Student Supply Organization: Community vs Individual Supplies
I once read a teacher post that asked, “Are you TEAM COMMUNITY supplies or TEAM INDIVIDUAL supplies?” This made me chuckle. What if you are moderate and choose both?
Speaking of school supplies, I could spend all day at a Staples or Office Depot wandering the aisles. The Target Back to School aisle makes me giddy! But enough about me…
The decision to use community supplies or allow students to manage their own personal supplies is based on many factors:
What grade do you teach?
Do you use tables or individual desks?
Do students bring their own supplies or are supplies provided/donated?
What organizational systems do you have set up?
STUDENT SUPPLIES: COMMUNITY SUPPLIES
If you are on Team Community, then all supplies either donated or purchased are gathered by the teacher and distributed for use by the entire class.
LESS WASTE - Having community supplies can cut down on waste. When the teacher is managing what supplies are put out for use, less are “lost” by students. Bonus: With less waste, less money is spent on replenishing supplies.
TIME SAVER - Using community supplies saves time. When students are told to take out their pencil, glue, and scissors, half the class is asking what they need to take out and the other half is searching the back of their desk for their lost items. No time is wasted waiting for students to gather their materials, they are already out and ready for use.
COMMUNITY - Community supplies also fosters a sense of COMMUNITY. We must take care of the things that all students use. Students can work together to collect supplies from the table and return them to the bucket, make sure they are organized, and that everything is returned properly.
COLOR CODING - MY FAVORITE!! I LOVE to color code things. Even my website is color coded! When I used community supplies, each group had a color. This made it easier to know where scissors should go, which folders belonged to each group, and so on.
There are a variety of ways to organize community supplies. Used most often is the supply caddy in the middle of a table or group of desks. There are a variety of other buckets and baskets that will work. One of my favorite ways to organize supplies for a group was to use a drawer cart. The community supplies were placed on top with group shared whiteboards, whiteboard markers, erasers, and clipboards were kept in the drawers. Each table group had their own set of drawers with their shared supplies.
STUDENT STUPPLIES: INDEPENDENT SUPPLIES
If you are Team Independent, then each student will keep the supplies they bring on the first day of school or supplies will be distributed and each student will store them in their own personal desk or cubby. I recommend that students label all of their items. Things WILL fall on the floor and when items have a name they can be returned to their owner quickly. I suggest writing directly on each item with a permanent marker or using a sticker label. Don’t forget glue stick caps!! If students are given a student number, they can label items with their number. Initials can be used, as well This works great for students with long names.
PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP - I was the type of student that took great pride in keeping my school supplies neat and organized and in good condition. Using community supplies was not my thing. I like my pencils sharpened just so. Dull crayons are annoying. For your students who are a little bit like me, being able to use their personal supplies is a relief.
PORTABLE - If students need to use supplies for a group project or in another classroom, it is easy to grab a pencil box and go.
Students will need a way to organize their personal supplies. Most often a pencil box is the best option. A pencil box can be kept on top of a student’s desk or inside to keep desks clean and clear. If you prefer, students can also use pencil pouches.
It is also necessary to teach students how to keep their independent supplies and materials organized. This is part of your beginning of the year procedures. I spent time in the first days of school teaching students where to keep supplies, how to keep them organized and then did a check in each day to ensure they were following procedures. After the first week, the daily supply checks turned into weekly or every other week and a Pencil Box Supply anchor chart was the students’ reminder. I also hung a visual of what their desk should look like and we did a once monthly clean out.
The TWO most challenging things about students managing their own supplies is PENCILS and GLUE STICKS. Glue Sticks without caps and endlessly lost pencils. Ideas for making pencils last longer and how to keep them from getting lost are in Chapter 1: The Classroom of the How to Teach Elementary School series.
MEET IN THE MIDDLE
Sometimes the best option is to meet in the middle and do BOTH!
Most often in my classroom, students kept their own personal supplies at their desk with a student resource center available with extra items for borrowing if students lost something or ran out of something.
Here are suggestions from other teachers just like you!
“I prefer individual supplies. If the parents buy it, they shouldn’t need to share it. Also, as adults we take better care of things that are ours, same with kids. Plus, it’s cleaner, no passing of germs.”
“I have individual of everything except scissors. That way students have a reason to take care of their things. If they want to snap their crayons into 20 pieces, fine they can use little pieces but why should someone else who takes care of their crayons have to use broken ones?.”
“Community all the way. On their tables they have community crayons, pencils , colored pencils and markers. The scissors and glue are kept in a community bin in a shelf organizer. This system has worked the best for my classroom.”
“Both. Markers and glue bottles are community. Crayons, Erasers, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, white board markers are individual. (But the school, me, or donations to the class provide everything. We are not allowed to require supplies).”
“BOTH. Personal: crayons (write name on box) 2 pencils (write name on each pencil), scissors, pink eraser (they write their name on the side). Community: glue sticks and glue bottles housed in a basket on a shelf. Same responsible student passes out when needed. Same with art supplies. No issues at all.”
“I prefer individual supplies and a community tool zone at the back of the room for found items, and need to replace items.”
“Community pencils. I keep them in baskets at their tables. This way there is no searching for a pencil and it makes it easier to sharpen. All the rest is theirs. I have extra crayons, markers, and scissors they can use if theirs are lost. Parents bring 4 boxes of crayons at the start of the year, so each grading period, they get a new box.”
“I do community supplies besides crayons. I give them each their own and only replace them at Christmas break and spring break. I hated shared crayons because there were always those kids who kept theirs immaculate and then others who break them all on day one”
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