20 Classroom Supplies Every ’70s Student Used
From squeaky chalkboards to Trapper Keepers’ early cousins, these were the everyday tools of every ’70s student’s school life.
- Sophia Zapanta
- 6 min read
School in the 1970s had a unique vibe—and so did the stuff in your desk. Whether it was the smell of mimeographed worksheets or the sound of pencils being sharpened, these supplies were part of the daily grind. Some were fun, some were frustrating, but all of them were unforgettable.
1. Big Chief Tablets
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These oversized writing pads had thick lines perfect for learning cursive and printing. The red cover with the Native American chief on the front was instantly recognizable. Kids practiced their loops and their ABCs and probably doodled all over the margins. It felt like a serious school upgrade when you graduated from these.
2. No. 2 Pencils
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These pencils are yellow, classic, and always breaking at the worst moment. If you didn’t have a No. 2 pencil for a test, you were doomed. They smelled like wood and effort, and you always chewed the eraser (even though it tasted like regret). The sharper the point, the more powerful you felt.
3. Metal Pencil Boxes
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Usually dented and covered in stickers by mid-year, these boxes were built to survive. They clanged every time you opened them and smelled faintly of erasers and graphite. Some had superhero designs, others were plain—but they all held your treasures. You never knew what you’d find in someone else’s box.
4. Pink Pearl Erasers
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They looked smooth and satisfying until you used one, and it left a huge smudge. Somehow, they were still on every desk. Kids would carve them into tiny shapes or rip them in half out of boredom. You never really used the whole thing before losing it anyway.
5. Slide Rules
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Before calculators, this was how math was done. Most students had no idea how to actually use them, but they looked impressive. Teachers would pretend they were the future. In the end, most kids just used them as rulers.
6. Chalk and Chalkboard Erasers
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The sound of chalk on the board was like a classroom theme song. White dust floated everywhere and got on your clothes. If you were lucky, you got to “clap the erasers” outside, which meant inhaling a dust cloud while pretending it was fun. Also, there was always that one kid who scratched the board.
7. Crayola Crayons
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The 64-pack was the crown jewel—with the built-in sharpener in the back. Everyone had favorites: Burnt Sienna, Periwinkle, or just plain Red. The smell was like an instant childhood, but let’s be honest, half of them were broken by October.
8. Paste with the Spatula Lid
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White paste in little tubs, with that weird flat stick attached to the lid. It smelled oddly sweet, and yes—someone in class always ate it. It was the go-to glue for everything from art projects to paper chaos. Sticky fingers are guaranteed.
9. Safety Scissors
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These scissors have blunt tips and colored plastic handles, but they are still dangerous. They cannot cut fabric but can slice through your finger if you try hard enough. Lefties were stuck with awkward ones that never worked right. Yet we made them work—with jagged edges and all.
10. Mimeograph Worksheets
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They came fresh off the machine, still warm, with that unmistakable purple ink. Kids would sniff them like it was totally normal. The text was blurry, but the students managed. These sheets were the lifeblood of the ’70s classroom.
11. Book Covers Made from Paper Bags
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Students learned how to fold a grocery bag into a book jacket. Then, they decorated it like a masterpiece—or covered it in random doodles and their crush’s name. They got worn and ripped, but students just taped them up and kept going. It was eco-friendly before that was even a thing.
12. Pocket Dictionaries
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It’s tiny enough to fit in your desk but just big enough to be annoying. You’d flip through to find one word, then get distracted by others. They smelled like dry paper and responsibility. You either loved it or used it as a booster for your pencil box.
13. Loose-leaf Paper with Reinforcements
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Torn holes were the enemy. Enter reinforcement stickers—tiny white circles that kids pretended were eyes or polka dots. The paper was thin, usually crinkled, and often stuffed in folders without mercy, but it got the job done.
14. Rulers with Multiplication Tables
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Wooden rulers that doubled as a math cheat sheet. You’d use them to measure, draw straight lines, or whack your desk when bored. Some had inches on one side and centimeters on the other, which felt unnecessarily confusing. Still, they were on every desk.
15. Pencil Sharpeners (Wall-Mounted)
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The satisfying crank sound was music—or a major disruption during a quiet test. The blade inside could destroy a pencil if you weren’t careful. There was always that one person who turned it into dust. And the smell of shavings? It’s pure school nostalgia.
16. Three-Ring Binders
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Chunky, heavy, and always stuffed to the point of bursting. Closing the rings on your fingers was basically a rite of passage. Pages ripped out all the time, and dividers never stayed in place. However, it held your school life together—literally.
17. Composition Notebooks
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The black-and-white speckled cover was unmistakable. Inside were ruled pages for essays, notes, and top-secret doodles. The cover was rock-hard and impossible to rip, so it lasted all year. If it got wet, it puffed up like a sponge and never recovered.
18. Library Checkout Cards
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Before barcodes, every book had a little card in the back with handwritten names and dates. Checking one out felt official. You could see who read the book before you—and maybe spot your crush’s handwriting. Sometimes, you would just flip through the cards for fun.
19. Penmanship Workbooks
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Cursive was serious business. These books taught you to loop, slant, and connect letters most stylishly. You either nailed it or gave up and stuck with print forever. However, that perfect capital “Q” is still confusing.
20. Weekly Readers
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Mini newspapers packed with kid-friendly news, stories, and puzzles. You’d read about astronauts, volcanoes, and weird animal facts. It made you feel smart and worldly. Plus, it was a break from math, so no one complained.