The first week of school hands teachers a ready-made teaching moment: every student is surrounded by new supplies they can't yet name in print. This school supplies scavenger hunt turns that moment into a structured vocabulary activity. Twelve illustrated cards — pencil, eraser, ruler, crayons, glue stick, glue, watercolors, sharpener, calculator, paintbrush, scissors, and notepad — get hidden around the room and students search, identify, and record them using the worksheet that fits their level.
The word set is carefully practical. Students encounter these exact objects every day, which means the vocabulary lands faster and sticks longer. Recognizing the word sharpener or watercolors in print is a meaningful early literacy milestone, and the image-word connection on each card makes it accessible before students can decode independently.
How the Scavenger Hunt Works
The routine is Hide → Find → Record. Before students arrive, hide all 12 supply cards around the classroom — on shelves, near the supply station, under chairs, behind the door. Students search for each card, say the word aloud when they find it, and record their answer on their worksheet. Cards stay in place throughout the hunt. The activity runs itself once students know the routine, freeing you to observe, pull a small group, or take anecdotal notes.
Three Card Versions Included
Color cards are fully illustrated and ready to print, cut, and play.
Black & white cards let students color each supply before the hunt — a purposeful warm-up step that pairs the word with its real-world object before searching begins.
Template cards show only the word label; students read it and draw the classroom supply themselves before cutting and playing, turning the card-making process into its own vocabulary task.
The challenge option, built into both the color and B&W sets, removes the word label entirely — students write the supply name from memory when they find the card. With 12 words including multi-syllable terms like calculator, watercolors, and paintbrush, the challenge option provides genuine spelling practice.
Four Differentiated Worksheets
The simple checklist is the lowest-demand option: students find each of the 12 supply cards and check the matching word — suitable for beginning readers and students needing full support.
The image-only checklist removes all text and shows illustrated pictures of each supply; students match card to image without any word reading required, making it ideal for pre-readers and ESL learners.
The writing list asks students to find each card and write the supply word — all 12, from pencil through notepad.
The letter-count worksheet is the most structured: students find the word, count its letters, and write it, providing strong phonics reinforcement across words ranging from glue (4 letters) to calculator and watercolors (10 each).
Storage & Progress Tracking
The printable color-coded storage box keeps all 12 supply cards organized between uses. A student progress tracker is also included.
Part of the 20-Theme Learning System
School Supplies is one of 20 themes in the Vocabulary & Phonics Scavenger Hunt Learning System by Craftytopia Creations. Every theme follows the same Hide → Find → Record routine. Once your class knows how to play, switching to a new theme — weather, farm animals, community helpers, sea animals, the solar system, and more — requires no re-teaching. One routine, all year long.
Print & Format Details
Instant PDF download — no physical product is shipped. Print on standard paper or cardstock. Scissors and crayons recommended. Personal and classroom use only.
