Organize Your Classroom with PVC Projects for Teachers



Organized Elementary School Classroom

Every teacher knows that there are always more supplies than there are places to store them, and when you run out of storage, you’ve got to make your own. This is where PVC can help. Inexpensive, sturdy, durable, and easy to use, PVC is a prime choice for classroom use. Below we’ve listed some of our favorite ways you can use PVC to help organize your classroom.

PVC Tablet Holder for Easy Desk Use

In today’s world technology is becoming more and more prevalent in classrooms. From playing educational games to reading e-books, tablets are a new staple in classrooms nationwide. Help expand the lifespan of your tablets by using tablet holders. No longer do the kids need to hold their tablets and risk dropping them. Check out this video to see a quick and easy way to use PVC to make tablet holders.

DIY Art Easels for Students

Long gone are the days when only artists living in small Parisian flats use easels. In today’s world, easels can be used in the classroom to keep students’ art organized.

Tabletop easels can be used to help minimize mess at your students’ desks during arts and crafts. Floor easels can help with larger arts and crafts projects, and teachers can even use them to hold their flipcharts so the whole class can see.

With just a few simple PVC pipes and fittings your class is ready for arts and crafts. Check out our post on how to make a PVC tabletop or PVC floor easel, and watch the videos below for detailed visuals.

For the table top easel, watch this video:

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For the floor easel, check out this video:

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PVC Storage Shelves

Classrooms never have enough storage space! Storage areas usually consist of just a closet, which keeps frequently-used materials hard to get to. These PVC storage shelves can hold a lot of supplies or books and take up very little space. They can also keep materials like glue or paint away from smaller students who may not know how to use them responsibly. This design consists of a PVC pipe frame with wooden shelves.

Supplies

30 feet of 1” PVC pipe
(12) 1” tees
(4) 1” 90° elbows
(4) 1 ¼ by ¾” bushings
6 by 12’ wood boards
(12) 1” 2-hole galvanized hangers
PVC primer and cement
Circular saw
Power drill with 3/32 drill b it
Screw driver
(24) ½” metal screws

Directions

Step 1: Cut your PVC to size. You’ll need (12) 18” pieces, (6) 12” pieces, (2) 17” pieces, and (4) 2” pieces.

Step 2: Cut your wood boards. You’ll need (3) 2 by 12’ pieces.

Step 3: Take (3) tees and (3) 18” sections of PVC and attach them in a straight line. You’ll need to do this four times to make all four legs.

Step 4: Next, you’ll need to connect your legs. Take two of the legs you made and using (3) 12” sections of PVC attach the open slips of your tees together. Repeat with the other set of legs.

Step 5: On each leg, in the open slip of your top tees, insert a 2” piece of PVC.

Step 6: Take a 17” piece of PVC and place an elbow on each end. Repeat a second time.

Step 7: Take what you just made in step 6 and place them on top of the 2” pieces to create the top of your shelf.

Step 8: Place your bushings on the bottom of each leg to help with stability.

Step 9: Before placing the wood on the shelves, you may potentially want to stain them. This is also a great time to use the PVC primer and cement to glue your pieces together if you have not done so already. Or maybe you want to paint your shelves a different color, do that now.

Step 10: Next, you’ll use your drill and galvanized hangers to attach the boards to the PVC. You’ll want to use (2) hangers on each side of the board.

PVC Pipe Tape Dispenser

pvc pipe tape holder with scissors and colored tape

In most classrooms, tape is used in abundance. This is especially true in elementary and middle school when students learn most effectively through visualization. All those arts and crafts have to be held together by something. This simple PVC pipe tape dispenser is basically just a box, but it is endlessly useful! It keeps all different types of tape organized and keeps them in their place, which means you do not have to worry about any tape going missing. It also has a pocket to store scissors. This PVC project is a must-have for every teacher!

Supplies

6 feet of ¾” PVC Pipe
(8) ¾” 3-way elbows
(1) 1” PVC coupling
(1) 8” cable tie

Directions

Step 1: Cut your PVC to size. You’ll need: (8) 4” pieces, and (4) 8” pieces.

Step 2: Take two 8” pieces and place 3-way elbows on each end. Connect them with two 4” pieces to form a rectangle. Repeat a second time.

Step 3: Connect your two rectangles with your remaining 4” pieces of PVC.

Step 4: On one side of your rectangle use your cable tie to attach the coupling. This is the slot to hold your scissors.

Organizing with PVC

It can be hard with limited space and resources to create the organization needed in classrooms sometimes. But by using PVC to help create your own storage methods, you can save time and space. To find other ways PVC can help you in your classroom check out this blog post here.