Classroom Ideas
Entering a new year often comes with setting new goals for ourselves. Teachers treasure any extra free moments they can get, so it only makes sense to make a goal this year to try out new teacher hacks. These hacks can save time, energy, and your sanity for little to no cost!
Here are the top 10 teacher hacks to try in 2025.
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1. Make your math manipulatives magnetic!
Tired of trying to hold up ten cubes at once when modeling numbers? You’re not alone. Use magnetic tape to adhere to the back of counting cubes and stick them to your whiteboard.
2. Use restaurant menus for quick, replaceable lamination.
The sturdiness of a restaurant menu can’t be beat. If you plan to use work mats daily in small groups or elsewhere, it’s a must to keep them in good shape! The best part is how easy it is to switch out activities. No need to pull out that bulky laminator!
3. Store anchor charts with hangers.
No one has time to recreate beautiful anchor charts every single school year. By storing them neatly on hangers, you can reuse and refer back to them all school year long and into next school year.
4. Use facial scrubbers as dry erasers.
Buy a 30 pack of reusable face scrubbers for less than $10 and ditch the ratty sacks and bulky dry erasers. You can easily wash these on weekends and use them all school year long. They take up nearly no room in desks or in a small basket!
5. Use athletic tape to help students with grip.
Buying pencil grips can be quite expensive, which is why some teachers have creatively started using other resources, like athletic tape. Simply wrap it around and secure tightly for a super cheap pen or pencil grip.
6. Place desk legs in metal cans so desks can’t move.
If you spend every morning pushing desks back into place, then this hack is for you. Desks can’t go far when confined to the area of a small can!
7. Create a teacher mailbox.
This hack seems simple, but it works in so many ways. Students can leave personal notes, ask questions, or vent about recess inside your mailbox. The mailbox will help cut down on lengthy conversations in the middle of instruction. Tell your students that they can write to your mailbox with pressing needs and you’ll get back to them when the time is appropriate!
8. Pill boxes make fantastic storage for small items!
It always seems like a fun idea to set up a center with a dice game… until you hear and see dice rolling all over the floor. Eliminate the mess by storing dice in pill boxes.
9. Use clear clipboard as dry erase boards.
We’ve heard of laminating items to use as dry erase boards, but why not use a clear clipboard for free writing? Create open ended assignments with a wide open clipboard space below.
10. Hand out feathers to help students find partners.
It can be difficult to switch up student partners and to encourage students to partner up with someone different. Students love to see new materials in the classroom, so you can use any craft supply to pair students up. Give students colored feathers and task them with finding a partner that has the same color feather. This gives the teacher some control over who will be partners.
What will you try first? How will you save time? Which of these teacher hacks will benefit your students the most?
Check out some organization hacks here!
