Ahhh, the blank slate of a new school year…the fresh butcher paper on the walls is just ready and waiting to be filled. Come the first day of school, my classroom walls are a bit on the bare side. Not because I’m a total slacker (the word “total” is subjective, right?) but because I’ve left lots of room open to feature student work. The room starts to feel less “mine” and more “ours” once we start personalizing the walls with work that the kids have created.
Are you in need of some fresh ideas for back to school activities and bulletin boards? Here are 5 favorites of mine that showcase student work:
1. Looking Forward
We start school in August, so I love that this one still has a bit of a summery feel to it! We brainstorm ideas about what the kids are looking forward to in second grade. The kids write the two things they’re most looking forward to on each of the lenses of their sunglasses. For younger grades or differentiation, you could also have them draw their ideas “reflected” in the sunglasses (the templates come with lines or no lines).
You can grab the sunglasses template and the letters for the bulletin board letters here in my shop, and they’re also in the Life Between Summers store on TPT.
2. Apple Acrostic Poems
If you’re wanting more of an autumn feel for September, I also love this acrostic apple poem activity from Think Grow Giggle.
I love that this resource gives students a little background info as to what an acrostic poem is. The kids’ original poems can be displayed on a bulletin board under the title heading “A Whole New Bushel” or “This Year’s Crop”
You can find the template and bulletin board letters on TpT (click the image below):
3. Llama Tell Ya About My New Friend
Not only is this bulletin board idea ADORABLE with a capital A, but I love the idea of students interviewing their new classmates to get to know each other.
Get the bulletin board letters and pieces, interview forms, graphic organizers, prewrite templates, and final draft options from Happy Ever Elementary‘s TpT store:
4. Don’t Bring an Alligator to School
Okay, and how fun is this bulletin board from my friend Amanda over at Thompson’s Teachings? It’d be perfect for a back to school activity, or any time of year really.
Read aloud the story If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! Then have the kids do a stinking cute writing craftivity all about why they shouldn’t bring an alligator to school.
Everything you need to re-create this bulletin board is right here:
5. Diving into the New School Year
This is a bulletin board I sometimes do at the end of the year when summer starts approaching, but it’d also be ideal for the beginning of the year with the heading “Diving Into Second Grade” (insert your own grade level). Students write about what they’re excited to “dive into” this year, or a short narrative about their first day of school on one of these writing pages. They also make a cute little snorkeler craft to go with it.
The snorkel writing paper and craft are available right here in my online store and on Teachers Pay Teachers too.
Hopefully these might have sparked some inspiration for your classroom walls as the new school year kicks off. Best wishes to you for a fantastic school year!
