It's time to prepare for the first days of school again, teachers. One of the many things to consider is your classroom bulletin boards. Bulletin boards are a part of almost every classroom. The beginning of the school year is a unique time, and teachers should create back to school bulletin boards that reflect the new school year and their new classroom. Here are a few great bulletin board ideas that you might consider using in your classroom this school year.
Family Tree - With your class, make a large tree out of brown butcher paper. Get students to bring in family pictures from home to put on the tree. You can add leaves listing students' names and interests that branch off from the students' photos. These leaves can change colors and content as the year progresses. Students can add new interests and fun facts to the classroom learning tree throughout the year. This is especially nice for the younger grades. Many young students like having that little piece of home with them in their classroom.
The Window Into Summer - To create this bulletin board you will need to divide a bulletin board into window panes using strips of paper. You should have one window pane for each student in your classroom. As the first few weeks of school progress, have students bring in some small objects each day that represent what they did over the summer (shells, sand, pictures, ticket stubs, etc.). The students can show the class the objects they bring in before it's time to put them on the bulletin board. After this student presentation you should put these items in zip-lock bags and mount those bags on to the child's special window pane. This is a great way to transition students from the summer break to the new school year.
Classroom Puzzle - Have the class create a puzzle using a cut up poster board. Give each student a piece of this poster. Label the back or corners so that you can put the puzzle together easily later on. Have the students put their name on and decorate their puzzle pieces. As a class you can put the puzzle together on a bulletin board. This exercises the students' problem solving and cooperative learning skills.
Classroom Portrait Quilt - This bulletin board will help the students to create a classroom identity. Give each student a sheet of drawing paper. Have them draw self-portraits, reminding them to include all of their facial features. They should only concentrate on the head and shoulders, not the whole body. The students should write their names on these portraits and then cut them out and glue them onto colorful pieces of construction paper to create quilt squares. Have the students arrange their quilt squares side by side onto a bulletin board. Label the bulletin board with the class name and display it in the hall or on the classroom door.
Learning Layers - On the first day of school you should have a blank bulletin board with individual spaces set up for each child in your classroom. Have the students draw a picture of something fun they did on summer break, what they expect to learn this school year, or even a self portrait. Put all of these pictures up on the bulletin board to fill in every student's special bulletin board space. As the students move on throughout the year they will add new pictures on top of the old ones that relate to classroom activities and new learning. At the end of the school year, each student will take down their stack of pictures and bind them together to create a book.
Busy Bee Rules - This is a bulletin board that involves students in making classroom rules. It will help students to remember good behavior. The students should make their bees out of yellow and black construction paper, paper plates, and pipe cleaners. Each child decides on a phrase to go with their bee (B-careful, B-friendly, B-respectful, B-patient, etc.). These completed bees and phrases should be placed onto a colorful bulletin board that follows a nature theme.
Handprint Rainbow - For this bulletin board you use the handprints of your students to make a classroom rainbow. This makes for a great classroom decoration and also helps to unify your students. Use red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple construction paper along with a neutral-color paper for the rainbows background. The students should trace their hands, cut the handprints out, write their name on the cutout and then glue or staple the handprints onto the bulletin board in a rainbow shape. You need about ten handprints for each of the colors of the rainbow. If you find you need more handprints, have students make a second set of prints. The students can list some of their interests or other fun facts about themselves on this second set of handprints.
Shadows of Me - This is a great get-to-know-you activity. Before the start of school you should cut out profile silhouettes. Give each student a silhouette and tell them this is their shadow. Have the students cut out pictures from magazines that say something about them. They could also bring pictures and other small prints/objects from home. The students should glue those clippings onto their shadows so that they can be hung onto the bulletin board. Find ways to make this display colorful, fun, and unique to your classroom.
The Back to School Bus - Contact parents before the first day of school, and ask them to give you a picture of their child. On the bulletin board you should put up a giant school bus driving along on the road to school. The students' pictures should be seen through the bus's windows. Have your own picture posted in the driver's seat. If you can't use photographs, have the students create self-portraits (head only) and use the drawings instead of pictures from home.
Have You Heard? - Put a picture of yourself on the middle of a bulletin board. Give each student a large, colorful, paper ear and have them write something they've heard about you. Let everyone come up with something and then dispel or confirm the rumors. This is a great way for the students to get to know their new school teacher a little better.
Back to School Balloons - Give all of your students a paper plate. Let them decorate their plates with paint, crayons, markers, glitter, stickers, tissue paper, glue, and whatever else you can think of. Make sure that each student writes their name on their balloon. Add lengths of yarn to the bulletin board by using thumb tacks. The yarn will act as the balloons' strings. Once the students are finished with their balloons you can attach the paper plates to the bulletin board using a stapler.
Too Cool at School - Buy some cheap sunglasses and take a picture of each child wearing a pair. You could buy a few different types of sunglasses (boy and girl styles) or enough for the whole class to take home as a back to school gift. You should have pre-cut construction paper sunglasses ready for each student to use. Get the students to glue their pictures onto one of the lenses of their paper sunglasses. Have the students write some interesting facts or information about themselves in the other sunglass lens. Put the sunglasses up onto a sunny bulletin board background. This is a great back to school bulletin board since students are still in a summer mentality on that first day back to school. This bulletin board has a warm, fun, summer theme and makes the transition back into the classroom a little easier.
All About Me Business Cards - Cut out paper the size of business cards (or use blank business cards). Put each of your student's names onto a blank bulletin board. The student names should be at the top of the bulletin board, side by side, going straight across. On the first day of class, provide students with a business card and have them write one interesting fact about themselves on the card. Allow students to read their business cards as they go to place them on the bulletin board. Keep this "all about me" game going every day, until there is no more room left on the bulletin board.
Who's the Teacher? - This is a bulletin board that is all about you. Choose a background and border that represents your interests and personality. Collect pictures, book covers, clip art, ticket stubs, souvenirs, receipts and anything else you can think of to represent your individuality. Post these items on the bulletin board and let your new students ask questions about the items they see posted. This bulletin board allows for a more exciting teacher introduction. Students discover their teacher when you use this bulletin board instead of simply listening to a sometimes boring introductory speech.
Letters from the Past - Make a bulletin board using letters from your previous year's students. These letters were written the previous year to tell students what the new school year would be like. Put these letters from the past on display as a way to welcome your new students into the classroom. After a few weeks, have your students write their own letters to their parents describing what the new school year has been like for them. Talk about those welcome letters with the class before you take the bulletin board down. Find out what advice was most helpful, interesting, or even just the funniest.
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Buy what you need for the first day of school but don’t buy too much for the rest of the year. Some items, such as pencils and pens, might be useful to stock up on if there is a great sale. But since many stores overstock on items, you may actually be able to find some bargains by scanning for sales after the back to school rush is over.
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