The Ultimate Guide: Grading Kit

The first kit that I will introduce to you, is arguably the most important one for me.  This is the grading kit. This one is important because we spend so much of our “free time” grading student work, that anything to keep it efficient is incredibly worthwhile to explore.

Having a grading kit in my teaching bag helps me stay prepared for when I have a few extra minutes to grade. It helps me remember to leave my work pens at school and my home pens at home. It helps me de-clutter my life.

I will walk you through each item in my Grading Kit and why I include it.

• a pencil bag – This is important! New teachers, listen, you can totally use a ziplock bag if you are still waiting on that first paycheck. Honestly, as long as you have some dedicated bag for your accoutrements, you will be fine. However, if you have a spare $3-$10, this is money well spent. You could also repurpose whatever you were using at university to store your supplies.  I found my grading kit pencil bag in Little Tokyo for $3 at a stationary store. It’s very thin and fits just what I need. I love it because it is hot pink, so I can’t lose it!  (I tend to lose a lot of things.) There are so many kinds of pencil bags out today, that I’m sure you can find one that fits your style and budget.
• a fountain pen – Look, I know what you’re thinking… Ashley, come on! What is this, the 1950s?! And to you I say… Silence! Before you write this pro-tip off as b.s., listen to my reasoning. First off, fountain pens are a smart choice for the budget-minded teacher. The replaceable cartridges and inkwells are extremely inexpensive compared to purchasing disposable pens for basically, the rest of your life (or until a student breaks it…)  Secondly, fountain pens improve penmanship because of the balanced weight and smoothness of the ink flow.  Third, they look pretty cool and the cartridges are generally recyclable! Think about all the plastic you won’t be throwing into a landfill because of your snazzy fountain pen!  They come in so many styles, sizes, nibs, and with limitless ink options, they can fit anyone’s requirements. If you are looking for a well-priced, easy to maintain fountain pen, I would recommend purchasing a  
• a highlighter – While grading, use a highlighter if you want to help a student learn how to be more self-directed. One way to do this is as follows: when they misinterpret something, highlight passages or words that might guide them to find the answer you were hoping them to see. Highlight things they did correctly. Highlighting positive things that they wrote or highlighting key words and phrases not only helps your students see what they understand or need to look at again, but it also models proper study skills so that they improve as scholars. Again, for the budget-minded teacher, (like me!) please consider purchasing a refillable highlighter. They are more eco-friendly and they cost much less in the long run. These are my personal favorite. It cost me $15,  I’ve had these for 6 years, and I have only replaced the ink cartridges once (and not even for all of them)!

• a red pen – Old trusty. We need the red pen in our arsenal when we really need to get a point across… or to cross out some points, too! I couldn’t make a grading kit without including the classic, red pen. Consider purchasing an inexpensive fountain pen like this and just replacing the recyclable ink cartridge to save on money, clutter, and to help the environment.

•  Pencils ( mechanical or traditional wood) – These are a must-have because they are versatile. I feel like these don’t really require an explanation. I keep one mechanical and one wooden pencil in my grading kit, in case I run out of lead or something. I love Palomino Blackwing wooden pencils because of the dark, smooth lead and sleek design, but your trusted Ticonderoga can easily do the trick, especially if you are on a strict budget. Remember my rule:BUY NICE OR BUY TWICE. It applies to mechanical pencils. Don’t waste your money on cheaply made mechanical pencils that break within a couple months. Do yourself a favor and invest in one of these.

• An erasable colored pencil – I am a totally different nerd since I found these. I tend to write quickly and sometimes I make mistakes. I usually get embarrassed when I make a mistake on a student’s work, so when I started using these last year, I felt relieved of that stress.  I love that I can erase my mistakes and fix them. I also love all the fun colors. Now, I rarely use a red pen for more than recording a score on a worksheet or for filling out rubrics. Additionally, you can use the light pink, yellow, green, and blue ones as a sort of highlighter if you want to remember something but don’t want the highlighter to bleed through the page. Pro-tip, the light blue one doesn’t show up on photocopies, so if you want to write notes on something, but you want to keep it clean for the students when you run copies, you can totally use the light blue one!

• Eraser – Get one. Get a fun one. Mine looks like a this one is my absolute favorite because it is so slim and erases so cleanly.

• Other crap – a pencil sharpener, paper clips, etc. I have a pencil sharpener and some paper clips, but if you need correction tape, a flask *wink, wink*, or anything else, then by all means add them to your kit.

This is not the end-all list of stuff that you can put in your grading kit. In fact, you may not need all the same things I do. I am a French teacher, so this mix makes sense for me and my students. Let me  know what you have in your grading kit in the comments!

Class dismissed!