The dry erase markers are obviously one of the essential components of Gallery Learning. Dry erase markers aren’t cheap, and without each student possessing a good marker, the learning cannot continue. The markers must be of good quality so that teachers can easily see what each student is presenting. Each student must possess a marker that is dark in color, particularly if you are using windows as part of your student boards. Yellow markers do not work well as they are hard to see.  It is ok for students to use lighter colored markers to add color and decoration to their drawings, but the main components of the student work should be done in black, dark blue, etc.

 

Here is a great deal on the skinny, fine tip, black dry erase markers: about $3 per dozen.

 

If you want a variety of colors at an affordable price, the above marker also comes in a set of 4 colors for slightly more money.

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One of the challenges teachers will face is getting students to be responsible with the markers. At first, I just passed out the markers to my students and off we went. At the end of each day, I would find markers strewn in odd places, markers with no lids lying around, and lids with no markers dumped on the ground. My students are really good kids, but they just weren’t taking care of them. Then, I started a marker ownership program in class. Each student was given one marker to get started. Any time a student needed a marker, he/she had to either provide one from home, purchase one in our class store (for 30 tickets each), or rent one of the “rental” markers (for 5 tickets per day.) All of a sudden, I rarely saw a stray marker and never discovered a marker without a lid. There is something to be said about the pride of ownership.

 

Another challenge is the cost. How can a teacher pay for all those markers? I find that the average student uses about 2 markers per week. Expo markers normally sell for about $1 each. That’s $60 a week for a class of 30 students! In order to pay for this, I have made obtaining markers a main focal point in the class. Classrooms that do Gallery Learning no longer need very much copying, paper, pencils, or erasers. The money that was spent on this can be transferred over to marker purchases. I also summoned the help of my parents. We public school teachers cannot require families to purchase anything for their children (free education), but we can certainly ask for donations, and that I did. The families I serve are by no means rich, but the markers started flowing into class. I just made it very clear to them that their child would benefit greatly if they could buy markers for their child. I also asked for parents to donate markers for our class store. I encouraged parents who bought markers for their own children to have some sort of incentive for their child to earn the markers. In other words, don’t just give your child unlimited markers every time he/she needs one. Have your daughter or son EARN the markers in some way. My 5th grade son is in my class, and he and I split the cost of a set of markers. I have also found that students who take ownership such as bringing their own tend to take better care of their markers as opposed to those students who are given the markers. Make students feel a sense of responsibility when obtaining markers.

 Don’t throw away those old, dried out markers! Each student should keep one dried out marker to use as an ERASER! They work great to erase small spots on the boards, like single letters or parts of drawings. A student thought of this great idea!

 Inevitably, the students will set the markers down in random places on accident. It is vital that the students have some sort of identification of ownership on their markers. At first I tried writing the student class numbers on their markers with a Sharpie. The number rubbed off almost immediately, so now we write the student numbers on a very small scrap of paper and then tape that number onto the marker using Scotch tape. You must allow for time for your students to label their markers, otherwise most kids won’t. Consider this in your planning.

A little trick for taping numbers on markers

• place the paper slip with the number on it on a desk

• grab a 3-inch piece of tape in two hands

• tap it on the paper causing it to stick to the tape

• wrap the tape around the marker

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Though not as important, nor as expensive, as the markers, erasers are a key component of Gallery Learning. Should teachers purchase the official whiteboard erasers? We recommend not.

Ask for a donation of infant receiving blankets. Each blanket can be cut into approximately a dozen eraser rags. Receiving blankets are soft and work well for erasing. They can be easily hung on the clothespins.

If possible, make two sets of erasers for the whole class. This way one set can be taken to launder while the other set is being used. The erasers can get pretty dirty in a fairly short period of time. Perhaps you can enlist the help of a parent to launder the erasers on weekends.

Old socks also make handy erasers. Students can put their non-writing hand inside the sock to make erasing easy.