I’ve never been one to buy into the fancy classroom supplies or decor, but there are just a few teaching essentials that I just struggle to live without.
A few years ago, I relocated to a new state and began teaching at a new school. Because my previous school had purchased my supplies, I had to leave them behind, and these were the things I found myself missing the most and needing to replace ASAP.
Markerboard People Whiteboards and Student Markers
I can’t explain why, but my students are always more willing to work and practice when they use markerboards instead of paper and pencil.
These whiteboards and markers from The Markerboard People are my absolute favorite. I see the questions on the teacher Facebook groups all the time – ‘What markers can I get that actually last and my students won’t destroy?’. THESE. THE ANSWER IS THESE.
I was skeptical that anything could be better than the very common brand you’re probably currently using, but these are so much better – especially for student markers. They last as long as they’re supposed to and hold up well to the usual student wear and tear.
You can find a full set of boards, markers, and erasers here. If you just need the markers, there are more options for ordering directly from The Markerboard People website. (P.S. If you’re a math teacher, they also have boards with graphing grids.)
Shop-Ticket Holders
These shop-ticket holders are the pockets your mechanic uses to hold your paperwork and keys – but they come in so handy in your classroom too!
You can throw any worksheet into these, and they make instant dry erase pockets for students to use for practice.
I also use them instead of laminating instruction sheets during station activities or for scavenger hunt questions.
You can find a class set of these here!
Cardstock
You can never have too much cardstock! I use it for almost any activity that involves pieces that I can reuse for future class periods. (Or even future years.)
The picture above is from a budgeting project where students pick cards to choose their salary, family, and even some unexpected expenses. This cardstock holds up really well and comes in fun colors, too.
You can find my favorite color pack here and my favorite white pack here.
Paper Slicer
I love this thing so much that I bought a second one that now lives in my basement so that I can use it at home. It comes in handy more often than you’d think! I use it for everything from cutting task and bingo cards to cutting apart half-sheet quizzes, and more.
I will warn you – it is VERY sharp. It does come with a lock to keep small kids from opening it.
You can find my paper slicer here.
Clipboards
If you’ve used many of my resources with your students, you know I love scavenger hunts and activities that will get students up and moving around the room.
It’s such a small thing, but kids (yes, even high school kids) love grabbing one of these to use while moving from question to question.
These plastic clipboards come in fun colors and hold up well to student use.
You can find a six-pack set of these clipboards here.
Interested in learning more about teaching financial literacy in your classroom?
You can check out more posts about teaching financial literacy here!
