A student work bulletin board is one of the most exciting aspects of a classroom. It’s not only interesting to watch, but making it is also a fun, enjoyable process for both the teacher and the class as a whole. But how do you make one creatively?
Bulletin Boards Are A Classroom Essential
These boards display what goes on in the classroom, what activities the students participate in, and how each student is doing. Thus, it’s more than just eye candy- it’s a progress chart for different students to see how actively they’re participating in class.
7 Clever Ways To Create Student Work Bulletin Board
Making a student work bulletin board is a tradition, and there’s nothing new about it. However, you can make it unique by using creative ideas. Here are a few ideas to get your creative mind going:
Use Repurposed Items
Using repurposed items is smart for two reasons.
One: it saves a lot of crafting money since you’re not buying anything new; you’re repurposing.
Two: it promotes the idea of using repurposed or recyclable materials. It subtly preaches to the students that you should not be wasting items and be creative with things that are on hand instead. So, overall, it gives a very good message to their young minds.
You can repurpose plastic dividers, envelopes, wrapping paper, and anything else you have. Allow the kids to be creative with this and let their innovative minds open.
Brainstorming Games
A fun idea for a student work bulletin board is to host a brainstorming game on it. Students could come in every morning and join a brainstorming activity on the board. Such activities could include developing a new word, answering trick questions, or doodling a new cartoon. Not only is this an engaging idea, but it will also help them stimulate their minds to think out of the box. It will help them academically as well as boost their creative skills.
Weekly Progress and Prizes
You could develop a tradition of displaying the weekly progress of every student on the bulletin board. The student who does best in particular criteria could get a reward. These reports could be extra term marks, gold or silver stars, stickers, a book, candies, or anything that seems appropriate to you. This idea will always keep your bulletin board updated and full. However, that’s not all; it will also motivate the students to do better because they want to get a prize.
Revamp An Old Student Bulletin Board
You could also remake an old student work bulletin board. You can do it yourself or create a fun class project out of it. Tell your students that you’ve got an old bulletin board and work on revamping it together. Get everyone to work, ask for ideas, and engage all your students as you create a brand new bulletin board out of an old one. As fun as it sounds, it also subtly gives the message that you don’t always need to buy brand new stuff. Instead, you can make do with old things and revamp them to look good as new.
Build Memory Books
Gather the artwork of every student and assemble them by name. Now, use large paper clips to dedicate separate holders to every student. Keep adding the artwork of every student to their respective paper clip. As the year ends, you’ll have a memory book ready for every student. Isn’t that a great, memorable bulletin board idea?
Create P-unny Bulletin Boards
Imagine a student work bulletin board that has puns written all over it. It sounds like a “class-y” idea, doesn’t it? Allow students to post their favorite school or classroom puns on the board. It’ll give you and the students a good laugh as long as it hangs.
Give Students Full Authority Over The Bulletin Board
Here’s a crazy idea- let your students take care of it. You’re probably thinking, “They’re too young to do it themselves,” but they probably have more caliber than you think. So, relax a little and let them have complete control over the bulletin board. Help them with complex tasks but let the ideas remain solely their own. Whatever results is a genuine effort of your students, and there’s nothing more beautiful than that. You can add a few details and fix some blunders if you think necessary. Otherwise, just let it be as they made it.
Keep The Competitive Activities Going!
Another fun idea for a student work bulletin board is by posting results of a challenge or completion. For example, all students can use online software like KeyboardingOnline. It involves typing exercises to improve keyboard skills. Students can have competitions regularly, and their progress can become a part of the bulletin board. Winners and runner ups can get a special place on the board as well. Doing this will give them the motivation to do better next time so they can be on top. Thus, they’re having fun and subconsciously improving their skills.