Who doesn’t love a good Bulletin Board Display?

But - I just might love a good bulletin board set a little too much.

I’ve been guilty more than once of creating a bulletin board more for ME than for my students. I loved the finish product. I loved seeing the display up in all its glory. But - I rarely actually used a bulletin board for my STUDENTS’ benefit. I rarely referred to the bulletin board to reinforce student learning.

When I was in the classroom, I would obsess over every detail on my bulletin board. One year I made a particularly nice display that I was proud of, but when I made a reference to my bulletin board one day, one of my students asked “What bulletin board?”

Ouch! That hurt. Bad.

But - it opened my eyes to the real purpose of a bulletin board. The bulletin board should be used to teach, to be referenced, and to reinforce what your students are learning.

Today, I have three ideas to share with you. Ideas that will make bulletin boards have a bigger impact in your classroom by engaging students in learning.

In this week’s episode you’ll learn how to STOP just creating pretty bulletin boards that serve no purpose, and get more mileage out of your bulletin boards that result in real student learning. 

You’ll Learn

(Timestamps Shown)

• The purpose and function of classroom décor (1:22)

• Why you should build the bulletin board progressively with your students (3:14)

• Why you should start and end each lesson at your bulletin board (4:40)

• How to have fun with your bulletin boards (and increase student learning!) (5:24)

  • My favorite whole class review game using a bulletin board (5:54)

  • Two small group center games that use the pieces of your bulletin board (7:28)

  • A bulletin board scavenger hunt (7:35)

  • A secret code word activity your students will love (8:57)

  • A simple whole class review game (11:49)

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

Example of a “secret code” bulletin board game set up (listen to 8:57 of the podcast for more details!):

See my collection of complete Bulletin Boards Sets HERE

Video Tutorial: How to Create Your Own Bulletin Board Letters

REVIEW & SUBSCRIBE TO THE CLASSROOM COMMUTE PODCAST

Don’t miss a single episode. Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll get notified each week when a new episode gets dropped! And - if you love what you hear, I’d be so honored if you took a quick moment to rate and review the podcast so that other awesome teachers can find the podcast!

TRANSCRIPT