The Blackboard
The Evolution of the Classroom Slate: From Handheld Tablets to Teacher’s Workbench
For over a century, the blackboard—or chalkboard—has served as the cornerstone of the classroom. To me, as a teacher, it was not only a writing surface, but the primary stage for teaching MST lessons. In my own elementary classroom, I was fortunate to have two full-sized, high-quality slate boards. However, because of limited space: I transformed one board into a specialized instructional tool wall by covering it with a 2cm thick plywood frame.
This modification created an organized space to house my most important teaching tools. Directly below it, I constructed a shallow workbench for power tools, storage, and a design cabinet. This tool rack featured two silhouetted guides for modified cursive writing, a tool my students used every day.
The history of this modified invention stretches back over two centuries. Long before the wall-mounted boards of today, students used individual handheld "slates." Slate—a fine-grained metamorphic rock also used for roofing—was ideal for education because it could be split into smooth, flat layers. During the 19th century, these framed slates were a student’s primary tool for practicing writing words and solving math problems. Paper, pens, and ink were too expensive and too messy for young learners, making the durable slate the most practical option.
Calcium carbonate (chalk), has also evolved. While early chalk created significant debris, modern manufacturing has made it nearly dustless. Through one of my school years, a typical supply was three boxes of yellow chalk (roughly 432 pieces), one box of assorted colors, and a small box of black chalk for specific shading or contrast. We used a lot of chalk and at approximately $10.00 per large box, it was cost-effective.
For over a century, the blackboard—or chalkboard—has served as the cornerstone of the classroom. To me, as a teacher, it was not only a writing surface, but the primary stage for teaching MST lessons. In my own elementary classroom, I was fortunate to have two full-sized, high-quality slate boards. However, because of limited space: I transformed one board into a specialized instructional tool wall by covering it with a 2cm thick plywood frame.
This modification created an organized space to house my most important teaching tools. Directly below it, I constructed a shallow workbench for power tools, storage, and a design cabinet. This tool rack featured two silhouetted guides for modified cursive writing, a tool my students used every day.
The history of this modified invention stretches back over two centuries. Long before the wall-mounted boards of today, students used individual handheld "slates." Slate—a fine-grained metamorphic rock also used for roofing—was ideal for education because it could be split into smooth, flat layers. During the 19th century, these framed slates were a student’s primary tool for practicing writing words and solving math problems. Paper, pens, and ink were too expensive and too messy for young learners, making the durable slate the most practical option.
Calcium carbonate (chalk), has also evolved. While early chalk created significant debris, modern manufacturing has made it nearly dustless. Through one of my school years, a typical supply was three boxes of yellow chalk (roughly 432 pieces), one box of assorted colors, and a small box of black chalk for specific shading or contrast. We used a lot of chalk and at approximately $10.00 per large box, it was cost-effective.
Design and Make a Blackboard
Cursive Writing
Along with my classroom’s blackboard I had over 500 specialized blackboards. These blackboards constructed using 3 or 6 mm tempered hardboard, were visualized to teach math and language arts skills.
After the construction was completed, which included sanding the edges with fine sandpaper, I applied a surface using blackboard paint.
My most complicated design was a circular protractor blackboard approximately 64 cm in diameter. If used as a rotating wheel, one revolution would equal 2 meters.
This blackboard was used as a large circular protractor with a large handle in the middle, making it easy to hold it against a surface. It was divided into 360 parts. Small, medium and large holes were drilled around the circumference to designate degrees. The more important degree divisions, such as 180 degrees, were drilled with very large holes.
Not only did I use it on a blackboard surface, I also laid it out on the classroom floor, and used it in conjunction with a modified chalk holding trammel point a center trammel point and a meter stick or a long piece of wood.
One of my favourite places was outside on smooth pavement, designing all kinds of triangles, squares, hexagons, and octagons and shading in the spaces with blackboard chalk.
The circular blackboards were exciting tools for my students to use and one of the most useful teaching tools I invented.
After the construction was completed, which included sanding the edges with fine sandpaper, I applied a surface using blackboard paint.
My most complicated design was a circular protractor blackboard approximately 64 cm in diameter. If used as a rotating wheel, one revolution would equal 2 meters.
This blackboard was used as a large circular protractor with a large handle in the middle, making it easy to hold it against a surface. It was divided into 360 parts. Small, medium and large holes were drilled around the circumference to designate degrees. The more important degree divisions, such as 180 degrees, were drilled with very large holes.
Not only did I use it on a blackboard surface, I also laid it out on the classroom floor, and used it in conjunction with a modified chalk holding trammel point a center trammel point and a meter stick or a long piece of wood.
One of my favourite places was outside on smooth pavement, designing all kinds of triangles, squares, hexagons, and octagons and shading in the spaces with blackboard chalk.
The circular blackboards were exciting tools for my students to use and one of the most useful teaching tools I invented.
Organizing my classroom blackboard at the end of each day was a daily priority. While selected students assisted in designing questions, erasing and maintenance, I personally planned the board’s layout; the work I prepared each evening—except for Fridays—served as the engine that set my students in motion the following morning.
To preserve this every day flow, I requested that school caretakers only perform a deep wash of the boards on Friday afternoons.
Before leaving each day, I divided the board into two functional sections. The top quarter was dedicated to literacy. Using a modified music staff liner—which I re-engineered by removing the center holder and spacing the wires to draw four parallel lines—I modeled the day's spelling words.
By using red chalk for the outer lines and blue for the inner ones, I mirrored the exact color scheme of the students' cursive workbooks. Each list began with a "keyword" that generated several related terms. Students wrote these into their notebooks, knowing these words were likely to appear on Friday's test.
The bottom three-quarters of the board functioned as a math hub, divided into six large squares. Each square contained a math, science or tech problem and was assigned to a student via their class number.
Our mornings always began with these assigned students taking 15 minutes to solve their problems and explain their thinking to the class—a technique I inherited from my own great 10th-grade geometry teacher.
This structured use of the blackboard did more than deliver information; it provided a visual anchor for the day. Through daily practice and the clear guidance of my customized tool, my students typically mastered cursive writing within two months—a skill I consider to be one of the most significant gifts a teacher can provide.
To preserve this every day flow, I requested that school caretakers only perform a deep wash of the boards on Friday afternoons.
Before leaving each day, I divided the board into two functional sections. The top quarter was dedicated to literacy. Using a modified music staff liner—which I re-engineered by removing the center holder and spacing the wires to draw four parallel lines—I modeled the day's spelling words.
By using red chalk for the outer lines and blue for the inner ones, I mirrored the exact color scheme of the students' cursive workbooks. Each list began with a "keyword" that generated several related terms. Students wrote these into their notebooks, knowing these words were likely to appear on Friday's test.
The bottom three-quarters of the board functioned as a math hub, divided into six large squares. Each square contained a math, science or tech problem and was assigned to a student via their class number.
Our mornings always began with these assigned students taking 15 minutes to solve their problems and explain their thinking to the class—a technique I inherited from my own great 10th-grade geometry teacher.
This structured use of the blackboard did more than deliver information; it provided a visual anchor for the day. Through daily practice and the clear guidance of my customized tool, my students typically mastered cursive writing within two months—a skill I consider to be one of the most significant gifts a teacher can provide.
Do not cut the two central wires, extract them with vise grips.
Factor Tree
Protractor Clock
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