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The best teacher office supplies are hard to come by! Throughout my years of teaching, I have some tried and true favorites that never let me down.
I have learned that being a successful teacher has a great deal to do with organization. At least it does for me! When I’m organized and on top of my game, I have more mental space to dedicate to my lessons and the well-being of my students. Staying organized has a lot to do with simply thinking ahead, but I’ve also found that having the right supplies on hand makes a huge difference.
Over the years, I’ve tried what feels like a ton of different methods to keep me organized and I feel like I’m finally finding my groove! I have tried and tested some of the best teacher office supplies out there, but I keep returning to my favorites. These are “behind the scenes” type products that keep my classroom running smoothly, but that my students don’t use (almost) at all.
Best Teacher Office Supplies
Teacher Lesson Planner // Starting with what might be the most obvious, you need the right lesson planner! I have used the Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner for years and it’s 100% the right choice for me.
The right lesson planner will encourage organization and keep as much as possible in one place. That’s what I love about the EC teacher planner. It has enough space for weekly, monthly, and yearly planning, as well as all my grades, notes from meetings, and other important information. You can try out Erin Condren for yourself here!
Related: 3 Things Teachers Can’t Live Without During the School Year
PaperMate Flair Pens // Flair pens are my absolute favorite and just about all I use. They are the smoothest medium point pen/marker hybrid and they come in every color you could imagine. They are perfect for planning, grading, note taking, anything. My students love them too — they use them for revising and editing and are always asking for the “cool pens.” Because they’re so precious, I keep my pens tucked away and have boxes on reserve for student use.
Binder Clips // A seemingly random addition, I don’t think my classroom could survive without binder clips. Binder clips are much more durable than your standard paper clips, come in a variety of sizes, and can be used for a variety of different things. I use them primarily to hold graded and to-be-graded papers together, but I also use them to keep things organized for substitutes, and to quickly clip together things from students that I know I’ll need to refer to later.
Desk Calendar // While a lesson planner can be carried around wherever you need to go, sometimes it’s nice to see an entire month laid out at once. I recently started using the Erin Condren Monthly Deskpad and I think it’s been a lifesaver. At a quick glance it allows me to see what’s coming in the weeks ahead — without digging out and opening up my lesson planner.
Related: 10 Back to School Must Haves for Teachers
Post-It Notes // Post-Its, sticky notes, stickies, whatever you call them, you probably know they’re important (regardless of your profession!). They’re great for taking notes quickly, marking your spot, or creating a quick page flag.
Pocket Folders // Folders are great for staying organized, especially when you plan ahead. I try to do all of my prep in one day — copies included — so these folders come in handy for me. I use one for each day of the week and organize materials accordingly. I keep an extra on hand to hold substitute materials int he event I’m out for the day.
Plastic Drawers // No good deed goes unpunished and sometimes your best efforts at organization can still leave a mess — stacks of papers and disarray, yes? In those times, I like to hide my mess with plastic drawers, labeled with their contents. It’s not a perfect system, but it helps!
Keeping a classroom organized and running smoothly definitely works on a trial-and-error, teacher-to-teacher basis, but these things have been my saving grace this year. If you’re in the market for a new system, give some of these things a try.
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