Whether it’s a genius repurposing of an everyday item, another dollar-store find, or a perfectly affordable way to organize your classroom, there’s nothing like proven teacher hacks to save you time and money. These are our favorite teacher hacks to help you organize, clean, manage behavior and maximize learning.
1. Scented lip balm=classroom management tool
Teacher Hilary Statum swears by this clever hack for rewarding good behavior. When students are on task working she gives them a little dot of scented lip balm on the back of their hand or wrist. The kids love being recognized and try to figure out the scent. For more great ideas, check out our whole list of clever hacks created by teachers for teachers.
Learn more: Scented Lip Balm Hack
2. Work smarter, not harder
“When I first started teaching,” says teacher Jen Manly, ” I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t get everything done.” Learn how she uses a clever “batching” strategy to conquer the time management struggles every teacher can relate to.
Learn more: Batching Hack
3. Color coordinate student supplies
Crayons on the floor? Markers everywhere? Super organized teacher Morgan Mercada shares her color-coded bin system to empower students to stay organized and locate missing supplies fast.
Learn more: Color Bin Hack
4. Adapt board games
Engage your students in popular board games customized to fit your curriculum. From Guess Who and Jenga to Trivial Pursuit and more, it’s so simple to make a few tweaks and voila! Your students will have so much fun they may not even realize they’re learning.
Learn more: Game Board Hacks
5. Incentivize with mini marshmallows
Teacher Emily Wilde stumbled upon the easiest, least expensive motivator for her students- mini marshmallows! Check out how she motivates teens to help out and stay engaged.
Learn more: Mini Marshmallow Hack
6. Keep a tight rein on your budget
You don’t have to spend a fortune to create a comfy, organized classroom. Discount stores carry inexpensive items for stocking, cleaning and organizing your classroom as well as making learning fun across the curriculum.
Learn more: Dollar Store Hacks for the classroom
7. Display rewards to encourage good behavior
It’s pretty common for teachers to use small prizes to reward good behavior, but this clever method, suggested by teacher Erica Banda, creates an enticing visual. Simply hang an inexpensive jewelry organizer with a command hook and voila! Instant prize station.
Learn more: Hanging Prize Station
8. Save your sanity with cleaning hacks
We all want our classrooms to be safe learning environments. But why spend more time than you have to cleaning? Check out these awesome ideas and keep your room in tip-top condition.
Learn more: 12 Clever leaning Hacks That Really Work
9. Use clipboards
From literacy group activities to art displays to early-finisher resources and more, clipboards are the best tool for organizing activities and resources in the classroom. Check out these great ideas and make the most of this inexpensive (and practically indestructible) classroom staple.
Learn more: Clever Clipboard Hacks
10. Use a star student instead of classroom jobs
Doling out a variety of classroom jobs can be so time-consuming. Try using a star student instead. Just pick one student each day who will be the helper for all your little classroom jobs.
Learn more: Why We’re Classroom Jobs for Star Student of the Day
11. Gamify cleanup time
Make your school custodian’s job just a little easier with this fun hack. Identify three pieces of trash on the classroom floor as “mystery items.” Then, announce to students that it’s “Mystery Trash Time,” prompting them to clean up as much as possible in hopes of finding the designated items. The students who find the mystery items are rewarded with a sticker or a trip to the prize box!
Learn more: The “Mystery Trash” Classroom Hack
12. Store paint in old soap dispensers
Save those old soap and hand sanitizer bottles and fill them with paint. Instead of pouring paint, students can use the pump to get the paint they need. Result: less mess after art time.
13. Decorate with book jackets
How awesome is this READ sign made from book jackets? Save book jackets (or even print out book covers) to decorate your classroom.
14. Try out a mystery reward
Incentivize students to follow the rules with mystery rewards. Write rewards on the board, then put Post-its with the behaviors you want to see over the rewards. So, the expectation “line up quietly” may cover the reward “10 extra minutes of recess.”
15. Use socks for markers and erasers
Socks make the perfect pocket to store students’ dry-erase markers! Plus, they are such an inexpensive solution for erasers. Lindsay W. shared that students “just slip the sock on their non-dominant hand, complete independent work, and using a sock makes erasing easy, useful, and a sufficient way to re-use a clothing item that typically loses its match anyway! Plus, students LOVE it—especially if they receive one of my own children’s fun socks!”
