Free Middle School Supply List (Fillable PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the middle school supply list

Core writing and paper

More pens than pencils for the first time, four highlighter colours, college-ruled paper, and a notebook or binder section per subject.

Organization system

Either one big binder with dividers or a one-inch binder per core subject; either way a folder per class and a planner. Ask the school which they teach, since they usually teach one.

Scientific calculator

The first real purchase. Most US middle schools standardise on a TI-30 series model; buy the one the math department names so the class can follow the same keystrokes.

Locker and PE

Lock (often school-sold), locker shelf, PE uniform, non-marking athletic shoes, deodorant. These are the items elementary lists never had.

Subject lists

What each department usually asks for. Science wants a composition book and goggles; English wants a binder and sticky notes; world language wants index cards by the hundred.

Per-class sheet

Period, teacher, room, the exact supplies from the syllabus, fees and forms with due dates. Filled in the first week, when the real lists arrive.

Why middle school lists are different

In elementary school one teacher sends one list. In middle school, six or seven teachers each have requirements, the school publishes a general list in the summer, and the specific items arrive on syllabi in the first week. Parents who buy everything in August often buy the wrong binder size and the wrong notebook type for half the classes. The practical approach is to buy the core list before school starts (the things every class uses) and finish the subject-specific items in the first week from the per-class sheet.

The other change is that the student, not the parent, carries and manages the supplies. A system that works for an eleven-year-old is simple: one folder per class in a consistent colour, one place for loose paper, a planner that is actually opened. The organization block on the core list is built around that.

Which sheet to use

• Core list: buy before the first day. Writing, binders or notebooks, planner, calculator, earbuds, locker, PE, donations.
• By subject: a reference for what each class is likely to want; tick what your child's schedule includes.
• Per-class sheet: filled in during the first week from each teacher's syllabus, with fees and forms and their due dates. Keep it on the fridge for the first month.

How to use it

1. Shop the core list in August. Check the calculator model and the lock rules with the school first.
2. Pick one organization system (binders or notebooks) and buy for it consistently.
3. On the first day, send the per-class sheet in the planner. Fill a row per class from each syllabus.
4. Shop the leftovers in the first week, using the by-subject list to anticipate what is coming.
5. Note every fee and form due date on the per-class sheet; these are the things that get missed.

Mistakes that make September hard

• Buying a lock the school does not allow, or a calculator the math teacher does not use.
• Seven one-inch binders for a student who has one locker visit a day and a backpack that cannot hold them.
• Wide-ruled paper in a college-ruled school.
• Earbuds with the wrong connector for the school device.
• Missing the PE uniform order deadline, which usually falls in the first two weeks.
• No planner, or a planner nobody checks.

Keeping it organised after the shopping

The supplies are the easy part. The homework planner and the class schedule are what keep a seven-period day on track, and the study schedule helps in the weeks before the first set of tests. When high school comes, the high school list adds course-specific items and a graphing calculator.

Editing the Word and Excel versions

The Word core and subject lists are editable text; paste the school's published list into the groups and keep the tick boxes. The per-class sheet in Excel can be duplicated per semester when schedules change. Everything fits one Letter or A4 page.

Questions

What calculator does a middle schooler need?

A scientific calculator, most often a TI-30XS MultiView or TI-30XIIS in US schools, from grade 6 or 7. Graphing calculators are a high school purchase. Ask the math department before buying.

Binders or notebooks for middle school?

Whichever the school teaches. Many schools now ask for one binder with dividers for all core subjects plus a folder per class; others want a spiral notebook per subject. The core list has both options; tick one.

Do middle schoolers need a locker lock?

If the school has lockers, yes, and many schools require a school-sold lock so staff have the combination. Check before buying one.

When do teachers send their own supply lists?

Usually with the syllabus in the first week. Buy the core list before school and finish the rest in week one using the per-class sheet.

Can I fill the per-class sheet on a phone?

Yes, the PDF is fillable. Printing it for the planner works better for the first week, when the student fills it at school.