Tips for Teachers: Pencils

by Lyn Newton | More from this Blogger

23 Nov 2007 03:10 PM

Today, I would like to add another selection to my Tips for Teachers section. This tip comes from my personal experience in first grade and kindergarten.

Primary grade teachers need as few distractions and complications as possible when it comes to teaching the children. Young children have shorter attention spans and do not need help getting off task. Therefore I choose not to allow my students to carry out particular activities that take away their attention and time from class.

One such activity is sharpening pencils. Young students are completely fascinated by pencil sharpeners. They will spend a great amount of time sharpening their pencil. They will then break the pencil lead and need to sharp again. For this reason, I choose to sharpen all of the pencils daily. I sharpen enough pencils each morning or afternoon so that each child may use multiple pencils throughout the day without needing more sharpened. I use a very sturdy made for school electric pencil sharpener.

In addition to not allowing my students to sharpen their own pencils, I also encourage my students not to bring pencils from home. I purchase all of the pencils needed for class. They all look the same and are the standard yellow number two pencil.

In previous times, I have spent much time trying to investigate and discover who brought the Transformer or Barbie pencils from home. There was simply no way to keep up with whom the pencils really belonged to and who had taken them. Of course parents could write the child's name on the pencils but there are always those who do not.

It also became a distraction and competition to who had the coolest pencils. Those who did not have decorative pencils either felt left out or pressured to try to steal pencils. I like to keep all of my students on the same page as much as possible when it comes to supplies.

Keep All Notes Sent Home

Managing Student Supplies

Tips for Glue

Learn more about Lyn Newton

Lyn is a kindergarten teacher and mommy to a girl and a boy. In her spare time, she enjoys informative and creative writing.

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livelaughlove (32) 25 Nov 2007 10:36 PM

I must say I can understand the frustration of pencil sharpening in the classroom. However I have a son who is very OCD and has to have his pencil sharpened very well and for some reason he needs his pencil to be very small. I use to try to "fight" this battle, but have come to realize if we leave it alone and allow him to do this his work is always perfect. He is in 6TH grade and in all academic areas he test out anywhere from 8Th to 10Th grade level. We have given him a small sharpener for him to keep at his desk and that seems to work well for all.

Lyn Newton (3966) 27 Nov 2007 03:41 PM

That's one thing about being a teacher...there are always exceptions to everything. Your son would be one. Because we are dealing with individuals we must look at each case separately and adjust accordingly.

Valorie Delp (49340) 27 Nov 2007 04:36 PM

Karri. . .I used to do the same thing. I asked parents to bring in a box of pencils at the beginning of the year and kids had to turn in their old one for a new one. (They were 5th graders though.)