16. Disguise a secret stash
Store your snacks, lip balm or anything you don’t want students to use, in a bin labeled “extra tape.”
17. Be ready for early finishers
Be ready for students who finish early with STEM boxes or secret code worksheets. The key is to store additional work in a place where students can easily access them so you don’t have to hear “I’m bored!”
18. Make a “Do Not Disturb” light switch
For when you are working with small groups or helping an individual student, post a picture of a light switch that is on if you’re available and off if you’re not. Or use an inexpensive LED puck light. Set the color to green when you’re available and red when you’re busy.
19. Two words: color coding
It’s so simple but oh-so genius at the same time. Color-code everything from crayon bins to phone-charging stations to student files.
20. Write a “nothing note”
Put a note in an envelope and send a student who needs a break on an errand to deliver the note. The note is a “nothing note” that says the student was sent to deliver the message because they needed a walk and requests an item from the other teacher’s room.
Learn more: The Nothing Note
21. Create ready-to-go supplies
Organization is paramount. Use little bins to organize markers, pencils, and other school supplies. They’re ready to go when you need them, and you can quickly see what supplies haven’t made it back to you.
22. Turn scrap paper into confetti
Save colored scrap paper and turn it into confetti with a hole punch. Use it for celebrations or art projects.
23. Print on pencils for encouragement
Is there a big unit test coming up? Or state testing? Write notes of encouragement, like “you can do it” or “you prepared for this” on pencils to make students smile.
Learn more: Printing on Pencils Is Fun, Magical, and Oh-So Easy
24. Display student work with clothespins and tacks
Avoid leaving holes in students’ work by gluing tacks to the back of clothespins and using the clothespins to hang student work.
25. Transform your door into a coloring book
When you’re in need of a great door idea, cover your door in coloring pages that your students will relate to. Replace the door decoration when all the pages are colored in.
Learn more: Make Your Own Coloring Page Classroom Door
26. Use pouches to separate papers
Keep things organized with mesh pouches for graded papers and ungraded papers. Use them for transporting papers to and from home or for staying organized in the classroom.
27. Make Fridays flash-lit
Turn off the lights, turn on the flashlights, and break out the books. The Flashlight Friday tradition is a fun one to end the week.
Learn more: Flashlight Fridays
28. Make master notes with yellow highlighter
Did you know that yellow highlighter won’t come through when you make copies? This is a game changer for making notes to yourself! Check out this Instagram reel showing the hack in action.
29. Use a fun screen saver to keep track of your devices
Save a silly photo of yourself holding up numbers or letters to identify which tablets are yours. This way you can avoid numbering devices with stickers that can leave residue.
Learn more: Best Classroom Screensavers on YouTube
30. Organize bulletin board borders
Use a curtain rod in your closet to hang all your borders. It’s easy to see what you have when you need to switch out to a new one.
Learn more: Brilliant Bulletin Board Ideas
31. Give your mini easel a new life
Use your mini easel to point out important information that you want students to know. Use it to direct students to optional assignments, help them focus on less-read books, or to remember procedures they always seem to forget.
32. Try a drying rack for student art
A laundry drying rack is a cheap and space-saving way to dry glued or painted projects. Either clip or drape art over the drying rack and leave it overnight.
33. Show students how your subject plays out in the “real world”
Show your students examples of your subject area out in the “real world”! This “I Saw Spanish” bulletin board encourages students to look for Spanish out in the wild and bring it in for display. This concept could work for a lot of subject areas, especially those where students tend to ask “When am I ever gonna use this?!”
34. Color-code hall passes
Print out your hall passes in different colors—green for bathroom, blue for office, etc. That way you can quickly identify why a student is leaving the room.
35. Incorporate doc cams into your teaching
Document cameras have come a long way since the bulky models that needed their own rolling cart! These days, the cameras work alongside your laptop and projector to make sharing stuff a breeze. Today’s models are versatile enough to use while demonstrating a science experiment or writing out the solution to a math equation.
Learn more: Best Document Cameras for Teachers in Every Price Range
36. Use stadium seating for small groups
Stock up on stadium seating for small groups. They’re easy to store, save space, and students love them.
