Teaching Tip of the Month

This month's Teaching Tip comes from TCR3202--Teacher Tips & Inspirations.

Setting Up Your Classroom

There are many things you will find useful to have at the ready in your classroom. Hopefully, your school is well supplied and able to provide you with everything you need. However, that is not always the case.

In a perfect world, you will be supplied with each of the following to begin your year. If not, acquire what you can. Do not be afraid to ask for donations. The following list is meant to give you a guideline of the types of supplies you will want easily available to you during the school year. Gather these supplies before the school year begins. If stored in your classroom, the supplies will be easily accessible to you when they are needed. Everything goes much smoother with the right supplies. This is one of the best ways to save time and avoid frustration later in the year.

TeacherSupplies

• correction fluid
• envelopes (legal size)
• file cards
• lesson plan book
• masking tape, wide and narrow
• paper clips, large and small
• ink pens, various colors
• rubber bands, all sizes
• safety pins, large and small
• transparent tape
• stapler (three or more)
• staple remover
• staples
• straight pins
• tagboard, lined, and unlined
• whistle
• bean bags
• address labels with your name and school address
• brads
• colored chalk
• cones for PE
• E-Z Grader (Buy one from an educational supply store.)
• E-Z stamp
• overhead projector pens
• paper cutter
• paper punches, with and without designs
• raffle tickets
• sticky notes
• stamp with your name
• sink supplies: antibacterial soap and hand lotion
• T pins
• yardstick or metric stick
• Tacky Fingers (Buy them from a stationary store. They help with sorting papers.)
• construction paper (Get three reams of white, plus multicolors; think holidays)
• thimble (Use it to push pins into the bulletin board.)
• three-hole punch (Get one that will go inside your binder.)
• tools (hammer, thin nails, pliers, screwdrivers--both flathead and Phillips)
• lists of school rules, telephone numbers, map of the school, teachers names, etc.
• marking pens--large permanent ones for posters and marking room numbers on balls, plus colored ones for correcting papers, etc.

Student Supplies

Unless your district requires students to bring their own materials, be prepared to supply each of them with the following:

• crayons
• pencils appropriate for grade level
• erasers
• glue or glue sticks
• rulers
• scissors (Get containers for these.)
• textbooks (Get two to three extra.)
• writing paper appropriate for grade level
• extras: pens, pencil top erasers

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