DIY: Creating Dry Erase Boards Using Sheet Protectors and Card Stock

Owning a classroom set of dry erase board can be considered a luxury for some teachers. Some teachers are fortunate to have individual dry erase boards in their classrooms. So, if you are new teacher or a teacher who works in a school with limited resources then this blog post is for you!

I have been teaching for 15 years and I don’t think I got my first set of dry erase boards until about my 10th year. The boards were not given to me, I found them inside the closet in a classroom that I was moving into. They weren’t the best set because whoever had them did not take care of them. They had permanent marker and pencil marks on them. I cleaned the boards up as best as I could and used them until I attended MSP or the Math and Science Project.

The presenter taught us how to create the dry erase boards so now I’m going to teach you!

Step 1

Take a sheet protector, but not just any old sheet protector. I have found that Office Depot sheet protectors work the best because:

• sturdy and do not tear easily
• don’t absorb the the color from dry erase markers
• most schools purchase them any way

Step 2

Once you have you sheet protectors insert one piece of green and white card stock inside of the sheet protector. You can use 1 sheet of card stock and a piece of paper if you don’t have access to card stock in each color. It will still do the trick but just won’t provide as much support.

The white piece of card stock is for the students to write on with a dry erase marker. I use the skinny Expo dry erase markers because I teach 5th graders and they can put more information on the sheet protector. I highly suggest that you use the Expo markers because I found out from trial and error that the cheaper markers don’t work as well. When I use the dry erase boards I tell my students once they are finished to turn their boards over to the green side to signal that they are finished. These dry erase boards  can also double as a formative assessment tool. Just place a red piece of paper over the white piece of paper and use red for “No” and green for “Yes”.

You are probably wondering what am I going to  use as an eraser? No worries I got you covered! Felt can be used as an eraser. A package of felt at Walmart cost about $3 dollars. You can find felt in the arts and craft section in any Walmart. The felt can be cut into smaller squares so that pack should last for at least 3 years.

These dry erase boards have been a life saver for me because the can used them in small group, whole group, and cooperative groups. I would love to hear what you think, so please leave your comments below!