Gotta love a good stamp. Every so often I treat myself to a new custom self-inking stamps made for marking completed or student work in progress, and this is the one I reach for most: DRAW LIGHT.
Middle schoolers press hard. They bear down on the first line like it’s going to be graded on depth, and then they can’t erase it when the drawing needs to change. I’ve written about using harder lead pencils to help with this, but the habit still has to be taught over and over.
I have a class turn in their sketches or works in progress for me to review. Really common issues are easier to stamp than writing n a margin note. A stamp also doesn’t get tired, sarcastic, or illegible by sixth period. That’s more than I can say for my handwriting.
The one drawback is that a stamp is only a reminder. A student who is determined to engrave the paper will keep on engraving. Still, it’s a clear, consistent message that every student sees the same way, and it takes about a second to deliver.
I get the cheapest custom stamps I can find. You have to pay more for self-inking varieties so using a stamp pad will save some money. At the time of this writing, Amazon has been offering better deals than some of the rubber-stamp specific websites.
