Winning the Pencil Battle in Your Classroom Once and For All
Pencils falling on the floor in a classroom is an everyday occurrence. It happens multiple times a day with many students.
Let’s do a little math problem shall we? Imagine twenty students in a classroom and half of them drop their pencil on the floor three times a day. The result is about 30 pencil drops a day in the classroom. Well how about in a week? Now we have around 150 drops a week!?! All within one classroom!
This teacher became fed up with constantly breaking, picking up, finding, reminding, and even wasting pencils. And this teacher was clearly losing the battle. So I decided to come up with a solution. I can now with confidence say I have won the pencil battle once and for all.
Having seen similar ideas on Pinterest I tweaked the idea a little for my classroom. I call them “Pencil Sleeves” and they are a synch to make!
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Pencil Sleeve Supplies
You’ll just need a few supplies.
- One package of jumbo-12mm straws (MUST BE JUMBO)
- Adhesive velcro dots
- Scissors
- Wooden 5-sided Pencils
Shop the image below for the supplies I use for this little project.
How to Make Pencil Sleeves
- Cut the jumbo straws into 1 1/2 inch up to 3 inch lengths. The smaller the lengths, the longer your package of straws will last.
- Cut velcro dots in 1/2 so they are semi-circles.
- Adhere the rough semi-circle of the velcro to the straw
- Adhere the soft semi-circle of velcro to the top of each student desk.
- Now place the pencil sleeve (the straw with the rough velcro) onto each soft velcro spot on the desks.
- Slide a wooden 5-sided pencil into each sleeve.
For a visual of the process go here:
How to Train your Students
Once everything is finished I teach my 3rd graders how to use their pencil sleeves properly. Playing with, drawing on, intentionally pushing or pulling on the sleeve, along with the importance of gentle use are all taught. They learn the importance of taking care of their learning tools. Students are told they won’t be receiving a replacement pencil sleeve if it breaks and they’ll need special approval from me to get a new sleeve. Formalizing pencil sleeves in this way may seem silly but it really impresses upon the students the importance of taking care of their tools.
Before we leave the classroom for specials, recess, or lunch I ask the students to clean their learning space. At the beginning of the year I teach that it means to clear the tops of the desks, and place pencils in their sleeves. This habit carries them through the entire school year. The result is, I rarely (well almost) remind them to pick up their pencils of the floor.
This solution nearly and completely solves the pencil battle in my classroom. Sure pencils hit the floor but not nearly as much as they used to and the students love having their own pencil sleeve on their desk
With hope for you and your intentional home (or classroom),
