It is back to school time for children all over America.  This means it is time for parents to buy new school clothes and supplies.  Luckily for parents in America there are a lot of ‘Back to School’ sales this time of year.  Also teachers usually mail parents a list of school supplies their children will need to bring to class.  Below is a list of school supply vocabulary.  Even if you or your children are not going back to school this time of year, this is really great school related vocabulary to know.

School supplies vocabulary:

3-hole punch – a tool used to put three holes along one side of a piece of paper for easy insertion into a 3-ring binder

3-ring binder – a book-like holder of loose-leaf paper, fitted with three metal rings that can be opened/closed to allow paper to be inserted/held in place/taken out

backpack – a bag with shoulder straps that allow it to be carried on a person’s back

ballpoint pens – a writing tool with an internal ink reservoir and a small ball at the point for easy writing

eraser – a piece of soft rubber or plastic used to rub away something that has been written in pencil

glue – an adhesive substance used for sticking objects or paper together

highlighter – a felt-tipped pen with transparent fluorescent ink used to write over important text, leaving the text legible to read

loose-leaf paper – notebook paper which is not fixed into a spiral notebook, but can be put in or taken out of a binder

markers – felt-tip pens of many colors, often used for drawing or coloring

No. 2 pencil – a wooden pencil with a solid piece of lead in the center that is used for writing, often painted yellow with the #2 stamped or written on the top side of the pencil

pencil sharpener – a tool for sharpening the point of lead at the end of a pencil; the pencil lead is made pointy by putting pressure against a rotating blade or cutting edges

ruler – a straight-edged strip of wood, metal, or plastic used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths

scotch tape – transparent adhesive tape for sticking to pieces of paper together

scissors – a two bladed hand held tool used for cutting (usually paper)

spiral-bound notebooks – booklets of paper that are held together by a piece of spiral (circular) wire that is passed through a row of punched holes at the edge the paper

stapler – a tool used to fasten together sheets of paper with a piece of bent metal (called a staple)