All Things Bulletin Boards

I am linking up with Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd and Angie from Lucky Little Learners to bring you my newest bulletin board and a few bulletin board tips because #2getherwearebetter!

First up is my new bulletin board, just in time for Back to School! My new bulletin board focuses on social skills and character education. It is very important to me that I teach my students social skills early on in the school year. Since I follow a Responsive Classroom approach in my room, I always start the year off teaching my students that "Our Class CARES"! CARES stands for Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control. These five traits fit right into my curriculum the first month of school because we work so much on setting up routines, exceptions, and rules. 

When students enter the classroom the bulletin board looks quite bare because I want them to be part of the process of putting it up. I first start with just the banner across the top. As I introduce each skill we add the large word and definition to the bulletin board. Once we discuss a trait and fully understand the skill, we then add the “looks like” examples to our board. 

For example, when I introduce the meaning of responsibility we read the Mo Willems book "I Will Take a Nap!" After reading the story we discuss what it means to be responsible and how Gerald was responsible in the book. We come up with a class definition so everyone understands what responsibility means. Then we play a fun game called "Showdown" to sort through task cards with examples and non-examples of responsibly. After this activity students have a better understanding of this social skill and we add the "looks like" cards under the definition. We add to the bulletin board that responsibility looks like; following directions, telling the truth, working hard, completing school work, and keeping our school safe. 

If you are interested in the bulletin board and the 5 lessons that go along with teaching students about CARES click HERE to check out the bundled pack and save $4! 

Next up is a little information about my bulletin boards! I love to have bulletin boards in the classroom that we add to throughout a unit or subject. I usually have a reading bulletin board and then a science or social studies bulletin board. 

Just like with the CARES bulletin board, I will put up a header and then as we learn more about a subject we add to the board. My bulletin board is one large one, so I divide it in half to use it for two different subjects. The board on the left is for our focus on reading and understanding fluency, accuracy, comprehension and expanding vocabulary. The board on the right was from our American Indian unit in social studies. We were learning about Pueblo, Lakota, and Powhatan tribes so we compared their region, homes, land, and transportation. I used string to help divide the sections on this bulletin board. 

A finally, one tip for you! If you don't have too many bulletin boards in your room then get crafty, make some fun anchor charts, and hang them up with Command Hooks! I only have one large bulletin board in my room so in my reading corner I added 6 Command Hooks on the wall and hang three different anchor charts in this area. Using the hooks makes it quick and easy to replace the anchor charts. 

Thanks for checking up my new bulletin board and learning more about bulletin boards in my class. Ashley and Angie will be linking up the 2nd of every month for more #2getherwearebetter!