In my last post I proposed an elegant solution to the pencil problem. How do you stop lost or missing
pencils from interfering with the learning process? Give the kids pencils. Simple, right? Well honestly, no, or everyone would be doing
it already. There are still problems
to work through, such as cost, pencil sharpening, and bickering over "he stole
MY pencil!" So here's how to make
it work while showing students that you've got their backs.
1. Stop pencil-shaming your students. Just give them a pencil every time they need one.
2. Present pencils as
gifts and give them on every occasion.
We've seen all the cute gifts teachers package for students with poems
all over Pinterest. Snacks, toys,
books. And while I don't condemn these
gifts, I've decided that a pencil outclasses them all. Give one on the first day of school (heck, if
you teach first grade, give them two; one fat and one regular pencil). Give them out at least once per month for
every major and some minor holidays.
Give kids a pencil on their birthday.
And always sharpen them before giving them out. If you want to make the pencils cute, affix a seasonal flag like this one to it with colorful washi
tape. And/or hit up the Dollar Spot at Target for
themed pencils. But of course the
cuteness factor is not the point here.
This is about reaching ending the Pencil Problem and entering Pencil Nirvana.
So if cost is one of the concerns you have about providing pencils to
students regularly, remember they are cheaper than a lot of those other
gifts.
3. Put pencils on the
suggested school supplies list. If your
school is like ours, you can't send home a list of "required" school
supplies. However, many parents enjoy
"back to school shopping" before the first day back. And some parents are great about sending in a
steady supply. Some will be happy to
donate pencils to the classroom as well; you just have to ask.
4. Create a classroom
policy that all pencils are "community pencils." Now, this was REALLY HARD for me to wrap my
head around when I moved from fourth to first grade. My grade level partner told me that in her
classroom all supplies are communal. I said
doubtfully, "But...their parents paid for that pencil. I can't just let some other kid take
it." She gave me a withering look
and said, "Would you really tell someone that they couldn't borrow your pen
if they needed one?"
Well...I guess not?
But...I would want it back. I
mean, if it was a really good pen. Maybe
not a regular ball point pen. I guess I
wouldn't really care about that because I can get more of those from the supply
closet.
It took me some time to come around to this way of thinking,
but eventually I realized that in a work environment, she's right. These are not strangers; they are people I
need to maintain a good working relationship with. It's
the same with children.
So I embraced this policy whole heartedly...with one
caveat. I told the children that they
can't say, "That's my pencil."
They have to get a new one.
EXCEPT, if they brought a pencil from home that they are not willing to
share, they have to go put it in their bag, bring it home, and leave it
there. And I'm talking here about fancy,
sparkly pencils that are obviously more "personalized" than your
standard yellow pencils. If they start
bickering over a Ticonderoga I let them know
that it's discussion over, I've got one for each of them so it doesn't matter
who had which one first.
5. Don't let kids
sharpen pencils (I know this sounds like work, but stick with me for a
paragraph or two). When I was in fourth
grade, of course I let kids sharpen pencils.
The minute I moved to first I knew I was never going to let the littles
near a sharpener. If I'm honest, even
the fourth graders were inefficient in their time management and their pencil
holding technique. If I ever go back to
upper elementary I will have to give serious thought to whether or not I ever
allow them to sharpen pencils again.
Although I know students shouldn't be coddled, asking to sharpen a
pencil before every writing task is a great excuse for some kids to avoid
writing. So instead, we use the
"sharp pencil, dull pencil" two can system. I'm pretty sure the labels I use are the same ones here at 3rd Grade Thoughts. Use of the sharp/dull pencil cans is part and parcel with the communal
pencil idea. After all, it's rare that
you're going to get the same pencil back once it breaks.
6. Put "Pencil
sharpeners" on your parent volunteer list.
Send home a bag with instructions (for example, never sharpen colored
pencils in electric sharpeners because the pigments kill them). Some parents are happy to help, but
need/prefer to do so from home. ACCEPT
PARENTAL HELP. You won't reach Pencil
Nirvana if you're sharpening all the pencils.
Just don't send out all your pencils for sharpening on the same day
(because if they don't come back, you'll be scrambling).
7. Create a system in
which students can get a pencil with minimal disruption. I find "sign language" the most
effective way to do this. This way when
7 hands go up you just need to nod to each one without breaking your
stride. And in my class, about 8 kids
need to get a pencil 5 times per day. I
simply retrieve most of them from the floor at each transition time and my supply
is replenished.
8. Spot check
desks. Giving kids an
"infinite" number of pencils often results in some degree of hoarding. Figure out who your culprits are with spot
checks over the first few weeks, and let them know the limit (one or two sharp pencils,
maximum). Soon you'll know where to go
to replenish a dwindling supply. And as
I said, I'm not against consequences.
I'll punish a kid for repeatedly hoarding pencils but never because
their parents didn't send them to school with one. Just consider who is really at fault in each
of these two scenarios.
9. Hold back an
overabundance of sharp pencils. Once you
put out a bunch of freshly sharpened pencils, there are some kids who will take
a new pencil every 20 minutes. You don't
want to spot check desks in the middle of class, so hiding a zipped bag of
sharp pencils in your desk will help you avoid stressing out when you hear,
"There's no more sharp pencils."
10. Invest in pencil
sharpener. I have to admit, after a
decade of using the standard issue pencil sharpeners at my current school, I
only broke down and bought a good
quality pencil sharpener last month.
But it sharpens pencils faster, it can sharpen fat
pencils, and the little light that comes on when the pencil is sharp enough is
more useful than I expected. If I wasn't
scared that kids would sharpen colored pencils in it, I might actually let them
use it.
It took a paradigm shift in order to reach this stage, but
honestly, pencils are now the LEAST of my problems when it comes to classroom
management! So please, don't
sweat the small stuff. Just give your
students pencils. My Teachers Pay Teachers Store
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