1. Kohl pencil
   Mechanical pencil
2. No. 2 pencil
   Colored pencil

Ever wonder what the difference between a number two pencil and an unmarked pencil is? The numbers are a measurement of how hard the graphite is in each pencil. The lower the number, the softer the graphite.

1. Colored pencils
   Markers
2. Chalk
   Crayons

When it comes to blending your colors, nothing beats a colored pencil. If you were to try to use a crayon, you run into the danger of hunks appearing on the surface and markers may end up absorbing the color they are meant to blend with.

1. Ruler
   Yardstick
2. Protractor
   Tape measure

Protractors are primarily used to measure angles. If you were an instructor needing to illustrate a certain angle, you could draw it freehand, but if you wanted it to look accurate you'd definitely want to invest in an enlarged wooden protractor.

1. Plastic bag
   Paper bag
2. Lunch bag
   Lunchbox

Modeled after the lunchboxes that construction workers would bring to their sites, these lunch containers were first constructed out of metal for kids to bring to school. By the 1980s, lunchboxes were typically produced in plastic.

1. Markers
   Pens
2. Chalk
   Crayons

Even though Crayola was the main go-to for your thick marker needs, if you wanted a little extra fun in your colors, Mr. Sketch scented markers were where it was at. With 12 bold colors each with a unique scent, it made coloring a lot more fun.

1. Lunchbox
   Ziploc bag
2. Paper bag
   School box

There were several styles of school boxes. If you wanted to spend very little on your school box, you'd rely on a simple cardboard box with a flap lid. However, some of the more complex models had compartments for your scissors or pencil sharpeners.

1. Folder
   Compass
2. Ruler
   Tape measure

Even though there were tons of fun colored rulers in the 1980s, the best ones weren't made out of plastic (which could chip or break), but out of wood. If you wanted to get a precise line, you could even get one with a metal edge to keep things neat.

1. Highlighter
   Thick marker
2. Ballpoint pen
   Pencil

Highlighters came in two different sizes: a thicker point for marking up more than the average amount of text and a pen size highlighter, which gave the student the ability to easily carry it around in a pencil bag.

1. Kneaded eraser
   Vinyl eraser
2. Gum eraser
   Rubber eraser

When you're erasing with a rubber eraser, you want to make sure that it is rather new. If it is too old, the eraser may fall off of your pencil or, even worse, tear up your hard work.

1. Wite-Out
   Rubber eraser
2. Vinyl eraser
   Gum eraser

In the late '80s, several pen brands released a pen with an eraser on the lid. In theory, these erasers should have worked, but at times the eraser was too soft or it didn't remove the ink fully, leaving streaks of ink on the page. Wite-Out was usually easier.

1. Pencil bag
   School box
2. Ziploc bag
   Paper bag

If you wanted to go to a study group back in the day, you'd want to make sure you had a pencil bag that was stocked for taking notes. If you were super cool, you'd have a pencil bag with a three hole punch to store in your Trapper Keeper.

1. Writing tablet
   Three subject notebook
2. Composition book
   Wireless notebook

Some teachers may insist on the use of composition books over notebooks for a couple of reasons. The first is that they're sturdier than a typical notebook and the second is that the pages aren't removable, so notes last longer.

1. Scissors
   X-acto knife
2. Box cutter
   Razor blade

While in grade school, there were two different types of scissors being offered: one for left handed students and one for right handed students. Students were able to easily differentiate between scissor types, because the left handed scissors were painted green.

1. Report cover
   Notebook
2. Three ring binder
   Folder

Report covers came in two different designs: one that was very similar to a folder with brads to stick loose leaf paper through and one with a transparent plastic cover that would slip into a hollow sleeve of plastic.

1. Flashcards
   Note card
2. Poster board
   Loose leaf paper

When it comes to getting your presentations together, you wanted to use a nice sturdy piece of poster board. Available in various colors, you could make a creative design that was appealing to your teachers, especially if you used bubble letters.

1. Notebook
   Composition book
2. Writing tablet
   Sketchbook

Sketchbooks are great for art students to use for many different reasons. The durable cover protects the work, the paper is thicker so it prevents bleeding and some sketchbooks come with perforated pages.

1. Blue
   Red
2. Black
   Green

While the use of any color aside from the standard blue or black is preferred when teachers or peers grade papers, red is the most prevalent of colors. They make recording a grade easy because of the brightness of the color.

1. Canvas bag
   Paper bag
2. Ziploc bag
   Plastic bag

If you are looking to give your hard copy books an individualized look, take a tip from the kids of the '80s. With a pair of scissors, a roll of tape and a paper bag, you can create a blank cover where your doodles can give your books a unique style.

1. Paper clips
   Staples
2. Tape
   Glue

Teachers will often instruct their students to use only a little dot of glue to make their art projects shine. The problem? The size of a little dot is relative, so even though a student may think their dot is small, teachers don't agree.

1. Bathroom mirror
   Magnetic mirror
2. Makeup organizer
   Compact

Even though makeup organizers sometimes have mirrors, they weren't very big. Most locker mirrors were about 5" x 7", giving the user a bigger reflection of their faces, which made applying makeup a breeze.

