No Pencil? No Problem: Dealing With Unprepared Students

Tired of purchasing writing utensils for your students? Tired of wasting time while a student sharpens the pencil you just gave them or that they got from a friend? At Staples for $8.99 you can get a box of 144 golf pencils. That is about 6 cents a pencil. They come pre-sharpened so no sharpener noise will disrupt class when you hand one of these out. 

But there is no eraser! And they are so small! Well that is the point. While I give these to my students for free, no one wants a golf pencil, which means they will look a little harder in their book bag or ask a friend or two before asking me for one. I also keep a cup of "found" writing utensils (pencils, pens that students leave behind) and students can return their golf pencils there. My students know to look there first before asking me for one.

I also sell pencils (that I have already sharpened, can you tell I hate the noise of the sharpener?) and pens to my students for 25 cents each. But I have to have something for students who are unprepared and don't have any money to spend, so golf pencils it is. I will occasionally hold their ID in exchange for a pen or full pencil but then there is the hassle of returning the ID and making sure you get the pen or pencil back.

How do you handle writing supplies for students who are unprepared in your classroom?

7 Steps to Making Your Own Mini-Book

During the Philadelphia Writing Project's Summer Institute one of our guest speaker's was Lynne Strieb who talked with us about the importance of parent involvement, but also showed us how to make different kinds of books. Teachers love takeaways, something we can bring back to our classroom and use. For the first book she showed us, all you need is a single piece of paper! Because you don't need scissors, glue, or a stapler, this is a quick, no mess activity.

Step #1: Fold the paper in half "hamburger" style. Make sure the fold is creased crisply.

Step #2: Unfold the paper and fold it the other way, "hotdog style."

Step #3: Fold the edges in to the center crease.

Step #4: Unfold the paper, which should now be divided into eight boxes. I drew dotted lined to make it clearer.

Step # 5: Fold the paper in half again "hamburger" style and tear down one box. I have drawn a solid black line to make it clearer. This is why it is so important to have really creased folds or else you will need scissors.

Step #6: Unfold the paper and fold it the other way, "hotdog style." Press in the outer edges until you have a four pointed star.

Step #7: Fold all of the points of the star in toward each other and you have a mini book with a front and back cover and six inside pages.

For five ways you can use a mini-book in your classroom and to see the scary mini-book project my students did, check out this post here. I would love to hear your ideas for how you could use this little book in your classroom.