Slate+and+Slate+Pencils

=Slates and Slate Pencils: 1776-1860=

Paper was scarce and considered a luxury so students worked on individual slate boards or at the blackboard. In early schools, each child owned a book-sized writing slate in a wood frame. This was used for practicing script and penmanship and it traveled to and from school with the student each day. The student scratched the slate with a slate pencil, a cylinder of rock. Eventually, the slate pencil was replaced by soft chalk which made it easier for students to write. Students did not preserve any of their work and memorization was emphasized and achieved through collective recitation led by the teacher. A good student was considered to have a good memory.