Almost every teacher I know has the uncanny ability to take common household supplies and turn them into some sort of classroom supply. One of my favorite DIY student materials is a Ziploc flashcard pouch. Over the past few years, I manufactured DIY Ziploc flashcard pouches for back to school. Using quart-sized Ziploc bags and some duct tape, I make a pouch that clips into student binders to hold loose materials.
At the beginning of the year, I give each student a pouch to hold vocabulary and grammar flashcard rings in their binders. The pouches also work well for math facts flashcards, sight word flashcards, username/PW information for school apps, and a variety of other everyday classroom items. Written directions are below or watch THIS 5-MINUTE VIDEO that walks you through the steps.
Flashcard Pouch Materials
- quart-sized Ziploc bags (go for heavy duty, so they don’t rip before the end of the school year)
- duct tape in a fun color/pattern (I like Duck Tape brand that has the crazy patterns)
- single hole punch
- sharp scissors
- one piece of notebook paper to measure the distance to punch holes
Flashcard Pouch Directions
- Put one Ziploc bag on a flat surface, opening at the top and the front of the bag facing up.
- Eyeball the length of a piece of duct tape that reaches from the bottom of the Ziploc bag to the “collar” or area where the bag snaps together.
- Cut the length of duct tape you need and place the duct tape on the flat surface, sticky side up.
- Place Ziploc bag on top of the sticky side of the duct tape only covering half of the width of the tape strip.
- Fold the remaining exposed part of the duct tape strip over the top of the plastic bag, so the left edge is covered with a strip of duct tape.
- Hold the notebook paper with the bottom two holes over the duct taped edge of the bag. Line up the bottom of the piece of notebook paper with the bottom edge of the Ziploc bag.
- Hole punch two holes into the Ziploc bag.
- Clip into binder.