Bulletin Boards and Beyond: Transforming Your Classroom

Posted on by Heather Kalland

Every school year, I changed my classroom decor. It wasn’t optional; something always needed to be different. While I hated moving classrooms, I loved the fresh start a blank slate offered. Since I spent so many hours in that room—teaching, planning, eating, on calls, and unwinding—it needed to be engaging and creative without being overstimulating. Here are some ideas to transform your space annually, keeping it both interesting and engaging.

Step 1: Create a Blank Space

  • Take down old posters, student work, and any other items that have been hanging up for a while.
  • Cover bulletin boards and other surfaces for a fresh start. You can use:
    • Butcher paper
    • Fabric
    • Plastic tablecloths
    • Painted murals
  • Rearrange desks and furniture to open up the room and visualize new layouts.

Step 2: Choose a Theme

A new theme can tie your decor together and make it feel intentional. Consider these ideas:

  • Historical Eras: Ancient Civilizations, Medieval Times, Industrial Revolution, or the Roaring Twenties.
  • Geographical Adventures: A “World Tour,” “Journey Through Continents,” or focus on specific regions like Latin America or Africa.
  • Civics in Action: “Democracy in Action,” “Rights and Responsibilities,” or “Global Citizenship.”
  • Concept-Driven: “Cause and Effect,” “Conflict and Cooperation,” or “Power and Authority.”

Step 3: Let Students Decorate

Inviting students to contribute to the decor makes the space their own.

  • Student-Created Artwork: Have students design posters, timelines, or maps related to current units. For several years, students created mini posters for a class timeline featuring a significant life event. These were completed on the first day and assembled in chronological order.
  • Project Displays: Showcase their research projects, posters, or presentations prominently.
  • Interactive Boards: Create bulletin boards where students can add sticky notes with questions, answers, or interesting facts.
  • “Living History” Wall: Encourage students to bring in relevant artifacts (with permission) or photos from their own family history.
  • Believe in Your Selfie: Students took selfies and selected a representative hashtag. I printed and laminated these, and allowed new students to add their own throughout the year. Hashtags were organized by class color, printed, and stapled to each selfie for display. This was a beloved part of my classroom!

Finding the Balance

Every year, I had ambitious decorating ideas. I learned to balance my goals with what was realistic. As long as I made a few changes each year, I achieved my goal of keeping the classroom a dynamic and inviting space.

Creating Comfortable Back to School Social Studies for Introverts

Posted on by Heather Kalland

I always struggled at the beginning of the year with selecting activities for the first days. So many of the typical ideas favor extroverts and require students to “put themselves out there.” As someone who finds those types of activities miserable, I tried to limit them or make them less uncomfortable for my introverts. Here are two activities I found worked well. 

They can also be divided up and used throughout the year as bell ringers or used as SEL check-ups periodically. 

1. Would You Rather: Past vs. Present

  • The Idea: Ever wonder if you’d rather sit in traffic or get stuck in a muddy road with a horse and buggy? This no-prep, 20-slide Google Slides activity challenges students to make tough choices between today’s annoyances and yesterday’s real struggles.
  • How to Do It:
    •  Project or share a “Would You Rather” scenario 
    • Ask students to choose which they’d most or least want to experience. 
    • Discuss or reflect on their selections.
  • Response Options: 
    • Discuss in small groups. 
    • Respond independently through a Google Form, Google Classroom question, or other digital response tool. 
    • Share out the whole class. 
  • Why It Works: It’s a low-stakes way to build classroom community and recognize that teens in the past faced problems just like students today. Students will practice critical thinking by defending their choices and justifications.

2. American History Mood Meter

  • The Idea: Forget picking a boring smiley face! This unique activity helps students check in on their feelings by choosing from a hilarious cast of historical characters. 
  • How to Do It: Each of the 15 Google Slides features a different historical figure or symbol shown in eight different emotional variations. You project a slide—say, eight different emotional versions of Abraham Lincoln—and students pick the one that best describes their mood. It’s a fast, 2-3 minute daily routine that’s a perfect conversation starter.
  • Why It Works: It’s a fun, low-pressure way to teach social-emotional skills and build empathy. By looking at these historical figures, students start to see history in a new light.
  • Connection Builder: Allowing students to express how they are feeling in a low-stakes way offers you a chance to check in with students individually and provide an informal follow-up. They will appreciate that you notice when you pick the sad or tired face and acknowledge that is how they are showing up.