Creating Bulletin Boards That POP!
As an educator, the need to construct bulletin boards that support my students’ learning environment has been a constant. Some years my classroom had a plethora of boards that varied in size. Other years I had a smaller classroom with only one or two bulletin boards. No matter the number or size of the boards, maintaining them was my responsibility.
As a mentor teacher, I work with many career-changing educators. These educators enter the teaching profession with academic knowledge and are working to develop pedagogy. Their previous positions often did not require them to create bulletin boards and they are at a loss as to how to start the process. To get started, I walk them through the process of putting up their first bulletin board.
To begin, we select one of the boards in their classroom and we discuss how to cover the board. One material many teachers have access to in their school is “a roll of craft paper or bulletin boards paper” usually stored in the library, art room or supply closet. For my example board I used black Better than Paper Bulletin Board Rolls which can be purchased on line or at your local teacher supply store. I like this brand of bulletin board paper because it is really durable. However, using large rolls of paper is not the only option for covering bulletin boards. Teachers cover boards with newspaper, butcher paper, fabric, etc. The choices are many and depend significantly on what the teacher has available and wants to use. If the board is large, I suggest using the largest and sturdiest paper available. Using several small pieces of paper can be difficult to put up and tedious to take down.
Next, we decide if adding a border will enhance the board. Border, a covering that goes around the perimeter of the bulletin board, can be purchased at various teaching supply stores or made. Teachers can decide to use this traditional covering (pictured right) or they may want to create their own border using materials such as pictures, feather boas, fringe paper, etc. Or the decision could be made not to add any border at all. The choice is up to the teacher. As illustrated, a border can add a little color, define the space around the board, support a classroom or school theme for the school year.
When developing a bulletin board, some other things to consider are adding a title or heading, including student work, and other decorations to make the board interesting and/or informative. The decision of what to add will depend on the kind of board being constructed. Will the board focus on a specific subject, i.e., math, reading, social studies, science, or will it display students’ work? Will it be a reference board (used to assist students with completing assignments) or a back to school board (welcoming students back to school) like the one I created for this post. There are so many different kinds of boards that I cannot list them all here.
After deciding the type of board, we decide on the heading of the board. This decision includes the words, lettering, color, and size of the letters. What do you want to say? The heading should be a window into the information on the bulletin board. After deciding the title, consider other information to include, such as the standards, a rubric, other decorations such as prominent characters, or nonfiction information such as charts, graphs, and pictures. As you ponder your board think about what is visually appealing and important to convey.
I suggest sketching out ideas before collecting materials. The sketch should include the type of background paper, the color and size of letters, and any other display items. Another consideration is using student-made items or making the needed materials. My preference is to make materials when possible, however, if that is not the teachers’ preference there are so many resources that can be purchased. Once we have our sketch and materials we start to put the board together.
Placement and size of the board matter. If the board is located in a hard-to-reach location I advise creating a board that does not frequently need changing. I once had a board above the students’ lockers. To reach that board I needed a ladder. I decided to put up a birthday train (a train made of construction paper with the students’ names and birthdays written on cutouts of cakes) at the beginning of the school year. Students’ birthdays don’t change so I did not have to get on the ladder until a new student arrived. My choice for this board limited the amount of time I spent on a ladder updating or making changes.
Another suggestion I make is based on the size of the bulletin board select a color that can work throughout the school year. Covering a large board with a versatile color, for example, using light blue paper can limit the times the paper has to be changed. It can stay up the entire school year as the background of a pumpkin patch in October, snowmen in January, and a picture of happy students dancing into summer at the end of the school year. Covering a large board requires lots of paper and can be time-consuming, so selecting a versatile color can save time and paper.
Students' work should always be present in a classroom. We want students to take pride in their work. Displaying students’ work highlights their growth and increases students' interest in producing quality work. I encourage displaying students' work in many areas throughout the room on different bulletin boards. With this in mind, we discuss ways to include students' work.
Now to put it all together. My example is an “introduction bulletin board”, students’ introduce themselves to their classmates. For this board students will create a Google Slide poster. On their Google Slide, they can include their interests, strengths, goals, favorite things, family, places they want to visit, etc. Presentations can include writing, quotes, pictures, and/or links to short videos. I want the students to select what they would like to share and how they want to share information about themselves. After creating their posters, students will make a QR code, a barcode that can be read by a digital device such as a cell phone to take the scanner to a site to view information. QR codes are usually pixels in a square-shaped grid. For their presentation students will also create a graphic representation of themselves. The graphic could be a cartoon, an avatar, a drawing, or a picture. Each student will place their QR code and graphic on the bulletin board.
I provided an example of my expectation so that students can scan my QR code to learn more about me. I also included the ISTE Standards (small green paper at the bottom of the board) and directions for the assignment (small green paper at the top of the board)
In the future, I can use this bulletin board again with only a few tweaks. For example, students could create posters about a book read or make a Flipgrid explaining how to solve a math problem, then create a QR code and place it on the board. Or the teacher could create a resource board and have students scan QR codes to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s. With a change of the title and assignment description the board is ready.
Some teachers do not enjoy putting bulletin boards together, and others love the process. I am a part of the latter group. I think developing bulletin boards speaks to my creativity. If your school system is anything like mine, you will have to create a board or two as an educator. I hope this post offers a few ideas that you can use in your classroom.