37. Use a shoe organizer for supplies
Save time on passing out assignments by putting student work into individually labeled sections of a hanging shoe organizer.
38. Discover all the ways to use LEGO bricks
LEGO building bricks (or building blocks of any kind, really) are the most versatile school manipulative. Use them to create number lines, fractions, graphs, and more.
Learn more: Use LEGO Bricks To Teach Math Concepts
39. Communicate by walkie-talkie
Get walkie-talkies to connect with your teacher team or teacher besties. Then you can put your phone away all day.
Learn more: Best Walkie-Talkies for Schools
40. Learn a little something from your students
Put out a jar and some Post-its and ask your students to write you a note about what they wish you knew. You’ll learn what they love about your class, and how you can make your class even better.
41. Use pom-poms erasers
Glue pom-poms onto the end of whiteboard markers for an automatic eraser. Easy and effective!
42. Make your own sticky notes
Create sticky notes with you and your most encouraging statements. Your students will definitely remember the message.
43. Color code borrowed pencils
Is your stockpile of extra pencils forever running out? Mark pencils that you lend out with washi tape in distinctive colors and patterns so you can easily recognize which ones are yours.
44. Use clothespins for pencil grippers
Put clothespins on pencils to help students with pencil grip.
45. Create a Voice-o-Meter
All you need are tap lights and signs. Now all of your students will know the appropriate noise level.
Get it: Voice-Level Printable
46. Store paintbrushes in toothbrush holders
Clear acrylic toothbrush holder boxes with individual slots are the perfect way to store paintbrushes (and allow wet ones to dry).
47. Save those bottle caps
You can write letters or numbers on bottle caps and use them as manipulatives for spelling and math. Use them as bingo card markers or game pieces. The possibilities are endless!
48. Attach extra storage to desks
Create extra storage spaces on desks to catch pencils, assignments, water bottles and more.
Learn more: Clever Ways To Add Bottle Holders to Student Desks
49. Use Popsicle sticks to call on students
Popsicle sticks are another ever-useful tool. Write students’ names on them and use them to cold-call. Also use them as paint stirrers in art class or as counters in math class.
50. Plastic plates = whiteboards
All you need is sectioned plastic plates and you have a math manipulative that you can write on with a dry-erase marker. Use the two smaller sections for manipulatives and the larger section to write and complete math problems. Or use the top sections for manipulative letters and the large section to make words.
51. Get their attention with a doorbell
Use a wireless doorbell to get students’ attention.
Learn more: Reasons Why Teachers Love Their Wireless Classroom Doorbells
52. Use sponges to spread glue
Instead of going through a ton of glue sticks, dump a bottle of Elmer’s Glue into a container and put a sponge in the container. Flip it, spritz with water, and students can dip their materials onto the sponge to get a dab of glue.
53. Make your own classroom lighting
Create enchanting lanterns by putting inexpensive strings of fairy lights into glass jars and create a warm, calming atmosphere in your classroom.
54. Rolling carts are game changers
Use them for rolling libraries, to hold student materials, or for small-group supplies. We’ve heard it again and again: A teacher can never have too many rolling carts.
Learn more: Best Roller Carts To Help Teachers Stay Organized
55. Create a pencil-sharpening station
Put pencils that are ready to use in one can and pencils that need sharpening in another. Add Pencil Sharpener to your class jobs and you’ll always have sharp pencils!
56. Make a simple dry-erase board
Place worksheets and writing pages into dry-erase pockets so students can work on the same problems again and again until they’ve mastered the material. Dry erase markers work marvelously and mistakes are easily erased.
57. Make teacher contact magnets
Put your contact information on laminated magnets that you can send home with students at the start of the year so parents know how to contact you.
58. Glue decor to your desk. Yes, really.
You can scrape the glue off at the end of the year, and all of your breakables will still be intact.
59. Attach bag hooks to the backs of student chairs
Finally clear up the clutter on the floor with hooks on the back of each chair for students to hang their backpacks or book bags. Easy to apply and easy to remove, disposable versions like heavy duty Command Wall Hooks are a great option.
60. Stock up on paint chips
There are a ton of ways to use paint chips (get them from your local hardware store). You can help students organize their writing, sequence math problems, organize materials, or review for tests. Or like We Are Teachers contributor Gisele Maloney, use them to help students use synonyms for common adjectives in their writing.
