In my last Tips for Teachers article, I offered advice on using glue in a kindergarten classroom. In this article, I would like to address the management of student supplies in younger primary classrooms.
Throughout most days, students will need crayons, scissors, glue, and a pencil. How the teacher distributes these items can vary from class to class.
Some teachers allow the students to keep a box of the items in their desks. However, many primary classrooms are equipped with tables rather than desks. Therefore the challenge becomes even greater.
Some teachers make or purchase seat sacks to go on the back of the students’ chairs. These may work for notebooks but most teachers prefer not to keep supplies that students will be needing often in these sacks.
The most popular option is keeping the items in a basket on top of the table. Some teachers put each student’s supplies in a zipper pouch and then place the pouch for each child at the table inside the basket.
In my classroom, I place the supplies for each student in a plastic cup. The cups are then put inside of the basket on the table. I prefer cups because they last longer. Students tend to break the pouches from the many times that they are zipped and unzipped throughout the year. The downfall to cups is that they can spill.
Other teachers keep baskets of materials elsewhere in the room and only place them on the table when needed. This is probably a better option for students who cannot keep their hands off of the supplies when they are not in use.
Teachers who keep the supplies on the tables all day, like I do, must begin the year teaching students to only touch the supplies when they are needed. If not, the students will be playing in their supplies during instruction time.
Merit Pay and Special Education