When I first started teaching, I would cringe every time I was assigned a classroom with multiple bulletin boards. What am I supposed to do with all that space!? I thought I needed to decorate it and make it cute for every season. Now, I have some more practical ideas for bulletin boards that require a lot less effort – and serve a purpose.
While there is nothing wrong with a cute and fun bulletin board, I like my boards to serve a bigger purpose in my classroom these days. There are only so many places to hang and display information for students, so why not maximize every inch there is?
I want to share some ideas for bulletin boards that are content related, can serve as reference materials, and can even be incorporated into lessons.
Science Careers
If you teach science, then you’ll love this addition to your classroom. This bulletin board idea is a great way to show students the real life application of science, along with introducing them to careers they find interesting.
Bring this bulletin board into your lessons with a few activities. If students finish an assignment early, they can grab one of the black and white versions of the billuten board pages and color it in, while also reading about the science career.
You can also set up the board and then use it as a center. Have students read about the different careers and pick the one they find most interesting. Then, they can write a paragraph about the career and why they chose it. Take this assignment a step further by having students research more about the career they chose.
Famous Inventors
This idea for a bulletin board would go perfectly in a science or ELA classroom. You can display this during a unit on famous inventors (or world changers), or simply display it throughout the year.
I like to make this bulletin board interactive in my ELA block by assigning different pairs or groups of students a passage or children’s book to read about the famous inventors. Then, the group shares what they learned with the class, and we add the inventor to the board.
In a science block, you can connect famous inventors to the scientific method. What did each inventor hypothesize? How did they conduct their experiments? Have students research and read about the different inventors during centers or independent work.
Women in STEM
If you want an engaging bulletin board to use during Women’s History Month, or you want to promote women in STEM year-round, then this bulletin board idea is for you! This bulletin board is a great addition to any science, ELA, or social studies classroom.
In ELA and social studies, assign each student a woman from the Women in STEM bulletin board. Have them conduct research and write about their accomplishments on a Google Slide, along with images or clipart. Then, combine all the slides together to make a digital book! Assign some time for students to quietly read this book in class.
For science, assign this bulletin board as a center activity. Students can choose a few women to research their scientific process. What did they discover or invent? What struggles did they face as a woman in science? Have students write about it.
Book Recommendations
If you are an ELA teacher or a librarian, you will love this idea for a bulletin board! This bulletin board makes it easy to capture student’s book recommendations and update your board seasonally – with minimal effort.
This bulletin board pack includes book review templates on seasonal templates. For example, for Halloween there are pumpkins and ghosts. For spring, you can use raindrops or eggs. Make your bulletin board pop by printing the templates on colored paper.
You can easily build this bulletin board by giving students time to write book reviews as morning work, a center activity, or during library and independent reading time. You’ll have a great display that you can use year round, just simply print a new template for a new season!
Black History Month
This bulletin board idea brings together famous Black musicians, actors, historical figures, inventors, writers, and more! This bulletin board is a great display for Black History Month, but you can also use it year-round in your classroom.
In your ELA or social studies classroom, have students read informational articles or children’s books about the different famous Black people throughout history. After each center, add the person to the bulletin board to display.
You can also assign each student one person to research and read about. Have them color in the black and white bulletin board sheet as well. Then, after they present their information to the class, add the paper to your display.
Science Alphabet
My last idea for a bulletin board is a science alphabet. This is a great way to build a word wall and display science vocabulary in upper grades. For lower elementary students, it’s a great content based alphabet display.
During morning work or when a student has finished early, have them pick a vocabulary word from the board and search it. Then, they have to use the word in a sentence. I have my students write these sentences on a sticky note and add it to the bulletin board.
I hope you love these ideas for bulletin boards! Now, you can have a visually pleasing and content based board that will come in handy in your classroom.
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