47 Teacher Hacks You Wish You Would Have Thought of
I wanted to share with you what I've found to be the top teacher hacks. These are all brilliant ideas that are super easy to implement and will make your life so much easier. I've found ideas for supply organization, storage, handouts, time savers, dry board erasers, storing passwords and even tips to help you keep track of all of those remotes. I hope you find some ideas that'll make life in the classroom so much easier!
This post has been recently updated with even more hacks!
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1 | Color Coded Supply Caddies for Desks
This is a great way to organize school supplies. Look closely and see that the supply caddies are color coded to match the scissors and the glue sticks.
That way all the supplies have a home, and you can put the kids in charge of making sure they are all organized at the end of the day.
Here are some rainbow desk caddies from Amazon if you want to steal this idea.
2 | Crayon Bins That Match the Color of the Crayons
This will make for easy sorting and allow the students to easily find exactly what color they need.
These colorful bins would work great for this.
3 | Organizing Passwords
How do you keep track of all the passwords for the entire class? This teacher came up with a great idea. Each child has their own key chain with passwords on it.
Here's is where you can find a similar key tag rack if you want to try this in your class this year!
They are all hung on hooks which makes easy access for students. No more “teacher I forgot my password”… Bonus points for making a pretty display with the rainbow colored key chains.
4 | Magnetic Hooks to Hold Stickers
So, you have a ton of little sheets of stickers, right? Well then, you'll love this idea. Simply punch a small hole at the top of the sheets and hang them on a magnetic hook on your dry erase board.
You'll no longer have single sheets of stickers scattered everywhere.
You can find some magnetic hooks here.
They also make lots of great little storage options for whiteboards that you can use for dry erase markers, paper and even teacher mail.
5 | Push Lights to Show Voice Levels
Create a visual for your students to show them where their voice level should be.
To do this you need a voice level poster set and push lights. Place a push light into each voice level sign and then turn the light on to remind students where their voice should be.
For this teacher hack you will need a set of puck lights that you can stick on to a wall or the whiteboard in your classroom. I like these push lights because you can turn them on or off, change the color and even the dimness with a remote.
I created the voice level posters pictured for this purpose. This set also comes with a cute voice level sign to explain to students what each level means. You can the complete voice level poster set it in my Etsy shop here.
I also made a set of boho themed voice level posters that you can find here, if that is more your style. 🙂
6 | Flat Sheets for Bulletin Boards
Here's your bulletin board hack that teachers swear by. Instead of bulletin board paper for your background try fabric. Fabric will give you a smooth seamless background.
But not any fabric, the best to use is flat sheets. You can get a set of 6 flat sheets only on Amazon here.
7 | Multiple Uses For Paint Sample Cards
Yes, these are those paint sample cards from the home improvement store. This teacher used these to create a beautiful display of number cards for her kiddos.
These would also work for alphabet cards, math problems or sight words, the possibilities are endless.
8 | Makeup Remover Pads as Dry Erase Board Erasers
This teacher swears that these are the best dry erase board erasers. They are makeup remover pads made for your face. Bonus points because they are colorful and cheap!
I love these makeup remover pads from Amazon because they are reusable and washable and come with a laundry bag to wash them!
9 | Stop Passing Out Papers
Here's a little time management hack for you. Just as the picture says this is a brilliant way to stop passing out all of those papers every day. Load the daily handouts in these mail holders and then have the kids grab their own handouts in the morning or right before a new activity.
10 | Save Your Printer Ink
Save your printer ink by printing black and white bulletin board letters on colored paper. The cute ones pictured, come in 23 different designs and you can find them here!
11 | Grab a Pencil
If you're always loaning out pencils and never getting them back this is the perfect hack for you. The students have to sign for their pencil and can erase their name when they return it.
Not only does it hold the kids accountable, but it also saves you the time and distraction from stopping an activity to get a student a loaner pencil.
Clips like these metal magnetic ones would work perfectly.
12 | Remote Binder
There are so many remotes to lose in a class full of kids, especially those little projector remotes.
Here's an easy way to keep them organized and always in the right spot when you need them. You can use double sided Velcro to attach the remotes to the binder.
Happy Mail
Send home happy mail as an easy student incentive that is also a fun way to communicate with parents. Find printable happy mail slips here.
