Dixon® Ticonderoga®'s Beginners® Woodcase Pencils
Written: Nov 14 '09 (Updated Nov 26 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 20 thumbs up from Osage County First Grade
Cons: would like to see all made in the USA
The Bottom Line:
My Osage County First Grade supply list specifies large barrel Dixon Ticonderoga # 2 pencils.
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| mjhollingshead's Full Review: Dixon 13080: Ticonderoga Beginners Woodcase Pencil... |
Dixon® Ticonderoga®'s Beginners® Woodcase Pencils are available both with and without erasers. Personally, I prefer those having no eraser, however, I do not often find them at the local Staples walk in store.
The Ticonderoga from Dixon is the world's most recognized and best selling pencil. PMA certified non-toxic Ticonderoga pencils are generated from reforested California cedar. Sleek, sanded, satin smooth, barrel finish augments writing ease; select graphite core -lead- recipe provides exceptionally smooth writing presentation. Cores are glued and not simply laid into the grooves in cedar slats. Important for keepint the cores IN the pencil; lesser grade pencils often find whole -lead- simply dropping out of the shaft. Finest, latex free, eraser material, when added, glued, to the shaft, affords effortless, unsoiled tweaks.
Little Writers tend to erase, erase, erase, thus the eraser on the pencil tip proves a detriment during the early part of the school year. On the other hand because Little Writers tend to erase, erase, erase, the erasers are soon worn down.
Dixon Ticonderoga's Beginner Pencils do have the appearance of most yellow #2s most of us are used to seeing. Then again, because standard yellow pencils tend to be more expensive than are the lesser quality less costly pencils I do see few #2s purchased to fulfill the pencils teachers list on their supply lists.
The Dixon brand is a long acknowledged among trade name users as a manufacturing leader producing Home, Office Supplies, and Industrial products.
Because I taught for so many years in California where all school supplies are provided by tax monies, I saw good quality pencils having durable wood cases providing long wearing use throughout the school term. As a standard; 2 pencils per student per quarter were provided by the districts where I was teaching.
Here in Oklahoma parents send packs of 12 or more pencils to school for the beginning of the term thinking that the pencils will last for the duration of the school year. Rarely is that so, pencils found in those large, often celebrity featuring, pencils are often produced in China and elsewhere using inferior woods, -lead-, erasers and craftsmanship. Problems with the packs of lesser grade pencils are many, they are all but impossible to sharpen, shaft breaks easily, erasers smudge. I have seen children frustrated trying to get pencils sharpened to use, and I have ground a brand new pencil right down to the eraser in the attempt to get the thing ready for usage.
My supply list now specifies large barrel Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. While it is true that pencils produced by Dixon Ticonderoga do cost a bit more; whether large barrel or standard size, DT pencils do also provide good quality, ability to sharpen to a usable point, and durability needed for student use.
While I do not find DT pencils in the bargain aisle or outlet stores, I have found Ticonderoga Pencils to be available on line, as well as on the shelves at walk in stores WalMart, Staples and the like. Cost is just under $2 for a pk of 2 and less than $4 for a pk of 4 with sharpener included.
Dixon Ticonderoga's hefty diameter at 13/32 inch, No. 2, Woodcase Pencils crafted with #2 lead can be used for standardized or computer scored tests having fill in the circle type scoring. I prefer using the chubby pencils whatever the grade during testing; the larger diameter lead fills in the circle faster which allows the student to move right on during timed testing. Neither lead, nor shaft, are prone to breakage as is found in those lesser quality pencils.
I do set out erasers during some daily activities midway through the term after Little Writers have learned that mistakes in general are no big deal, just draw a line through the offending mark and continue without need for perfection other than during a handwriting for a grade type exercise when handwriting itself is the issue and erasers are acceptable to aid in achieving the grade.
For some Little Learners who come to class with a need for perfection the erasers prove a real detriment as students erase erase erase in the attempt to form the perfect b or 7. A spelling test with no words and only a hole or smudge where a single letter has been placed and erased repeatedly is not what I want Little Learners to aspire to during First Grade. Writing neatly, learning to spell and setting down the best effort is more important.
I am pleased that DT pencils are PMA Certified as Non-Toxic; they are safe for usage in the classroom. Internet search of Dixon Company indicates that these particular pencils are manufactured here in America from reforested materials. I like that.
Happy to recommend Dixon® Ticonderoga®'s Beginners® Woodcase Pencils.
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NAME TAGS
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NOTE:
No. 1 Extra Soft - Dz/Bx
No. 2 Soft - 72 Count - Cello Wrapped
No. 2 Soft - 10 Count
No. 2 Soft - 4 Count
No. 2 Soft Yellow - 18 Count Clear Box
No. 2 Soft Yellow - 24 Count Clear Box
No. 2 Soft Yellow - 48 Count Box
No. 2 Soft - Dz/Bx
No. 2 Soft - 96 Count Cello Wrapped
No. 2 1/2 Medium - Dz/Bx
No. 3 Hard - Dz/Bx
No. 4 Extra Hard - Dz/Bx
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Reviewed by Molly's Reviews
molly martin
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From the Dixon Ticonderoga Prang website: First introduced in 1913, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company wanted a name that represented "a fine American name for a fine American pencil."
They named the pencil Ticonderoga after Fort Ticonderoga, a military post in New York. Joseph Dixon, founded the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company of New Jersey, based upon the Tantiusques graphite mine in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. At the time of Dixon's death in 1869, The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the largest manufacturer of graphite products in the world.
The Dixon Ticonderoga is a pencil model distributed by the Dixon Ticonderoga Company, which was originally located in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. While their products are akin to those of similar companies, because of the company's 19th century origins and large size this brand name has long been a fixture of life in the United States and elsewhere, especially for primary school children.
Main manufacturing facilities are in Versailles, Missouri; Acton Vale, Quebec; Mexico City; and Beijing, China.
In the United States, the number on a pencil indicates the degree of hardness or softness of the writing core. The writing core, -lead- is made from graphite and clay. The more graphite used in the core - the darker the mark. The more clay results in a lighter the mark.
Europe uses a different grading system than is used in the US.
Dixon Ticonderoga
195 International Pkwy # 200
Heathrow, FL 32746-5036
Recommended:
Yes
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mjhollingshead
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Member: molly
Location: United States
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