Executive functioning skills are essential for success in school and beyond, and organizational skills play a key role in helping middle school students manage their time, materials, and responsibilities. As educators, we have the opportunity to equip students with strategies to improve their organization and set them up for long-term success.

In this post, we’re sharing a middle school organizational skills video lesson and a free accompanying lesson plan.

What Are Organizational Skills?

Organizational skills are a type of executive functioning skill that helps students manage their time, materials, and responsibilities effectively. These skills allow students to stay on top of assignments, keep track of their schedules, and reduce stress by creating structured routines.

What Are Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning skills encompass three primary areas:

• Working Memory – Holding information for the purpose of completing a task.
• Cognitive Flexibility – Adapting to new information or demands.
• Inhibitory Control – Resisting impulses and focusing on a task.

By targeting these areas, we can help our students develop better organizational habits, improved focus, and increased resilience.

Why Organizational Skills Matter for Middle School Students

Middle school introduces new challenges: multiple classes, increased homework, and greater personal responsibility. Without strong organizational skills, students can struggle to keep up, leading to stress and lower academic performance. Teaching students how to stay organized can:

• Improve time management and task completion
• Reduce stress by creating predictable routines
• Increase focus and confidence in their ability to manage schoolwork

Middle School Staying Organized Video Lesson Plan

Developing strong organizational habits is a crucial skill for middle school students as they navigate increasing academic responsibilities. This lesson plan provides educators with structured activities and a video lesson to help students improve their organizational strategies and executive functioning skills.

Objective: Help students develop and apply organizational strategies using executive functioning skills.

Materials:

• Whiteboard & markers
• Notebooks for each student
• Everyday Speech video modeling lesson on organizational skills

Lesson Structure:

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Discuss why staying organized is important.
• Introduce the three key executive functioning areas that impact organization.

2. Interactive Discussion (10 minutes)

• Ask students to share moments when they felt disorganized and the consequences.
• Highlight the benefits of organization: reduced stress, better grades, more free time.

3. Everyday Speech Video Lesson (10 minutes)

• Play the middle school organizational skills video, showcasing real-life scenarios of students using organizational strategies.
• After watching, facilitate a Q&A session to reinforce key takeaways.

Access the video lesson here: 

4. Application Activity (10 minutes)

• Have students create a personal organization plan, including specific strategies for managing their school materials, assignments, and schedules.
• Encourage them to set one organizational goal for the next week.

By reinforcing organizational skills in middle school, we set students up for academic success, reduced stress, and a foundation of lifelong habits. Start teaching organization today!

Access More Free Resources!

Everyday Speech is a no-prep digital curriculum that combines evidence-based video modeling, interactive web games, and digital and printable worksheets to make teaching social skills easy.

Try out our full platform free for 30 days and access more executive functioning resources!