13 | Over the Door Crayon Organizer
I love so many things about this one. First you can fit this in any space even on a wall or over a door. I also love how the teacher organized the colors in rainbow order to create a spot for each color crayon.
This lets the students have independence in getting and putting away their own supplies. You can find a door hanging shoe organizer here to create your own crayon organizer.
14 | Keeping Track of Pencils
I've seen a lot of pencil hacks out there. Here's a great idea to keep track of your classroom pencils.
The magnetic clips can be found here. If you did this on a magnetic dry erase board, you can have your students sign out for the pencil too.
15 | Monster Pick Sticks
This teacher created these cute little monster pick sticks. Each student is assigned one and then they're used when she needs to randomly select students.
As a bonus for the first week of school to reward good behavior she allows students to pick which monster will be theirs!
16 | Pick Me Piggies
Here’s an alternative to pick sticks. Assign each student a number and they will get a kick out of you picking a piggy out of a jar to choose students.
17 | Dice Containers
These little dice containers keep the dice together when the students shake them. No more lost dice or dice shooting across the room. As a bonus tip she lined them with felt to keep them quiet too, genius!
You could use magnetic spice containers if you want to try this idea in your class.
18 | Turn in Papers Procedure
This fourth-grade teacher implemented this reflect and highlight turn in procedure. You can read all about it from the link above. She has her students reflect on their level of understanding with the assignment.
Each student highlights their name with the color that represents their level of understanding. This also helps remind them to write their name on their paper without her having to tell them 50,000 times. Brilliant idea!
19 |Filing System for Student Work
Using file folders to store student work for the week will make it so much easier to hand back work to take home.
20 | Color Coded Supply Caddies
I'm a huge fan of color coordinated organization. That's why I love these table caddies to hold all the supplies the students need in colors that coordinate with the table color.
Here are some plastic caddies that would work perfectly for colorful table caddies!
21 | Brain Break Sticks
These brain break sticks are the fun way for your students to choose a little break. This teacher added washi tape on the popsicle sticks for an extra fun touch.
22 | The Perfect Student Desk Setup
This teacher has her students desk set up down to a science. First, for the name plates she laminated these and stuck them down with a Velcro dot at the beginning of the school year.
That way when students change seating, they can just erase the name and write their name on their new spot. Bonus when she has new students, she doesn’t have to re-print name tags.
Second, she has this straw taped to the desk. Student keep a pencil in the straw at all times. That way they always know where it is and she can quickly see who's missing a pencil.
23 | Wireless Doorbell to Get the Class’s Attention
This teacher saves her voice by using this wireless doorbell that she found on Amazon. You can find a similar wireless doorbell here.
She uses it when she needs the class to freeze, when she needs to give an announcement, or when she wants them to show her that they're ready in line. Her pro tip is to keep it on your lanyard so you have it at all times.
24 | Glitter Salt and Pepper Shakers
This is one of those classroom hacks that you're just like why didn't I think of that. I know a lot of teachers that just don’t do glitter at all.
But this little hack would at least make it manageable. Put the glitter in salt and pepper shakers to cut down on a ton of the mess.
Here's a set of six salt and pepper shakers that also comes with a funnel to make pouring mess free as well!
25 | Magical Quiet Spray
Ms. Denise, a pre-kindergarten teacher from Florida, created magical quiet spray, which is water and some sequins in a spray bottle with a homemade label.
When the class starts to get a little noisy, she simply sprays this a few times around the room and the kids get quiet, works like a charm!
26 | Border Hack
Taylor, a kinder teacher from North Carolina, realized that that a huge magnetic border was too expensive, so she created her own.
She took magnetic dots with adhesive backing and stuck them to the back of her border and had her own moveable and reusable magnetic border! If you love this idea here are the magnetic dots to use.
27 | Sub Tub
Create a sub tub and sub binder with all the resources needed when you are out.
What to include in your sub tub:
- Sub plans or lesson plans for the days you'll be out
- Class Schedule
- Helpful School Resources
- A little treat
- Sub tickets (see below)
28 | Sub Tickets
29 | Boho Sub Tickets
If you do create a sub tub you may want to add some sub tickets. Sub tickets are a helpful classroom management tool to provide to a substitute when you’re gone. The sub can hand these out to students that have exceptional behavior.
