Over the last four years, I have taught at two different schools, three buildings, and four classrooms. One of the rooms only had ONE bookcase and a rolling cart for storage (the desks didn’t have any storage either!)! I somehow got it to work. With all these changes, I have learned what I need and what helps. This year I have taken the minimalistic approach and started to get rid of anything and everything that I knew I would not use. I feel anxious when there is too much clutter in my classroom. The room has stayed cleaner, and the students can see where everything goes much more easily.
This “7 classroom must-have” list has allowed me to run an effective classroom where the students are more independent AND we are more organized than ever.
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1. Teacher Tool Box
For the last few years, I have seen teachers use these in their classrooms. I thought to myself that they looked nice, but does it help? After creating one this summer, I have NO idea why I waited so long. This simple change to where I store all of the supplies has allowed me to stay so much more organized with my basic teacher supplies. I can quickly and easily find anything I need. It also makes cleaning up my desk SO much more manageable. Everything has a place to go. If you like this toolbox, grab it here. 
I am going to make one for my students for next year! They loved when I let them get things out of mine. I am excited for them to have one that they can get the supplies they need easily and quickly. It will also solve a big problem…bringing me every. Little. Thing. You know what I mean. “Here is a glue stick, here is a push pin, here is a paper clip.” Grab this succulent toolbox in my TpT store here.
Grab a similar toolbox Akro-Mils 10124 24 Drawer Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, 20-Inch x 16-Inch x 6.5-Inch, Black
2. Supply Boxes
Even though I am excited about the student toolbox, I love storing my bulk supplies in plastic shoe boxes. I had these ready to go for Back to School Night, so my students put their supplies right into the boxes. This year Walmart had these beautiful colors that match my Preppy Floral design perfectly. I love that I can keep supplies organized and in a place that is easy to replenish. I also use these boxes to store stations and math manipulatives. These boxes have sparked my interests in labeling all of the things!
3. Dry Erase Sentence Strips
I got these my first year of teaching and never knew what to do with them. This year I started using them around my classroom. My favorite way to use them is for my “Are you caught up?” board. On Monday, I update the sentence strips to show the lessons we are working on for the week. My students love this because they see where we are going, and it holds them accountable for making sure they are caught up for the week. One week I forgot to change it, and a student called me out on it. He said, “Are you going to change that? I use it to visualize where we are going.” These come in a pack with four colors.
4. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Do you hate messy whiteboards as much as I do? I cannot stand having that messy residue left on my board. I started using Magic Erasers on my board, and I have no more problems! Make sure you leave them dry! It works like a charm. They are also wonderful when trying to get dry erase markers off lamination or page protectors. I honestly would cry if these ever went away. You can cut them into smaller pieces for your students to use.
5. Magnetic Tape
I use magnetic tape everywhere. From vocabulary to my calendar, this tape makes for a flexible classroom. My current room has two whiteboards; one in the front and one in the back. I love that I have a lot of space, but I felt like I was wasting the usefulness of having so much space. I started putting magnetic tape of the back of my math skills to make an interactive bulletin board on my whiteboard. The tape is great to put on vocabulary words so I can quickly put our focus words on the board. I can’t get enough of this! Grab your roll here.
6. Photo Storage for Task Cards
It took me a while to jump on this bandwagon and let me tell you it is SO worth it. I keep all my task cards in these storage cases from Michaels. What I love about using the storage cases is the independence it allows my kids to take. I sometimes have specific skills I want them to work on, but other times I tell my students to take any case to work on for the day. I have only “lost” two cards since using these. My kids have been able to clean up their stations a lot more easily. You can store so many sets of cards in a small space. I love these colorful ones (here), but I also have a few of these smaller ones from Amazon. I keep my smaller packs and seasonal items in them. They are also very reasonable. Grab them here.
