resources, and set checklists for tasks. It’s especially handy for long-range planning where you can drag and drop lessons to adjust pacing as needed. It's perfect for collaboration with co-teachers.
c. Big Picture Planning using Trello for Teachers
Take a peek at how one teacher used Trello to organize all the big events and key dates for the school year. This simple setup keeps everything from field trips to report card deadlines in one easy-to-access place!
How about a Trello board to streamline your daily to-do lists, help you prioritize tasks, track progress, and stay on top of your classroom responsibilities?
d. Student Grouping and Assessment
This Trello board template allows teachers to track student reading or math groups. Teachers can create cards for each student, assign them to groups, and track progress with notes and custom fields.
Pro Tips
- Check out Trello's Inspiration Page, which features various boards shared by educators. You can easily copy them to your own account and adapt them!
2. Save Your Favorite All Access Resources in Trello
Idea 1: You can attach AA PDF files, links, or a combination of both directly to Trello cards for quick access when you're ready to click/print/teach
Idea 2: Organize seasonal activities (e.g., Halloween, Thanksgiving) by using the All Access materials for each season and creating a separate Trello list for each.
Pro Tip: Include premade lesson plans or curriculum resources from All Access on Trello cards, with notes about differentiation options or pacing adjustments for your students.
3. Track Student Progress and Simplify Differentiation with Trello
Idea 1: Set up Trello cards for each small group or individual student, using lists to organize them by reading or math level
Idea 2: Attach progress-tracking forms, student data booklets, and differentiated resources from All Access to each student’s card
Pro Tip: Use custom fields to track goals, progress, or assessments directly on each card, and update them as students improve
4. Collaborate with Co-Teachers and Teams
Idea 1: Create a shared board with your co-teachers or grade team for collaborative lesson planning. Use checklists to assign tasks or lesson preparation .
Idea 2: Use labels and due dates to keep track of responsibilities. Attach resources and lesson plans from All Access so all teachers have access to the same materials.
Pro Tip: Leave comments and feedback directly on cards as lessons are taught.
5. Organizing Classroom Centers and Rotations
Set up a Trello board for classroom centers, with each list representing a different center (e.g., Math Center, Literacy Center).
Pro Tip: Use Trello's calendar view to schedule center rotations and ensure you have all materials prepped in advance.
6. Managing Seasonal and Special Events with Trello
Step 1: Create Trello lists for each month or season, organizing classroom activities and events such as back-to-school night, parent-teacher conferences, and holidays. Here is an example:
Step 2: Attach seasonal activities, read-alouds, and project ideas from All Access for easy access during planning.
Pro Tip: Set reminders for important deadlines (e.g., report cards, project due dates) using Trello's due dates and calendar integration.
Ready to streamline your lesson planning?
If you are ready to spend way less time on lesson planning, try partnering Trello and All Access. Linking your resources and plans on your Trello cards eases organization tasks, and makes lessons instant with the ability to click, print, teach.
Take a peek at our unlimited downloads All Access library below, and make lesson planning fun!
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