Back to School Bulletin Boards to Make
When students enter a classroom, their first impressions set the tone for the school year. At the beginning of the year, have colorful, interactive bulletin boards planned so that students will feel welcomed in their new classroom. Using ideas that incorporate the students' name might help them feel less nervous about the new school year.
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A New Twist
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Cover a bulletin board with a solid color and paste a Twister spinner board in the center. Instead of the spinner going to directives like "left foot on blue," cover all of the directions with positive thoughts about the upcoming school year's activities, such as, "Hear about new artists on the art museum field trip." Then, make cutouts of footprints in red, blue, yellow and green and write student's names on the footprints. Title the board, "A New Twist to a New Year."
Piece of the Class
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Help students feel connected to the class with a puzzle-themed bulletin board. Label the board, "You're an Important Piece of Our Puzzle." On another large sheet of butcher-style paper, draw an outline of a traditional one-room schoolhouse. Cut that into pieces that resemble a jigsaw puzzle. Place students' names on the pieces, one name to each piece. Paste the puzzle pieces to the board so that students can see the outline of the schoolhouse, but also so that it looks like a puzzle that has been pieced together.
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This is Me!
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Allow students to share a little bit about their interests with a This is Me! bulletin board. On a bulletin board, paste about a dozen pictures of school activities that children enjoy, such as reading, playing on the computers or having recess. On the bottom of the board, put Velcro cutouts of each student's name in the class, and allow students to move their cutouts as they enter the room to their favorite thing about school. Have other pieces of Velcro next to each item so that students can easily attach their name.
Guess Who?
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On the first day of school, have students help you make a bulletin board that will help them get to know each other. Students should draw self-portraits and write a little about themselves on a 3-by-5 card. If students are still learning how to write, they can draw pictures of their favorite things to do on the card instead. Paste the self-portraits on the bulletin board, and staple the note cards under each picture, but do not staple the bottom edge of the note card. On the bulletin board under the note card, write the child's name so that students can look at the picture and read the card to make a guess before flipping the card over to see if they are correct.
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References
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