- To welcome back students in the New Year, teachers often look for creative ways to refresh and retool their classrooms.
- Teachers should keep in mind that wall displays and bulletin boards, just for the sake of decoration, can distract students.
- By decorating your classroom with meaningful, content-rich décor, your classroom will act as a “third teacher”—alongside you and your community of parents—to support your curriculum and help boost student learning.
- Choose decorations that only reinforce your current curriculum or lessons you’re about to lead in to. Replace wall displays and bulletin boards that cover areas you’ve already taught.
- Less is more. Too much visual stimulation can be distracting, so just stick to just a few relevant content-based items.
- Designate a space for student work. By displaying your students’ creations and giving them a say in how their classroom is decorated, they’ll feel a sense of ownership and responsibility when it comes to their learning environment.
Key Takeaways
Refreshing your classroom with new bulletin boards and wall displays is a great way to welcome students back to school in the New Year and reinforce the lessons you plan to teach. Whether you’re working on the alphabet, numbers, or sight words with young learners in grades PreK–2, or teaching students in grades 3–5 about character traits, nonfiction text structures, or U.S. geography, there’s always a creative and engaging way to transform your classroom into a learning environment that offers curriculum support and promotes student learning.
When decorating your classroom for the new year, keep these 3 tips in mind:
Wondering which classroom décor will be best for your students? From social and emotional learning to reading and language arts, these 12 new and essential items from Scholastic will refresh your classroom and engage students:
Social and Emotional Learning
Kindness Is a Gift Bulletin Board
Active Listening Bulletin Board
Growth Mindset: Bulletin Board
Early Childhood
Colors & Shapes in Photos Bulletin Board
Our Photo Alphabet Bulletin Board
0–20 Numbers Set Bulletin Board
Reading and Language Arts
English-Spanish Photo Word Wall Bulletin Board
Character Traits Bulletin Board
Text Structures Anchor Charts Bulletin Board
Another Way to Say... Mini Bulletin Board
More Sight Words Bulletin Board
Content Areas
Our United States Bulletin Board
Primary Math Charts Bulletin Board
Notable African Americans Bulletin Board
These are just a few classroom decorations and essential resources to engage students and welcome them back in the New Year. If you’re looking for more design and decor inspiration, check out these other popular items from Scholastic.