Is this what you look like while thinking about your current classroom pencil management situation? Are you often spotted grabbing pencils off the floor at the end of the day before the custodian can sweep them away? I have the perfect classroom pencil management strategy that will help ease your frustration with the ever disappearing elementary school pencils!
Classroom Pencil management is one of the top stressors in the classroom management category. I have a pencil policy that has helped me increase my pencil stash to this…
This classroom pencil management strategy can be implemented ASAP in just 5 easy steps.
Step 1: Assign each student a number.
My students are each assigned a number based on their place in line alphabetically. This makes life easier when they are using computers, lining up, and for this case, using pencils.
Step 2: Find a parking lot for your pencils.
I found this cell phone pocket chart on Amazon. It was very affordable and I am currently on my 4th school year using it and it still looks brand new!
Another option that I love is from @cantrellin2nd She used numbered toothbrush holders for her students’ pencils. This is a great option if you do not have wall space for a pocket chart. A student can pass them out at the beginning of class and collect them again at the end.
Step 3: Label your parking lot with your students’ numbers.
I used the Target dollar spot adhesive sleeves to number my pocket chart. I used these editable labels that fit perfectly into the pouches. Of course, these pouches are not the easiest to find in the middle of the year. My team teacher implemented this in the middle of the year. She simply wrote numbers one each pocket with a sharpie. Vinyl stickers are another option!
Step 4: Fill each pouch with 3 pencils and one eraser.
I like to number each pencil and eraser. This makes replenishing the pencils at the end of class quicker. It also holds each student accountable for their supplies.
Step 5: Explain to your students the “pencil policy.”
Basics of the pencil policy are as follows:
- Every pouch is equipped with 3 pencils and an eraser.
- At the beginning of class, as my students are walking in they grab what they need from their designated pouch. A few of my students use their own pencils or lead pens and do not grab anything from their pouch.
- As the class goes on, if their pencil breaks, they get up and grab another pencil from their pouch while putting their broken pencil in the broken pencil cup. (I allow my students to get up without permission for this purpose. I do realize some teachers may not want this to occur. If that is the case, you can tell students that they must grab all pencils and the eraser upon entering the room. I try to avoid this procedure because I find that the more pencils they have, the more they lose.)
- Any down minutes or seconds I have (while they work on a problem independently, my small groups work on a math problem, etc.) I sharpen the pencils in the broken pencil bucket and put them back in the pouches. It takes me like 10 seconds because usually there are not many pencils broken at this time.
- At the end of class, I have 2 students who are the “pencil police.” One person is sharpening pencils and the other is replenishing and finding missing pencils. The rule is that no one can leave the room until all pencils and erasers are accounted for. I thought my students would not be worried about this rule. Once they are all packed up ready to go and there are still pencils missing, all of the pencils start showing up. My pencil police start saying which numbers are missing and those students know that if that is their number they need to find that pencil or come up with another one. 99% of the time, they magically find the missing pencil. For accountability, I write the name of the pencil police on my board and they have to check off every day when they have checked all pencils.
- Since each class cannot leave until all pencils and erasers are accounted for when my next block comes in, they know all pencils and erasers are there and if one is missing it is due to their class and the process repeats itself.
Interested in my pencil policy printout? Get it free here!
Check out my Instagram story highlights for a video on how I set this up last school year.
Check out how I organize test papers to save my sanity!
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