Three of the guides we read recommend storage: School Specialty lists bins of all sizes for supplies, Kodable lists bins, baskets and desk organizers, and Adopt-a-Classroom calls storage essential for an organized room. Bins let you sort supplies, turned-in work and materials by subject so children can find things themselves.
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Watch for Look at your shelves and cubbies before you buy, and check first for free bins from colleagues, which School Specialty suggests doing before buying anything.
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Adopt-a-Classroom's first-year advice features a 12-pack of dry-erase markers and notes that they dry out and go missing. School Specialty's list of classroom must-haves also names dry-erase markers and dry-erase lap boards.
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Watch for The guide warns that they dry out and get lost, so buy a few packs early and keep a spare set in your own desk.
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Adopt-a-Classroom says first-year elementary and middle school teachers need to start collecting books for a classroom library. Kodable pairs it with a bookshelf and a rug or bean bags for a reading corner. Scholastic also offers ready-made collections and a free student interest survey to help you choose.
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Watch for School Specialty notes a full library display may not be realistic in the first year, so start small and add books across the year.
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School Specialty recommends file folders and a filing cabinet for worksheets, student papers and colored printer paper, and hanging folders that fit in a folder bin or on a mobile storage cart. Kodable lists a hanging file folder organizer in its classroom organization system.
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Watch for A full filing cabinet may already be in your room, so look before buying; a folder bin or cart is the smaller option.
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A July 2024 Edutopia article by a teacher says timers protect limited class time, show how long lesson parts really take, and help him reach practice and reteaching. His advice is to keep the timer visible to everyone, and to time teacher talk as well as student work.
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Watch for The article does not compare timer types and says a kitchen or phone timer shown under a document camera, or a timer video on a slide, also works, so you may not need to buy one.
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School Specialty lists assorted sticky notes as a versatile organizing tool and sticky flags for color-coded filing and marking pages. Its separate list of 23 classroom must-haves also names sticky notes in a pack of 24 pads. They suit quick reminders and marking spots in a book.
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Watch for Cheap to run out of; buy a multi-pack and keep a personal set, since the guide notes classroom supplies often get lost or damaged.
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Scholastic's new-teacher checklist lists a teacher planner first under planning, as a way to ease first-day nerves by planning ahead. A planner holds your schedule, lesson notes and to-do lists in one place.
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Watch for The source is an article from a publisher that sells planners, so check whether your school or district already hands one out before you buy.
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Kodable suggests base 10 blocks, clock and time manipulatives and fraction tiles because they make abstract ideas something children can handle. School Specialty's list of 23 must-haves includes blocks and manipulatives in the same spirit.
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Watch for Which ones you need depends on your grade and curriculum, so ask your grade-level team what is already in the building.
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A continuing-education article from Fresno describes a document camera as the digital replacement for the overhead projector. It shows papers and objects on a screen, such as bell work, schedules and math manipulatives, and it can cut handouts. School Specialty's 23 must-haves list also names one.
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Watch for Kodable notes that costly technology is usually out of reach in year one, so check whether your room already has one and what it connects to before buying.
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Kodable lists a first aid kit as a classroom basic: it may be required, and it is useful even if it is not. The guide suggests buying a pre-assembled kit online rather than collecting individual supplies.
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Watch for The guide says the school or district may supply one, so ask your office and your school's rules about what you are allowed to keep in the room first.
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