When it comes to classroom decor, I am all about making sure that it is meaningful! If it is on my walls, then it must serve a purpose in addition to decorating the space. That purpose might be to teach a concept, introduce important vocabulary, keep students on track, or celebrate student achievements and work.
No matter what the purpose is, the decor in my classroom is always meaningful, purposeful, and intentional. It serves double duty as an educational tool and colorful decor.
Here are some of my favorite ways to both decorate the classroom and provide value for students. The best part is that these instructional decor ideas are ones that you can leave up all year long to help students succeed and save you the time and work of changing out your bulletin boards every month!
Anchor Charts
Kindness DOES Count
There is no bulletin board in my classroom that is more important than this one! Kindness really does count and a bulletin board like this one really does make a difference! These kindness expectations are a staple in my classroom, but I also go one step further. Since we celebrate kindness all year long, I have a smaller bulletin board that I use to display seasonal kindness quotes that kids love! When the kids see these positive messages day after day for the entire school year, they begin to put the concepts and ideas into action. So yes, teaching kindness really does count!
Reading Genres
I really do love decor that serves a purpose and this reading genre display is displayed in the classroom library and is always being used by the kids. It not only helps students select new books and genres to read, but it helps to keep our classroom library tidy! #teacherwin
Looking to stock your classroom library with more than these posters? Read this post to find out how to get books for your library!
Grammar and Punctuation
Another staple in the classroom is these grammar/parts of speech posters! I also display punctuation posters. The kids' eyes are always on them! When something you hang in the classroom helps students succeed and promotes accountability and independence you know it is meaningful and valuable. These posters truly help students throughout the editing and revising process, as well as everyday writing. It helps students to check their work on their own by giving them the information that they need to succeed.
The Writing Process
If there is one time during the day that I want students to work independently, it is during the writing workshop time when I am making my way around the room and conferring with writers. With students are knee-deep in writing workshop or writing to a topic or prompt, these writing process posters help them every step of the way. You can also display each step of the process vertically to create a clip chart to hold students accountable by moving a clip with their name through the process. This will help you to understand where students are in their writing each day.
Reading Strategies
Do you have a bulletin board that you devote to reading? I do! I love having everything my students need to succeed during reading on one bulletin board, like these accountable talk stems! This is another bulletin board in my classroom that I do rotate out every once in a while. I like to change it with different reading units and strategies that we are learning, especially when we are kicking off reading and reading workshop in the classroom at the start of the year. These stems are perfect to leave up just as students are learning to talk with their peers about the books that they are reading.
Need More Bulletin Board Ideas? Try these!
Since I love decorating with meaningful decor, I have more ideas to share with you! Try one of these bulletin board ideas to get started displaying purposeful decor that students will love!
- Science and Technology Standards and Practices
- Math Standards and Practices
- STEM Posters
- Student Poetry Writing for the Year
- Alphabets and Word Walls
When you are thinking about what to hang on your classroom walls and bulletin boards, make it meaningful! By displaying educational resources that will help students succeed you will be creating independent learners who are accountable for their own learning.
Grab this FREE welcome banner to kick off the school year and leave it up all year long!
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