Teachers know: Preparing a classroom for a new school year is a lot like preparing for a long winter on the old frontier. You better lay in your supplies before the snow falls and the cupboards are bare. When your coffers (or classroom budget allowance) are full and supplies are on sale, you had better stock up while you can. We asked the "pioneers" on our WeAreTeachers Facebook page what they think are the best classroom supplies, favorite brands and the essentials they can't live without!
1. Ticonderoga #2 Pencils
All hail the yellow, constantly disappearing, always needed, essential writing tool. No matter your classroom pencil policy, you and your students will go through boxes of these. WeAreTeachers members profess that the Ticonderoga #2's are the ones that last the longest and hold up best in the sharpener. In the wise words of Marybeth F., "Stay away from dollar-store pencils!"
2. Pencil Sharpener — Electric
Speaking of sharpeners, teachers seem to be firmly divided on the electric vs. manual debate. Jane D. says, "I cannot tell you how many electric pencil sharpeners I have blown through. I have paid as much as $120 for one. It wasn't the best one either! The X-Acto School Pro Heavy-Duty electric sharpener is the best one I have found... not expensive!"
3. Pencil Sharpener — Manual
April M. is on team manual pencil sharpener. "I haven't been pleased with electric pencil sharpeners in the past. Get a heavy-duty crank one!" This Bostitch model is affordable and teachers say it holds up to heavy use.
4. Cap Erasers
Extend the life of those precious pencils with a mass supply of serviceable pink cap erasers. Of course, all pencil privileges are revoked for any student who uses a cap as a missile device.
5. Date Stamp
"But I turned it in on time, I swear!" Stop due-date debates with older students (and, ahem, their parents) with a handy date stamp to track assignment deliveries.
6. Bulletin Board-Friendly Staple Remover
Jody H. recommends, "You want a good staple remover. Put your name on it and hide it!" This long version works for stapled papers and bulletin boards alike, and answers our S.O.N. (Save Our Nails) call. Also, it costs less than two bucks.
7. Electric Stapler
Your office or teacher workroom may have an industrial electric stapler, but you and your students will enjoy the ease of having this battery-operated personal electric stapler conveniently located in your classroom.
8. Student Scissors
Not all scissors are created equal. Annie H. states that for student scissors, "...they HAVE to be Fiskars."
9. Individual White Boards
"I can't live without individual dry-erase lapboards for the kids," says Denise N. These boards are lined on one side, plain on the other and are great for students' printing practice, class participation and to save a few trees.
10. Dry-Erase Markers
In the tradition of Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bonds' classic books, if you give your student a dry-erase lapboard, he's going to need a dry-erase marker to write with. Helena B. says, "Stay away from cheap dry-erase markers. Expo brand is the best."
11. Crayons
Many of our teacher respondents echo the words of Jennifer M.: "Crayola crayons are worth the extra money." Some WeAreTeachers members give students their own boxes, others buy the classpack for easy replacement of individual crayons. Johanna F. has the bright idea of a classroom "crayon orphanage" of half-used old crayons for mid-year replacements.
12. Colored Pencil Alternative
Another popular Crayola product is the Twistables colored pencils. Classroom veterans say the colors are more vibrant, they last longer and their self-sharpening properties keep them from jamming pencil sharpeners like traditional colored pencils.
13. Markers
If we could market a colored marker that does not dry out when students leave the caps off, we would be gazillionaires. Until then, Catherine H. says, "Mr. Sketch markers have the best color and don't dry out when you use them."
14. Red Pens
Not only can you use red pens for grading student work, you can also hand them out to students for in-class correcting.
15. Sharpies
Forget diamonds, our assorted colors of Sharpie markers are our best friends.
16. Composition Books
"Get students used to using composition books rather early than spirals. Clothing, space and fingers are saved by doing this, and they will be used to it when they are required to have them in middle and high school," says Amanda B.
17. Large Labels
From cubby and desk name plates to designating bookshelf subjects and classroom centers, we find loads of uses for big, beautiful labels in the classroom.
18. Sticky Notes
Daisy D. recommends buying "Sticky notes. Lots and lots of sticky notes — all sizes and colors. My coworkers make fun of me, but when kids give them to me as gifts, nothing makes me happier. They are all over my classroom!"
19. Clipboard
Tom Hanks had Wilson. We have our clipboard, and we would be adrift without it. Teacher tip: pick a bright color to easily find it under messy desks and lecterns.
20. Lesson Planner
Middle and high school teachers say that even in this digital age, their lifelines are their multi-period lesson planner books.
21. Grade Book
Pen and pencil recording is still the go-to grading system of many WeAreTeachers members. For them, leatherette-bound grade recording books make the grade.