7. Hooks with Pushpins
This year I took down my black fabric bulletin board backing to replace it with brown craft paper. I love the way it gave my room a rustic feel and didn’t break the bank! But I ran into a problem when I wanted to hang anchor charts. I could have stapled them like normal, but I wanted to put them on rings so my kids and I could refer back to them. One day after school, I took my hot glue gun, push pins, and plastic hooks and created hooks that would work on ANY bulletin board. I placed a bit of hot glue on the hook, placed 3-4 pushpins on the back and then reinforced with more hot glue. I love using these because I need to take my charts down and put the next one up. No more pulling staples out of the wall!
So there is my top 7 teacher must have list! If you would like to see more added to the list, please comment below with items that you love in your classroom. Make sure to follow The Turquoise Teacher on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with new ideas and resources. Happy teaching!
These are probably the best “must-haves” for the classroom I’ve seen. I’m super pumped to try all of them. Thanks for sharing!! Wondering you have shared a classroom tour on your blog?
Awesome! Thank you! Love all these ideas! Where did you buy your teacher tool box?
I bought mine at Lowe’s. I know there are a few places like Walmart and Amazon that carry similar products!
Love your ideas! I’m definitely getting the toolbox for myself. Quick idea – the pushpins – would it work better if you used the flat version (so the hook would be snug against the board? Just wondering if you tried it with the flat pushpins instead.
Even after 29 years of teaching, I get excited looking for new ways to get organized. Thanks for cool ways to keep it fresh!😁
Love your ideas. I don’t start the year out without a wide roll of double-stick clear tape. My sister taught me that. You can stick two pieces of paper together, no bump, and you don’t have to wait for it to dry. I also keep green, blue, and yellow painter’s tape. It makes pretty labels, does not leave a residue, and peels off with ease. It won’t take a lot of wear and tear, but I do find many uses for those items.
Hi Kellsie,
I’m wondering about that little number line that is in the picture of the photo storage boxes. You can see it on your whiteboard, behind the lid and through the clear lid of the box. I’m curious about the sticker dots and the highlighter tape. It all looks very purposeful and I want to know all about it!!
Thanks so much!
Amelia
Learning Strategist in Las Vegas
We use the number line to help with rounding. The tape was placed over the tens. We then put the dots to show where a number would round! Kids loved it, and number lines help to visualize rounding.
Genius! I’m going to share this with our teachers. =)
Hi! I love the teacher toolbox idea! Where did you get the box with drawers? I teach high school math and I am always rooting for some type of office supply. This would be just the thing to keep everything in one place.
I would like to know where the toolbox is from too!
I got the toolbox from Lowe’s. I know that you can get them on Amazon and from Home Depot!
Great ides
I do hope you have a school budget to pay for all of these things? It seems wicked if you have had to fund them yourself. I know at my last school (here) in UK there were some teachers who carried small plastic tool boxes from classroom to classroom containing small essentials, a few each of pens, rulers, erasers, etc. (Retired now after 30+ years)
Where did you get the toolbox? Your link links to the cactus labels and not the toolbox.
Thank you!
The links are fixed! Here is the link to the toolbox https://amzn.to/2sB2gSW.
Fantastic! Thank you for the brown craft paper idea! And the hooks with push-pins!!! Genious!!
On Must Have 7 I would suggest the flat metal tacks instead of the ones you are using. Then your hook will lay more flush with your bulletin board.
That is a great idea, thank you!
Where did you purchase your tool box? I can’t find a link for it.
Thanks!
I have fixed the links in the post, sorry for the confusion! Here is the Amazon link to the toolbox https://amzn.to/2sB2gSW
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I absolutely love the idea of putting pins on a command hook for your bulletin board! What a neat hack! Thanks for sharing.
How do you store the things you put magnetic tape on the back of when not using them?
I store them in ziplock bags or manila folders. The magnetic tape is not strong enough to be a problem with storage.
Where can you buy these items?
Check through the blog post for links to purchase! Thank you!
Brilliant. Thank you!
I use those sponges to keep my whiteboard clean, too. But I save a ton of money by buying “Melamine sponges” instead of Mr. Clean brand. They work great dry and last time I ordered I got 100 for $8.99.
They don’t hold up well when wet, so I don’t recommend them as an absolute replacement for the name brand. But for dry erasing for the white board there is no difference in performance.
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