Sketchbook is a great tool for students to have in any art related class. However, students won’t value them as much if they are to go out and buy one, or just have one handed to them. I would start each of my art class by a quick unit of book binding for students to make their own unique and individualized sketchbooks. Through this, students would also learn about the importance of craftsmanship in art making as well as the role of basic (non-electronic) technology in their lives.

Material list: hole punched papers, cart stock (as covers), crafting needle (plastic ones for safety), variety of different colored/ sized strings, scissors, decorative materials (markers, glue, fabrics, colored pencils…etc.)

Key notes:

Demo for how to bind the whole book together (make sure to keep the choice open for numbers of holes punched and the flip-side)
Introduce different type of binding techniques (do not define any technique as the “correct” one)
This is a very hands-on project, provide ample individual instructions as well as getting skillful students to help others out to help build relationships in the classroom