The Best Supplies for Interactive Notebooks

Are you using interactive notebooks with your students? I have used them for a few years, and I have discovered the best supplies for interactive notebooks! Okay, a bit of hyperbole there, but I definitely have found supplies that I prefer over others. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The link below is an Amazon affiliate link. You can read my full disclosure here.

1. Spiral Notebooks

Yes, some teachers love, love, love composition books. I don't. I have really large handwriting, and even teaching upper grades I have so many students with really bad handwriting. Using spiral notebooks gives me more room and if someone makes a big mistake, then we can just rip out a page or two. Also, most importantly, spiral notebooks are super cheap. Cheap is important. (Don't forget to lurk the after school sales to get them even cheaper!)

2. Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils

Okay, you know that special stash of school supplies you keep in your room? You know the ones. The ones that are partially hidden or the kids know that they are NOT to touch them. Teacher Only Supplies. And not any teacher - just YOU. Get Crayola Twistables for you. They are not super cheap, but if they were, I would get them for every student in my room. No more waiting for kids to sharpen colored pencils. No more kids breaking the pencil sharpener with colored pencils. All they have to do is twist them and more color comes up. They do last a fairly long time, so for me they are definitely worth it. The Crayola Twistable Crayons are also nice, but I do like the colored pencils more. (No affiliate promotion, but I would really not object to some product....) I also have found that I can use the colored pencils as highlighters, so that is a way to save some money.

3. Colored Pens

Personally, I prefer Paper Mate Profile pens. I have arthritis, and I have found that it is hard for me to grip some pens after a while or that some pens are just hard for me to hold. (Hard to hold = really bad handwriting) I have also found that gel pens are easier on my hands, but they can be expensive. Why do you need colored pens? It helps to have pens to label things before you color over it. A bright color makes the words stand out.

4. Bic Round Stic Grip Pens

Okay, I hear you. Why do you need even more pens? Because, kids lose theirs and somehow your pens disappear. The fancy colored pen? They go in that DO NOT touch area you have. These Bic pens write really nicely and are usually very affordable at BTS sales.

5. White School Glue

This is definitely a teacher preference just like the notebook style. White glue makes a mess. Kids will soak their paper until you have them trained. Why not just use stick glue? Because stick glue is falsely named. Nothing sticks, at least not for long. If you want your students to have their notebooks long-term and actually still have their work in the notebook, use white glue. I personally use Elmer's School Glue. I know their are off brands, but for the past few years Elmer's is either 25 or 50 cents a bottle at BTS. Stock up - students will go through more glue than you ever thought possible. (If you don't buy the glue at the BTS sales, it is much more expensive in the middle of the year.)

6. Scotch Brand Titanium Scissors

Once again, these are for your hands only. However, nothing cuts as nicely as these little Scotch scissors. These are sharp, and they do not rub into my fingers. Completely worth a few bucks. (They will last forever as long as you don't try to cut something with them that you shouldn't - like a wire. Just don't. Trust me.)

7. Mechanical Pencils (Optional)

If you write with a pencil because your students use pencils, you may want a mechanical pencil. It goes back to the pencil sharpening issue. However, my handwriting is really rotten, especially with pencils. Mechanical pencils are a bit better.

8. Colored Paper (Optional)

I didn't put it in my picture, but I do know many teachers like to copy the interactive pieces on colored paper. I have had mixed results with that. I had certain colors that kids told me they didn't like because it was hard to read. Other students preferred colored paper because they hated to color. In the end, I use colored paper sparingly because it is expensive and because I tend to have a lot of maps in my social studies notebooks. I find it easier to add map details on white copy paper. Do you have any other must have supplies for your interactive notebooks?

If you are new to interactive notebooks or are looking for resources, I have many Interactive Notebooks in my store for language arts and social studies.