Tired of the same old thing? Your students are too. But what should you do with all that space? Use it to entice them into the room, into their seats and into a book. Sound too good to be true? Keep reading and I’ll show you it’s not only true, but better than good. Here are 6 bulletin board ideas that will take you through the year without taking a toll on your time or budget.
Non-specific month Bulletin Board #1 – What Makes a Book Good?
Survey students (I have done it during library browsing time) about what catches their eye when choosing a book. Have a discussion before you run the survey about book cover designs, book awards, interesting titles, story summaries, classmate recommendations, reviews written on the cover and all of those other sorts of things that “make a book look good”. After tallying the results, display them on your bulletin board in a bar graph, with the categories below. The students can visibly see how their classmates choose their books, and if their strategy isn’t working, select one that is successful for others. This would be great for the beginning of the school year and set the tone for library selection time throughout the year. It can also get kids thinking about making good personal book picks. I did this bulletin board in March and used shamrocks as my units to mark the number of students on my graph, but any other seasonal shape and color scheme would work just as well.
Non-specific month Bulletin Board #2 – These Books Are Out of This World
Amidst a genre unit, I have done a bulletin board entitled: These Books Are Out of This World. I cut or print off several copies of six different space shapes (for example: rocket, alien, astronaut, planet, moon, star, etc.) one for each genre type that we discuss in our unit (Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Poetry, and Non Fiction). Students each choose a shape that matches the genre of a book they would recommend to another classmate. On the shape they write the title and author of the book. We hang the shapes on the backdrop of a night sky/outer space scene. When students are looking for a genre specific recommendation, they know just where to go, based on the shape. It also gives me as the teacher an idea of classroom favorites when it comes to genres as a whole, and also which genres are getting much read time. I can use this information to tailor pieces I select for classwork to make sure students are getting a well-rounded reading experience.
October – Take Your Pick of the Patch
Near the end of the first quarter, I have each student decorate a paper pumpkin shape with the title and author of the best book they have read since the beginning of the school year. When students are looking for their next great read second quarter, I usher them to the bulletin board to see what classmates recommend. Mini book reviews often ensue in front of the pumpkin patch, creating the perfect environment to promote reading. (Side note: as can be seen in this brief description, a teacher could easily build an alliteration lesson around the board as well.)
December – Be A Smart Cookie… Read!
December’s bulletin board is similar in the concept as October’s with students recommending titles to one another, however the title and décor has changed. I give the students paper cookies, cut into holiday shapes and they decorate them again with the title and author of a book they enjoyed. We place the cookies on the board on festive plates or cooling racks to add a bit of eye appeal and texture. It is a fun way to prepare for or celebrate the holidays in a constructive and curricular way. An addition that could easily be made is to display cook books, or books about holiday cooking near the board. Recipe reading is still reading… and this may be a good reminder that we don’t only need reading strategies for novels, but also for other things in life.
February – Killer Good Books
For February, set asides the mushy gushy romance novels, and dig out the books that push the love letter envelope with a darker side. For example, I displayed books in the Twilight Series, Chronicles of Vladimir Todd Series, Hunger Games Series, and more next to signs that said: “Fall in love with a killer good book.” Nothing entices a middle schooler to read more than topics they thought were off limits (aka: death and romance). As long as the choices you select to display are age appropriate, you should be good, and disappointingly (or not) after all your hard work to create the display, your bookshelf may soon be empty.
March – March Madness
Feeding into the sports frenzy that ensues each spring, I have place “Mrs. Zieba’s Picks” out for all to see… meaning both my basketball bracket, and my favorite sports books. I also print the covers of basketball themed books and tape them to my classroom door as an added bonus. This is a great opportunity to push non-fiction and poetry as there are a lot of sports biographies and at least two great basketball poem books (Hoop Kings and Hoop Queens by Charles R. Smith) for those kids who are looking for something different than another fiction or fantasy at this time in the year.
I hope you have found a few good ideas to use in your classroom. Use them to continue to inspire readers!