When you get back to school you can ask which students received the sub ticket and then give them a small prize or a positive phone call home!
30 | Color Code Your Glue Sticks
Miss Peney, a teacher from Australia found a way to take care of the problem of disappearing glue stick lids. She uses these colored dots and puts one on the glue stick and the other on the lid.
Now if one of her students find a glue stick with out a lid the kids all hunt down that matching colored lid.
Here's a great sticker pack with ten different colors of stickers that you can use to make this idea come to life in your class.
31 | I’m Done! Now What? Hack
Libby, a first-grade teacher, was always answering the same question from early finishers of what they can work on when they’re done. So, she put up activities that students can work on when they’re finished with their assignment.
Then she got these push lights. She tells the students if the light is on they can work on that activity when they are done! What a smart idea!
You can find a colorful set of push lights here. They come with a wireless remote so you can change the colors too!
32 | Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape is a game changer when you’re trying to switch around items on your magnetic whiteboard.
33 | Straw Dispenser to Dispense Pencils
Primary teacher, Mrs. Born asks students to start each day with a sharp pencil. Then if their pencil breaks during the day instead of wasting time at the pencil sharpener she simply has them dispense a new one out of the straw dispenser that has been repurposed as a pencil dispenser!
34 | Waiting Room
Instead of having a group of students crowed around your desk waiting to ask you a question have them grab a number. They can then return to their desk and continue to work until their number is called.
35 | Guess Who for Attendance
To pull off this hack replace the cards in Guess Who with pictures of your students. Have students flip down their picture when they come in every morning. You can quickly do morning attendance because the absent students will be facing up only. You could also use this to pick students, to show who is done with their assignment or as a fun classroom game.
36 | Classroom Snack Dispenser
How about using a cereal dispenser and cupcake liners as a small and neat snack available for students.
37 | Computer and Cord Organization Hack
Here’s a simple system to keep computers organized and cords untangled. Used colored washi tape to assign a color to each computer. Put the color on the computer, the cord and the cabinet to keep everything tidy.
38 | QR Code Library
Here’s a space saver for your classroom library. Add a ton more eBooks and audiobooks with a QR code classroom wall or bulletin board display.
39 | Classroom Job Organization System
Here’s an easy way to organize classroom jobs that does not take up a lot wall space. Simply put student names on clothespins and then every week rotate the pins clockwise.
40 | Duct Tape Marker Caps
Put a large piece of duct tape over the top of all your markers. This will prevent lost lids and random markers floating around the classroom.
41 | New Student Bag
At the beginning of the school year create a new student bag with everything they need. This will save you a lot of time in the future. When you find out you have a new student in the classroom just grab the bag and you’re ready to go.
Here are some ideas of what to include in these bags:
- Classroom procedures
- School information and resources
- Teacher business cards or meet the teacher sheet
- Form for parent contact information
- School supplies &
- A small gift for the new student
42 | Hall Passes on Lanyards
Hang hall passes on command hooks on lanyards by the door for easy access. Bonus points for making it look super cute like this!
43 | Create a Shh Light
A shh lamp can be turned on during small group time. When the light is on students know to be quiet and to not interrupt you. To create your own shh light, start with a touch lamp like this. Then add the letters shh with your Cricut or Letter Stickers.
44 | Missing Work Visual Aid
Copy this idea to easily see who is missing work at a glance.
45 | Dry Erase Clipboards for Student Work
Assign each student a dry erase border and label it with their name or a number. These can be used for assignments that students are still working on. If you want to copy this idea you can get some dry eraser clipboards here.
46 | Table Awards
This teacher uses three different table awards to award teamwork, the cleanest table and the quietest table. The table that earns the award gets to pick the next table that gets it!
47 | Easy Glare Resistant Paper Lamination
You can use matte spray paint instead of laminating your classroom papers. By doing this you avoid the annoying glare that comes from lamination! Here's where you can find this matte clear spray paint.
Ok, so now you've seen the best teacher hacks to make your school day running a little smoother. I love these smart, easy ideas that make life a little bit easier and more organized, don’t you? Feel free to click on the P on your favorite hack to save it to your Pinterest Boards!
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