WHY YOU SHOULD COLOR CODE MATERIALS BY LEVEL

Laura Hackwell
Apr 12, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Feb 24, 2023

Color coding classroom materials by level is one of those things that wish I had started my first year of teaching. It's been a life changer in my classroom! Most often, our special education classrooms are full of students whose instructional levels vary greatly. I like to have materials and activities that are easy for students to access independently and for my paras to assist with, but I want my students to complete tasks that are at their level.

To do this effectively with minimal interruptions, I use a colored-coded level system. Here is how it works.

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As I purchase and prep new activities, I organize them into one of 5 colored levels. Each year, I assign students a color. When it's time for independent work or when there is downtime due to a schedule change or behavior, students can just grab a task of their color and get to work! I use this system for file folder activities, task cards, and centers.

My color coded level system looks like this:

Red: 2nd-3rd grade reading level, numbers over 100, multiplication, division, fractions

Yellow: 1st grade reading level, counting and numbers to 100, WH questions, addition, subtraction and calculator math

Green: writing words, CVC words, sight words, counting & numbers to 20, letter sounds

Blue: identical matching, tracing, counting & numbers to 10, letter identification, etc.

Purple: Errorless

Here are some of the items that I use to keep everything organized. The images are affiliate links- you can click on them if you're interested in purchasing!