Many different types of materials will be needed by both the teacher and the students. What is required will depend on the subject area, the age level, and individual learning modalities of students.

When listing materials it might be helpful to think of the special needs of students. Answer these questions as materials are listed.

1. What materials will be needed by those who learn best by reading?

2. What materials will be needed by those who learn best by listening?

3. What materials can be used to help those who learn best from pictures?

4. How can the needs of those who learn through touch and the manipulation of objects be met?

5. Can the sense of taste be used? The sense of smell? (Consider the safety of the children.)

6. What materials are best for a child at this stage of development?

7. What needs to be taught about wise use or conservation of materials?

8. How will children need to care for the materials provided?

9. Are there enough materials for everyone? If not, will it be appropriate to share? How might the students be asked to share?

10. Do I know how to use the materials?

Materials used in one class will often also be needed in another. This is a general list. A teacher will want to add materials which might be required in specific situations.

Because social studies is multi-disciplinary the teacher will plan to order and collect materials that contribute to a hands-on study of topics such as food, clothing and shelter, economic education, or geography. Examine the list and think of the social studies topics to be taught at a given grade level. Decide which items might be helpful in conducting high-quality constructive activities.

The teacher who has taught in a school for several years may consult a building or room inventory list to see if the material is already available in the school. With limited budgets a much better case for ordering can be made if there is evidence that needed material is not available and that perhaps another subject area has had its supplies replenished in a previous year.

How to Order/Obtain Appropriate Materials for Teaching Social Studies Throughout the School Year

I. Work from a yearly plan

A. Determine what social studies materials and equipment the school already has.

B. Examine the yearly plan to determine what else will be needed.

C. Look at the list of materials given in this book and determine what else might be needed.

II. Make a list

A. Write the names of the items on the form provided.

B. Find the items in several catalogs or local sources

C. Determine sources from which you are allowed to purchase.

D. Choose the best material available within the budget allowed by your school.

III. Other sources

A. Identify items needed which may be available for little or no cost from various sources.

B. Determine what procedure you need to follow to purchase such items.

C. Attend sales where inexpensive items are sold. Purchase additional items.

D. Make items which are not available or which are easy to create.

IV. Order, obtain, or make the items in time for the units to be taught.

Add to the list given those materials unique to your teaching situation.

A few times during the year a teacher will be asked to identify materials which will be needed over a long period of time. Only small purchases will be possible during the rest of the year. It will be important to examine the yearly plans for each curricular area. Use the previous list and the items you have added to it to make a record of what will be needed. Carefully planned requests are important.

Those items purchased are often obtained from suppliers designated by the school. Write the information which is commonly requested on the form provided. List potential sources so you can recommend the best ones.

Free materials can also be ordered or may sometimes be donated by local people. Take note of what can be obtained from free and inexpensive sources and list those items, too. Share information about what you will need with the appropriate administrators.

Brushes

air, lettering, oil, paste, stencil, varnish, watercolor

Carpentry needs

clamps, files, metal/wood, glass, glue, hammers, hinges/hooks, measuring instruments, metal,nails/screws, plastic, sandpaper, saws, screen, screw drivers, wood/fiber board, wrecking bar

Chalk/chalkboard/paper

colored, white

Cutting materials

knife, linoleum cutters, mat cutters, punch, paper cutter, razor edges, scissors (left and right-handed)

Drawing materials

charcoal

crayons

art

Cray-Pas

fabric

fluorescent

marking

oil

primary

wipe-off

pastels

Clay

earth and glazing materials

kiln

modeling

Play-Doh

potter's wheel

Cleaning materials

buckets

brooms

cloths/paper towels/sponges

mops

sink/basin

soaps/cleansers

water/solvents

Decorative items

glitter

trims

ink

drawing/writing

printing

molds

Paint/painting/dyes

aprons/smocks

brushes (see earlier list)

easels

paints/dyes

acrylic

Dippity-Dye

dyes-cloth/food/natural

fabric

finger

oil

powder

spray

tempera

textile

watercolor

paint thinners/oils

palette

varnish/shellac

Printing

brayers

ink

printing surface (paper/fabric)

Sewing/weaving materials

fabric/fiber/other coverings

natural (bark, cotton, grass, hair, leather, leaves, linen, or silk)

synthetic (nylon, etc.)

