Cheap and easy

Whiteboards for every student - I bought 35 pieces of cardstock at AC Moore when they were in sale (I think it was 10 for $1, maybe even 20 for $1), laminated them (school library laminator), and cut wide around the paper so it wouldn't peel back. I also stock up on dry erase markers at Staples in August, during the back to school sales when they have tons of things for under $1. Then I package the markers four to a sandwich baggie along with scraps of old tee-shirts to use as erasers. I use the boards five periods a day, they get a little grimy but can be cleaned with a damp paper towel at the end of the week. Not perfect, but very reasonably priced. I don't use them very often, and sometimes I have students share a board based on the activity. The set lasted two years so far. And because I teach a foreign language, I made another set of laminated verb conjugation grids that the kids actually seem to like.

Flash card storage - sandwich baggie, reinforce edge with duck tape (mine is plain white so I can label with a sharpie, but my students use the funky color tapes). Punch holes where the duck tape is and store in the rings of your binder, at least two holes so the baggie doesn't spin around.

Cubes - use a 4 x 6 index card. Cut in half the long way so younhavebtwo strips of 6 inches each. Fold each strip into three equal parts, interlock the strips and tape together. Write whatever you want on each side. I've used these with subject pronouns, regular and irregular verbs, weather conditions, family relationships, interrogatives, etc. The cubes usually only last the five-period class day, and sometimes cubes need some reinforcement during my lunch, but it only takes me about 15 minutes to make 8 sets of cubes for a very engaging activity that even middle school boys enjoy.

Class sets of manipulatives - My school's photocopy paper colors are mint green, canary yellow, sky blue, and candy pink. Very institutionalized, and not enough choices if I want eight sets in different colors (8 groups of students, each with their own set). If I have each set a different color and one piece gets loose or is found on the floor later, I can tell which set the piece goes in. For a few years I got a pack of bright colored paper at Staples and used that. This year I started to color the white handout before I laminated it, the crsyons melted beautifully onto the paper during the lamination and I wasn't limited to whatever paper choices were around.