Some teachers love it. Some dread it. But no way around it, decorating your classroom for the new batch of students can be time-consuming, exhausting, and costly. So we pooled together the collective wisdom of some fellow teachers to discuss 18 things to consider when decorating your secondary classroom. NOTE: Many of these apply just as much to elementary classrooms as well. 🙂
They are the 3rd and 4th sibling to come through our school and succeed. They play Flappy Bird, use Snapchat and Ask.fm, watch videos on Vine and play medieval phone app games before school.
However, while still maintaining privacy, I can share that just last year, I 
had students bullying each other, students sharing racy photos on social media to improve modeling portfolios, students cutting themselves, students attempting suicide, even students creating fake online profiles to bully themselves to gain attention.This is the middle school world we teach in. These are the students we are decorating our rooms for. These just might not be clip-art kids. And high school is another giant leap forward (or backward), but it’s a giant leap somewhere. What would our classrooms look like if we designed them to engage these minds and attentions?
What would our walls and decorations need to look like to redeem these moments of boredom? What if, during these moments when they’re unengaged or refusing to listen to us, they could be intrigued by what is on our walls? Because they have to look somewhere. How are we using our wall real estate?
targeted/meaningful way. Carol used an idiom over her writing wall to teach idioms and open the door to the fundamentals of figurative language. In John’s class, he uses “Cognitive Content Dictionaries” to be placed in a prominent locations which teaches key academic vocabulary as well as “Tier 2” vocabulary to aid in understanding text for EL learners. Inspirational or humorous posters and quotes can also be used to fill smaller spaces and give students ideas to ponder on their own.
• (Funny) Close to Home (by John McPherson) comic: It has hung on my classroom door for many years. I like to show my students that no matter how strict I may seem, I’m nothing compared to Mrs. Mutner.
And they did. It got me thinking. And it could get us all thinking? Are your walls overwhelming? Have you taken seriously all the advice to decorate your walls to the point that it’s gone overboard? In your attempts to subliminally teach and entertain, have you overloaded the walls? Do your walls need Ritalin? 🙂
I have found that some of my most engaging and most talked about boards were not the ones with flawless borders and themed decorations. Actually, it was just the contrary- Black butcher paper background, with the titles and words written in chalk with borders that were hand-drawn, got quite the reaction from my students. These example pictures will help explain what I mean:
Also, don’t forget to use items in your room. For example, when teaching about a topic, I hang mentor texts from my bulletin board so the kids can “see” examples of published work that supports the topic.
Remember to keep it simple, engaging, and useful!
“But what if I think it’s good? What do I do then?”
Ask our students. They will be honest. Sometimes too much so. But we’ll always find out what they think. If we need to, we can do a quick anonymous poll or ballot or something. But we can find out what each gender thinks, if we ask.
My classroom is very student-centered all the way from the lessons and activities…to the walls. An estimated 50% of my walls are covered with cabinets, technology, and whiteboards. The other precious real-estate consists of my “décor.” I love to be crafty, but like most secondary English teachers with 75+ kids a day, I just don’t have the time to replace monthly boards with elaborate and often pricey art. The solution is simple: I picked a relevant theme that can stand the test of time, planned “bulletin boards” that are student-centered, and designed my room around that theme so not only do the elements match, but they also develop the theme. My strategy for keeping the boards up-to-date so students don’t get bored is all in the content and purpose – boards with need-to-know information and moments of celebration for students. I chose the theme “Rock Stars,” and I use that concept to inspire, inform, and motivate my students. We are on stage like a rock star performing from bell to bell every day! In a secondary classroom, it is unique to find a room with creative and cohesive decorations, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. The best décor is the kind that is thoughtful and doesn’t take much time to create but packs a huge punch and puts students first!
I like using motivational quotes and other thought-provoking visual aids in my classroom. I allow them to think about the quote, then respond in writing. I switch the quotes each week so they have a variety throughout the year.
Another way to generate deep-thinking with classroom visuals is to have students create their own. My students like to create memes, but sometimes they just post a “What if…” question related to whatever we are reading at the time.
I had a high-school history teacher who still had world maps up with the USSR, years after its dissolution. And I knew a teacher with a poster up about the word irregardless. I wonder if she’s changed it since it’s been added to dictionaries. How about that solar system poster with Pluto? Whatever subject we teach, do we still have outdated material out because we are (1) holding firm to our academic pedestal or (2) clinging to the old-time nostalgia?
In your excitement to decorate the classroom one thing you’ll want to remember is to leave wall-space to display student work. When you hang up work your students have completed, it enforces the message that what they’re doing is important and that you are proud of them. It also makes for cheap and colorful decorations! I assign my students something creative and colorful the first week of school so I can get material up right away. However, it’s best to rotate these postings throughout the year so that all students are represented and you can show your students’ growth.
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So what do you think? Got any more tips for all us teachers our here in cyberspace? Leave your thoughts down in the comments section. And don’t forget to be awesome, all you teachers! You are changing our world.
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We are so grateful for our fellow teachers that contributed their thoughts with us. We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and learn from you.
Laura Randazzo >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
The Teacher Team >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
Tracee Orman >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
Created by Mr. Hughes >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
Julie Faulkner >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
Students of History >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
Created for Learning >>> Blog ||| TeachersPayTeachers Store