loom

needles

patterns

sewing machine

string/thread/yarns

Shapes

stencils

Awards

buttons

certificates

stickers

trophies

activity books

almanac

albums

atlas

catalogs

composition books

craft books

dictionaries

duplicating books

encyclopedias

enrichment books

factual books

fiction books

flip books

idea books

lettering books

magazines

newspapers

notebooks

poetry books

reference books

test booklets

textbooks (various curricular areas)

workbooks

calendars

decorations

letters

peg boards

pictures/articles

pins

patterns

study prints

word lists

charts

flip

number

wall

chart paper

chart stands/racks

graphs

banners

Maps

Globes

construction materials

blocks

alphabet

attribute

building

mathematical

kits (for various curricular areas)

pegs and peg boards

puzzles (crossword, link, mazes, tangrams

games

board games (bingo, checkers, chess, lotto, trail, wipe clean)

card games (matching, sequencing, classifying)

game pieces (balls, bean bags, boards, dice, markers, spinners)

manipulative games (bowling, dominoes, fishing, tossing and shoving)

specific purpose (classification, comprehension, learning content for curricular area, simulation, skill building, strategy developing, word recognition)

puppets (finger, hand, life-sized, shadow, string)

toys (commercial/handmade)

fire extinguishers

first aid kit

nail files and emery boards

safety goggles

measuring/counting devices

abacus

beads

calculators and counters

capacity

clocks/timers/watches

compass

linear (meter stick, ruler stick, string, tape, t-square, yard stick)

liquid measuring devices

money (coins/paper)

protractors

scales

templates

thermometers

brass

percussion

string

woodwind

musical materials (paper, metranone, record and tape players, staff liners)

containers

baskets

bottles (glass, plastic)

boxes (cardboard, plastic, wooden)

buckets

cages (cloth, glass, metal, wooden)

cases (cloth, leather, metal, plastic, wooden)

ceramic

cups (ceramic, metal, plastic)

envelopes

tote trays

vases

files

keys

labels

stamps (date, evaluative)

Balls

baseball

basketball

cloth

football

golf

plastic

rubber

softball

soccer

tennis

tether

ball pump

bats/rackets

ropes (jumping, climbing)

score keeping devices

swimming equipment

track and field equipment

tumbling equipment

Animals (live, models of, pictures of) 

Chemistry (chemicals, containers, formulas)

Electrical

conductors (circuit boards, cords, wires)

devices (bells, buzzers, lights, etc.)

magnets

power sources

Light

artificial

natural

optical materials

lenses (concave, convex)

hand lenses

magnifying glasses

microscopes

telescopes

mirrors

prisms

Machines

complex

simple (lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw)

Minerals and Rocks

Models

Plants (green/nongreen)

Computers and related materials

Duplicating materials (carbons, fluids, printers)

Erasers (art, chalkboard, gum, pencil, typewriter)

Paper

art

border

calligraphy

carbon

cellophane

chart

co-ordinate

construction

copier

corrugated

crepe

Dippity Dye

drawing

duplicator

finger paint

fluorescent

foil

graph

gummed

handwriting

magazine

mat

mechanical drawing

metallic

metric graph

mural

music

newsprint

notebook filler

number line

onion skin

origami

paper plates

paper towels

penmanship

poster

practice

primary

roll art

ruled

Scratch-Art

stationery

stencil

theme

thermal copy

tissue

tracing

transfer

typewriter

typewriter correction

velour

water color

wrapping

Xerox

pencils (lead, colored)

pencil sharpeners

pens

artist

ball point

calligraphy

drawing

erasable

erasable ball point

felt tip

grading

lettering

plastic point

porous tip

quill

ruling

transfer

To order materials specifically for the social studies, consult the teacher's manual and curriculum guide for a grade level for suggestions. Also, examine the catalogs available from companies that exhibit at social studies conventions or advertise in social studies magazines.

Especially consider:

o Time lines

o Maps and globes

o Concept charts ( Land forms, etc.)

o Computer programs (Example - Oregon Trail)

CD Rom resources (Information on specific countries)

o Pictures of places, events and people - especially pictures that would broaden the ethnic or gender scope of a text.

o Multi-media kits that provide artifacts or models from a certain historical period. (American Girl Doll kits)

o Supplementary reading materials.