Setting up your classroom can be overwhelming both physically and mentally. From moving furniture to lesson planning for the first few weeks and on top of that you have to plan your Back to School Night materials, and get all your administrative paperwork done and that is not even to mention figuring out what to put up on your walls. Here is a list of 15 Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Walls. I am going to use #6 in my classroom this year.
Getting materials up on your walls can be super stressful and cause some anxiety. You have to make things straight and evenly spaced. (Cue the stapling something up and stepping back to the other side of the room to see if it looks right – over and over again.) Plus the pressure of making it eye-appealing while also being functional. So we wanted to help make it a little easier for you by giving you some ideas.
All of the activities you see below can be found on Education to the Core Premium. Give our top-rated primary teacher membership website a try this week and download some of these activities. (You will even be able to find some printables for Back to School Night and the first week of school after you’ve gotten started on your walls.)
Learning Resources for Your Classroom Walls
1.Sound Wall
The thing about our Sound Wall resource that makes it so unique and easy is that it includes everything you need. We wanted to give you more than “just a wall”. So we included all of the pieces to set that wall up, plus so much more. From the actual sound wall cards to the locks that cover the sounds you haven’t taught yet.
And after you have introduced your wall, continue to refer back to it with the digital teaching slides, student practice worksheets, anchor charts, and independent sound sorts. This is a definite must when it comes to a way to decorate your classroom wall.
Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Walls 2.
Accountable Talk Posters
In my classroom, I have a calming corner. In the corner, I have printed the breathing techniques from my Core Binder along with the yoga posters to encourage movement and the mind-body connection. But I paired those resources with some Accountable Talk Posters to help my students work towards respectful classroom discussions and strengthen active listening skills.
3. Parts of Speech Posters
Okay hear me out, print these in full size and put them on your wall for a great reference to your students at any part of the day. Then, print them smaller so your students can put them into their individual journals and can reference them individually. Use these to teach the parts of speech, or add words underneath that correspond with the particular part of speech to build your Grammar Wall.
4. Math Strategy Posters
These posters offer students colorful visual cues to help them remember the different ways they can count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I personally love the number line and have it in a place that students can reach. While we are working on problems as a class they can get up and use the number line.
5. Phonics Posters
Pair these with your sound wall or use them as a sound wall. These posters are also great to have on your focus wall each week and then move to small groups as a reference while you are working on particular phonics sounds and practicing fluency.
Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Walls 6.
Reading Strategy Posters
If you are looking for a great way for your kids to help themselves when reading, this is the tool for you! I have used these strategies since I started teaching. All my students have been able to try these strategies when they come to tough words during reading. For students that struggle a little more with reading, there is a bookmark version as well. The strategies are right there to reference when needed. That way, they have them to reference during independent reading time.
Aesthetic Activities to Put on Your Wall
7. Name Craftivities
I am a huge fan of combining art activities with writing and putting that on my classroom walls. My students get to practice fine motor skills through cutting, gluing, and coloring while showcasing their writing work.
8. Introduce Your Students
At the beginning of the year, I always like to put something up on my walls that allows my students to share some information about themselves. We spend time getting to know one another, celebrating our similarities and differences. Try an All About Me printable and have your students fill out the information and decorate as they wish.
Ways to Decorate Your Classroom Walls 9. Directed Drawings
Another way to combine art and writing, but in a little bit more structured format. Students will follow a simple six-step set of directions to draw the given image. Once done drawing, they can color, create a setting, and write a sentence or two about what they created.
10. Transformation Stations
This is for those of us that love to display the unique personality of each student. Two of these are never alike and I live for it. I love that my students have full creative liberty. I love using this activity as a show-and-tell moment as well. It is so fun hearing the other students react to their classmates and listening to why they drew what they drew.
11. Social-Emotional Building
Put an Affirmation Station somewhere up on your classroom walls. When your students need a little bit of self-assurance, confidence, positivity, or any kind of boost, send them over to the mirror and have them read some of the phrases around it. It is a great way to build self-love and value.
Quotes Teachers Use on Their Classroom Walls
12. Nicole B. uses the quote “I can do hard things.” And encourages students to use the motto in their art and work.
13. Chris O. loves to incorporate author quotes that are not only meaningful but inspirational. Quotes like “A Person is a Person No Matter How Small” – Dr. Seuss. “Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” – Malorie Blackman. “A book is a dream you hold in your hands.” – Neil Gaiman. “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass
14. Laura F. uses “What we know matters greatly, but who we are matters more” and pairs it with animal pictures that say: “Be Silly, Be Strong, Be Clever, Be Wise, Be Kind, Be Curious.”
15. Chrissy M. uses the quote “this class believes in the power of yet”, “work hard, dream big, stay kind” and, in my library, “a book is a dream you hold in your hand.”
If you want to be a part of an amazing team of teachers that are always willing to support and give ideas, consider joining our Fearless Facebook Groups, like our; Facebook in the Kindergarten Fearless Group, First Grade Fearless Group, or Second Grade Fearless Teacher Group.
In addition, you can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @educationtothecore for continued information and resources as the school year progresses.
Written by: Korryna Sanchez
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