Amazon Classroom Must-Haves!

Okay, let’s talk about the term “clicky fingers”... 

… "clicky fingers” refers to the moment when you throw caution to the wind, click “add to cart” with infectious enthusiasm, and revel in your newly acquired purchase. You smile knowing that in just two days, a delightful brown box will appear on your doorstep. “Clicky fingers” have been known to get us in a little bit of trouble, but they’re also the reason behind so many of our smiles! 

Here is a list of items we LOVE to use in our classroom! These are affiliated links on Amazon! Happy shopping!

Classroom Items

Paper Mate Flair, Scented Felt Tip Pens:
I normally LOVE Paper Mate Flair pens, but adding scent?! Yes, please! When signing student assignment books, these scented pens add a fun novelty. Nothing like seeing your students bring their assignment book to face to get a good whiff of that day’s chosen scent! 

Mr. Sketch Washable Scented Markers:

Keeping on theme to scent, here are scented markers from Mr. Sketch. Again, these scents create a fun twist to writing. In addition to signing student assignment books, these markers are great when challenging students to focus on their sense of smell when becoming descriptive writers. Give a marker to a group of students and see what word choices and phrases they come up with… you may even hear some great examples of figurative language being used!

Glad Plastic Baskets for Organizing (Set of 12):
We LOVE collaborative hands-on learning experiences. Often we split our classrooms into six groups and then combine our two ELA classes for a total of 12 groups. These baskets help us to organize supplies needed for various learning activities. Stay tuned for future blog posts and paired resources to see some of these experiences. There are a few fun colors to choose from unless you are looking for something more neutral, there are options too! Each basket holds 1 gallon (4 liters) and measures 6.625”D x 10.125”W x 4.75”H overall.

Bell

This is a classroom management staple! It’s especially a lifesaver during guided reading rotations when we try to limit excessive talking. Ringing the bell three times means the rotation has ended and it’s time to switch. Ringing the bell just once serves an entirely different purpose- it’s a warning. If we see or hear something we don’t like and ring the bell one time (a lone, haunting ding), students know we are unhappy and have a chance to fix behaviors on their own accord. Most of the time, students self-correct! 

Clipboards:

Clipboards are an excellent way to get students up and moving! During lessons, we often have students standing and moving around the room gathering ideas or engaging in Scoot activities. During writing, students are welcome to grab a clipboard to find a focused writing spot. Perhaps our favorite use is when we take students outside for writing walks and outdoor learning! This 30-pack ensures a class set (I hope numbers never get larger than 30!) and the boards are lightweight, yet sturdy enough for regular use. 

Hanging Pocket Folders:

This hanging 6 pocket folder has been great in various classrooms of mine. From teaching middle school to my younger fourth graders, this is a great way to keep extra copies on hand if a student is absent or needs a fresh copy. In addition, we keep the most current study guide for our word work assessments. This helps to eliminate searching for papers and puts ownership on students to be responsible about getting what they need. 

Magnetic Clips:

These strong, heavy-duty magnetic clips can be used for so many purposes! Most frequently, they hold our anchor chart paper to the whiteboard as we work together creating learning resources. The magnets can also hold student work or examples in a designated whiteboard space. If we are doing a quick collection of important forms or permission slips, we use these to hang gallon-sized ziplocks to the front whiteboard, so students can simply drop in paperwork! 

Laminator:

Our school has a laminator, but someone locked it away to save money, and we haven’t found it yet! We are able to put in a request, but it’s never available when we need it. It’s so much easier having this little device on hand so we can laminate our favorite things to use year after year. 

• Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches

Colored Masking Tape- Floor Tape:

This floor tape serves so many purposes in our classroom! We’ve used small squares to show where desks should stay and long lines to show where students need to line up before heading off to specials. We’ve divided our room in half for spirited debates. During our bigger simulations or classroom events, we use tape to make arrows on the floor so students and parent volunteers know which way to travel. 

Colored Electrical Tape:

Electrical tape works so well on whiteboards! We use it to create our monthly calendar and a guided reading rotation board. We’ve also made whiteboard organizers like T-Charts or sectioned off an area for a special display.

3 Hole Punch:

This sits on our desk for those times when we forget to add holes when making copies. It punches 12 sheets at a time and helps keep student binders organized!

Colorful Dry Erase Dots Circles:

These have been an absolute game changer when it comes to guided reading groups! The dry erase element creates a fun tactile writing experience for students and it changes things up a bit. We often have a basket of guided reading books that are shared from one class to the next, so using Post-It notes to tag the text isn’t the best option in this situation. While tracking some of the comprehension of reading happens in a traditional packet, the dry erase circles are great for students to record their thoughts and questions as we read together.