It’s a lazy Saturday morning in the middle of July, 1993. I’m 12 years old. I’m barely awake, but alert enough to shamble downstairs to pour a giant bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats and turn on X-Men: The Animated Series. My favorite mutants Wolverine and Rogue are battling the evil Sentinels, as well as their own feelings for each other (it doesn’t work out). I’m in the zone. Life is good. Then my world comes crashing down.
Back-To-School shopping commercials invade my happy place.
Markers, Trapper Keepers, JanSport backpacks, Elmer’s glue sticks. Target is selling it all!
But summer just started, didn’t it? It’s only July! NOOOOOOOOOOO!
It was always a gut punch when those Back-To-School ads came on TV. The joyful summer utopia was coming to an end, whether I wanted it to or not. If I’m completely honest, it still feels that way now. The bad news is delivered a bit differently now, usually in the form of an Instagram ad, or a quick YouTube ad that I skip after I’m held hostage by capitalism for 4-5 seconds.
I actually got my first back to school ad yesterday (yet another reason to delete Twitter). Once I recovered from the ennui and existential dread, I actually thought about what supplies I rely on heavily as an educator, and how my back-to-school shopping list varies greatly from that of my students.
So here is my list of the All-Time Hero Supplies that I use in my classroom every single day.
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My go-to grading pen for about 14 years was the Pilot G2 0.7mm blue pen. I must have marked tens of thousands of tests with that trusty work horse. It was smooth, had a great grip, and a large ink reservoir that never seemed to run out. We had a good thing going. My only issue was that I could not easily fix my mistakes, relying on White-Out tape to hide my oopsies. Then the Frixon Erasable Pen came into my life.
Words cannot express how much of a game changer these pens have been in my daily teaching life. About 5 years ago I saw a student using one of these, and it blew my mind. My only experience with erasable pens was back in high school when I had the Eraser Mate. It was…not great. Yes, it would “erase” the ink, but would always leave a terrible smear and smudge the page. Good try, Paper Mate, but no. I reject you. Apparently erasable pen technology has improved over the past 30 years.
The Frixon pen erases really well, and I absolutely love it for when I am giving feedback on assignments and assessments. I use it also when writing on the document camera and am able to fix my mistakes quickly without having to use White-Out. While the ink does not apply as smoothly as the G2, I still prefer the ability to erase anything I write. I also love that I have been using the same 3 pens for the last 5 years, since you can purchase replacement ink cartridges for about $2.00 less than the cost of a whole new pen.
Final Supply Rating: 9/10.
TL,DR: Amazing pen. Erases Great. Cheap Refills. Ink doesn’t always flow smoothly.
2) Impresa Mini Magentic Dry Erase Erasers
My classroom has a lot of whiteboard space. Like, a lot. I am always in the hunt for effective whiteboard erasers that are versatile and washable. These are a great choice, as they have a magnet inside that will stick to any magnetic surface. Many of the whiteboards in my room are also magnetic, so I can stick these all over my vertical whiteboards and students have easy access to them.
I also tried placing these in my supply bins at each table group, but that proved to be folly, as the soft blue material is easily picked at , stabbed, and/or defaced. The moment you have a less-than-engaging lesson in your class, these become a fun canvas for a bored student to…artistically explore?
Final Supply Rating: 7/10
TL,DR: Versatile. Magnetic. Not Durable. Easy to violate artistically.
3) EXPO Markers
Probably the most crucial supply in my classroom, I go through about 100-200 expo markers per school year. While I prefer the bullet tip, the chisel tip is much cheaper for some reason. While it’s nice to have a variety of colors, I tend to just buy the black markers. The main reason is that if there is only one color option for the students, they can’t fight over them. Everyone gets a black marker. Deal with it. Now if only I could prevent the students from smashing the tip of the marker into the housing, rendering the perfectly good marker useless.
Final Supply Rating: 9/10
TL,DR: Classic. Essential. Smashable.
4) Amazon Basics Clear Sheet Protectors
Sheet protectors are an essential supply in my classroom, as they serve a few purposes in my day-to-day lessons. Before I had whiteboard tables, they were an extremely cheap method of creating personal whiteboards. Slide in a single sheet of white computer paper or cardstock and you have an instant mini whiteboard. Now that I have tons of whiteboard space in my room, I use these for most of the thinking tasks I assign my students. I can print out a set of Open Middle problems and slide them each into a sheet protector and the students can grab one at a time, write all over it while they think about the problem, and erase it when they are done. While using VNPS during a thin slicing lesson (see my BTC Journey page for more on that topic) I put each task card in a sheet protector and each group is able the grab the task they need and hang it on a push pin in the wall that the whole task is visible while they work.
With the teaching strategies I currently employ I always need a few hundred sheet protectors on hand.
Final Supply Rating: 10/10
TL,DR: The GOAT. Buy 2 packs.
5a) Bulk Pencils
Every year I tell my students that they need only two things when they come to school every day. If they just do these two things, they will be fine.
- Wear appropriate clothing.
- Have a pencil.
That’s it. Pretty much everything else is taken care of if they just complete those two things each day. Sadly, some students are only able to complete 50% of this list (thankfully, I have never had a student go 0 for 2).
If you’ve ever taught middle school you know that the children seem to eat pencils. They just…devour them. It’s astonishing. I’ve tried many borrowing systems over the years for those forgetful students, but it can be distracting or time consuming when a student approaches you for a pencil in the middle of your lesson. I finally caved and just buy the giant box of bulk pencils. Need a pencil? Don’t bother me, just go get one from the dispenser.
I love this pencil dispenser simply because it reminds me of the straw dispensers that McDonald’s used to have back in the day. The bulk 320 pack of pencils will usually last the whole year. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It’s not a perfect system for sure, but it is what it is.
Final Supply Rating: 8/10
TL,DR: Fun Dispenser. Time saver. Enables irresponsible behavior. You can never buy enough.
That’s my Top 5 list of things I must have on day one to start school successfully. What did I miss? What supply must you have in order to get through the school day (don’t say coffee)?
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