I think you'll find that all school children had slates and either a slate rod or chalk to write with, and this continued till the 1900s.  Slates were practical, cheap and durable...used just as a tablet and pencil, and allowed each students to do plenty of writing. The teacher, for example would write the test questions, on the class blackboard and the students used their slates to answer them.  these things still turn up all the time at antique shows and I've always thought them a good idea...easily used and constantly renewable.                                                                                                                   Sandra >" Most writing at school was done on blackboards without the luxury of pads > of paper and notebooks that those of us who grew up post-WWII had. Plenty of  pencils and pens, too."