1. Canvas bag
   Tote bag
2. Backpack
   Messenger bag

Backpacks are still used today, however, some backpacks have wheels similar to roller luggage. This was because doctors found that kids were having back and shoulder problems from the weight of the books in the bag.

1. Thermos
   Tupperware
2. Ice pack
   Ziploc bags

In every lunchbox, Thermoses attempted to keep everything the right temperature. This was a good idea in theory, however, it was difficult to achieve and kids were stuck eating cold soup or drinking warm milk.

1. Graph paper
   Loose leaf paper
2. Construction paper
   Tissue paper

If you wanted to find a way to cheat your teachers when it came to length of an essay, an easy trick would be to swap your paper types. Wide ruled loose leaf paper gave more space between lines, making it easier to fill the minimum page requirements.

1. Steno pad
   Single subject notebook
2. Trapper Keeper
   Sketchbook

If you are easily confused by which notebook is for which subject, you could do a few things. The first option is to write the subject on the cover, or you can also choose a specific colored notebook for each subject.

1. Chain lock
   Mortise lock
2. Combination lock
   Padlock

Even though many of the main lockers in a school were combination locks, when students attended gym class a separate combination lock was used. This not only helped keep items and gym clothes in, but assigned each student a locker.

1. Apron
   Towel
2. Smock
   Coveralls

If you ever had to provide a smock for your child on short notice, you could always use an adult's button up shirt in a pinch. When they're young, you can have them wear the shirt backwards with rolled up sleeves, protecting them from head to toe.

1. Steno pad
   Single subject notebook
2. Folder
   Book

While most people used folders to keep their work organized and neat, one of the alternative uses was to put them up and create a fort blocking anyone from seeing your answers. Of course, teachers would often ask students to take their forts down.

1. No. 2 pencil
   Colored pencil
2. Stackable point pencils
   Kohl pencil

In theory, stackable point pencils were a great idea. You didn't disrupt the class to sharpen your pencil, each point is super sharp and it's disposable. But, if you lost one of the points, you had to toss the whole pencil.

1. Ruler
   Compass
2. Protractor
   Tape measure

Using a compass took a certain skillset. First, you had to press the needle into the paper, then rest the pencil down enough to create a nice fluid line. If the pencil wasn't sharp enough, you may have to trace over the line repeatedly.

1. Flashcards
   Note cards
2. Single subject notebook
   Posterboard

There were three different sizes of note cards: 3" x 5", 4" x 6" and 5" x 8". This may have been because of varying handwriting sizes or to make a presentation easier to read. On top of this, there were different colored note cards as well.

1. Highlighter
   Scissors
2. Multicolored pen
   Mechanical pencils

The multicolored pens are still used today and come with four different shades that are commonly used: blue, black, red and green. However, during the '80s some of these pens had up to 16 colors.

1. Trapper Keeper
   Caboodle
2. Chandler's Assignment Notebook
   Three ring binder

Sure, you could have used a three ring binder to do what a Trapper Keeper was designed to do, but it wouldn't be as fun: many of the Trapper Keepers's covers were splashed with fun and bold '80s designs.

1. Composition book
   Wireless notebook
2. Three subject notebook
   Writing tablet

Three subject notebooks came in all shapes and sizes, but your best bet for a durable notebook was a Mead Five Star notebook. These notebooks have a polyurethane cover along with perforated pages as well as dividers with folders.

1. Wireless notebook
   Composition book
2. Three subject notebook
   Writing tablet

Wireless notebooks were a blessing and a curse to students. On the plus side, there were no wires to get caught on clothing. On the negative side, tearing pages out of the notebook was a little more difficult than a traditional notebook.

1. Purse
   Locker organizer
2. Cosmetic bag
   Backpack

Locker organizers are a dream come true for the fashionistas and chronically late student. In addition to keeping beauty supplies, they were often magnetic and had a mirror so you can keep your flawless look all day.

1. Backpack
   School bag
2. Messenger bag
   Satchel

If you wanted to be in the cool crowd, you'd use one of these massive colored canvas bags to store your books and other items. If you wanted to be super cool, you'd opt out of the traditional colors for the black one with rainbow colored letters.

1. Gum eraser
   Vinyl eraser
2. Kneaded eraser
   Rubber eraser

While traditional rubber erasers could do the job of a kneaded eraser, kneaded erasers have a couple of benefits: they don't create debris to wipe away and they can be used over and over because of the technique used to remove mistakes.

1. Placemat
   Sheets
2. Paper towels
   Oilcloth

In order to get an oilcloth, parents would have to take their children to a fabric store. They came in a wide array of colors and even though it may not have been fashionable, they were durable, making spills easy to clean up.

1. Markers
   Crayons
2. Colored pencils
   Chalk

Schools only required that students bring in either a box of 16 or 24 colors, but we all know that Crayola ruled the roost back then. If you brought a box of 48 crayons to school you were cool, but if you had 64 crayons in your box you were awesome.