Learn more: How One Teacher Uses Paint Samples for Stories, Poetry, and More
61. Make yourself an “invisibility cloak”
Get a hat or headband that means “I’m invisible” so students know they need to problem-solve on their own or ask a friend before asking you.
62. Use pool noodles as door stops
Cut down the middle of a pool noodle and wrap it around the door. Presto! No slamming!
Learn more: Pool Noodle Hacks for the Classroom
63. Use pool noodles for math practice
Pool noodles are so versatile! Make a hands-on math practice activity for independent practice with pool noodles.
Learn more: Pool noodle math practice tutorial
64. Organize papers with magazine racks
These are so helpful to stay organized! Magazine file holders are perfect for storing papers to pass out or organize important papers for future lessons. And aesthetically, there are lots of versions—from cardboard to plastic to wood—to choose from.
65. Use stickers to match glue sticks with their caps
Matching color stickers stuck to the top of glue sticks and their caps will help keep the two together.
66. Keep book recommendations top of mind
Recommend books all day long by dedicating a corner of your whiteboard to book recommendations.
67. Use shower curtains as decor
Shower curtains are way less expensive than regular curtains and are an easy way to spruce up any classroom wall.
68. Clean smarter, not harder
Clean and disinfect classroom supplies like plastic math manipulatives in the dishwasher for a fast solution to dirty items.
Learn more: Classroom Cleaning Checklist
69. Make your own flexible seating
Put together this comfy study spot with pool noodles and PVC.
Learn more: Make Your Own Pool Noodle Sensory Chair
70. Keep markers from disappearing
You start the year with complete sets of markers then before you know it, they end up in a jumbled mess. Prevent this by taping the tops of a set of markers to keep them together.
71. Easily store anchor charts
Hang anchor charts on a portable clothing rack frame with clothespins to keep them available and looking new.
Learn more: 10 Awesome Ideas for Anchor Chart Storage and Organization.
72. Create a leaderboard
If you’re using class points or an incentive system, post reward options that take more points to earn. This way students can work for something, and the most intensive rewards really are for students who worked the hardest.
73. Assemble a writing station suitcase
Store small plastic pencil bins with everything kids need for writing lessons such as writing prompts, pencils, highlighters, and paper in a larger plastic, suitcase-style photo storage box for mess-free easy access.
74. Have a sub-survival kit ready
You never know when you will have to call in a sub last-minute. Provide a binder and all the materials a sub will need. Having a sub-station ready on day one means you can relax when you need to take a day off.
Learn more: Tips and Tricks for Substitute Teachers
75. Use chalk markers
Use chalk markers for brighter, more vibrant colors without the chalky mess.
Buy it: Pack of Chalk Markers
76. Expand workspace with lap desks
Plastic lap desks with a flat work surface and storage space on either side are excellent as flexible work spaces. If students need space, or you want to gather a few on the rug for small group instruction, they can bring everything they need with them.
77. Clean up quickly with tidy tubs
Stackable tubs with easy to grip handles make it easy for kids to clean up paper scraps, collect library books and more.
78. Use an apron
Get an apron so you can have everything you need at your fingertips. Hand sanitizer? Check. Scissors? Check. Pens? Check!
Learn more: Why Some Teachers Are Trading In Their Desks for Classroom Aprons
79. Solve indoor recess
Students bored during indoor recess? Have parents send in a few small toys to keep them happy and occupied. Send home a large ziplock bag with the child’s name on it, and ask parents to send in a few toys that their child likes for indoor recess.
Learn more: Sanity-Saving Indoor Recess Games, Activities, and More Ideas
80. Store play dough in a coffee pod rack
Put a K-cup organizer to good use while keeping play dough clutter to a minimum!
81. Get creative with curtain rods
A magnetic curtain rod, some curtain rings, and a hole punch will really jazz up your morning board.
Buy it: Magnetic Curtain Rods
82. Organize with plastic crates
Help your students take initiative by creating bins for extra copies of lost work, papers from when they were absent, and bonus work for early finishers.
83. Learn shapes with painter’s tape
Pick up a few rolls of painter’s tape in different colors to create and label difficult-to-learn shapes on the floor.
84. Celebrate small victories
Create a colorful photo backdrop to capture pics and celebrate big and small wins all year long!
