Materials

= Simple guidelines on material use in class. =

Make sure you limit the amount of individual Science equipment/manipulatives students are given.

 * ** If large numbers are required (as in minerals and their testing equipment), it is better to provide them to the student groups in prepared boxes. **
 * I like the craft boxes from Walmart. They come in sizes from 6 quarts to 16 quarts. I can provide the layout of equipment/manipulates and more easily observe when a craft box is missing materials on its return to me. Though this costs money, this saves time in distributing and collecting during the school day.
 * The teacher and not the student can pass out boxes faster and collect them to identify missing materials far more quickly.
 * ** Boxing of consumables is dependent on the lesson. (Pre-cut aluminum strips for electric circuit making is appropriate for students but not pre-cut wax paper that will curve into a tube once off the roll.) **
 * You may not have the necessary number of containers available or large enough for some consumables to be boxed.
 * Consumable materials always need to be replaced after use. The time required to inventory multiple boxes of the same consumable may not be available during the school day.

Identify your materials from those that belong to the student

 * ** For individual items like scissors, glue-sticks, sharpie markers, I dust them with a metallic gold spray-paint to differentiate my materials from those that student's own. **
 * ** No Count Container **
 * My markers, scissors, and glue-sticks are stored in organizer containers so no counting is needed. I can quickly determine if the correct number is present by just looking.
 * **Use brands not the same as students**
 * I tend to buy Sargent brand crayons and markers since students buy Crayolla. This makes is easier to tell my crayons and markers from theirs.
 * **Colored pencils are the best choice for use with xerox paper.**
 * I reinforce the individual boxes with packaging tape and place a piece of transparency over the cutout to keep the pencils from sticking to the tape.
 * A simple shake test in front of the student tells whether all have been returned to the box upon collecting.
 * Having students collect the colored pencil boxes results in missing pencils and incomplete sets.