Managing Classroom Supplies

The Problem:
I teach in a poor school. That’s just the way it is. This is also my first year teaching. In August I really wasn’t prepared for what I faced. I had my classroom grouped by tables, and I had baskets of supplies for each table. The problem that I ran into was that the basket of supplies did not force students to be accountable for what happened to the supplies. People would steal markers from other tables and by the end of the day there would be tables that only had brown markers. I was sorting markers daily, and each day there were less markers to sort. My students didn’t care about the supplies, markers were thrown across the room or dropped and no one would even bother to pick them up. I knew I needed to do something different, and when I found colored painter’s tape in the closet it gave me an idea.

Here is what I did:
I started out by letting my 8th period class, that is with me all year, name my seven groups of tables. We looked through our artbooks and chose artist names for each table. While that is great for an art history lesson it does get a little confusing for some of my students – I wish we had named each table by color instead.

I sorted my supplies into sets and taped the ends (and all the marker caps) with a different color of painter’s tape for each set. I assigned a color of painter’s tape to each table. I put the baskets away and pulled out formula cans because the formula cans were smaller and hold supplies upright.

When my students came in, the only thing that they had to work with was markers, and a pencil (without an eraser) that I hot glued and taped a silk flower on. I explained that each set was color coded and that they could only use their set. I also told them that I wouldn’t replace anything that was lost or stolen, but as things wore out I would trade with them. As they acted responsibly with supplies, I began adding more to their supply cans. Each supply is color coded, and we talk about how to treat the supply before they get to use it.

How’s it working?
So far, the casualties are suprisingly light. I’ve had one pencil and one ruler get stolen. Compared to dozens last semester. I also don’t have any markers with smashed tips. There were also a few other unexpected results. My students are proud of their supplies and very defensive of them. I’ve only had one student beat on the table with a ruler, and his classmates got upset with him. If another table borrows a marker they watch them closely the entire time. They pick up after themselves. They also hold me to a higher standard because they expect me to replace things as they wear out. They aren’t wearing out supplies nearly as fast as they were thaking them before, so I think it’s a pretty good deal.


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