Classroom Decor Archives - English, Oh My!

3 Classroom Decorating Ideas for Middle School Teachers

Kim Crouch — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 20:44:16 +0000

It’s that time of year again! I bet many of you are considering classroom decorating ideas for the new school year. Decorating a middle school classroom can be both fun and challenging. It’s an opportunity to create an engaging and inspiring environment that fosters learning and creativity. Whether you’re a new teacher or looking for fresh ideas, here’s a guide to help you decorate your classroom effectively.

1. Engaging Bulletin Boards

Bulletin boards are a fantastic way to decorate your classroom while providing educational content and promoting student engagement. Engaging bulletin boards play a vital role in a classroom for several reasons:

Enhancing Learning: Bulletin boards can serve as interactive learning tools. They can display educational content, such as vocabulary words, math problems, historical timelines, and scientific concepts, making information visually accessible and easier to retain.
Providing Visual Stimulation: A visually appealing classroom can stimulate students’ interest and curiosity. Bright colors, interesting graphics, and dynamic displays can create a vibrant learning atmosphere that can enhance mood and motivation.
Celebrating Achievements: Bulletin boards can showcase student achievements and highlight their work. This recognition can boost self-esteem, motivate students to perform well, and create a positive classroom culture where achievements are celebrated.

Here are a few bulletin board ideas to get you started in decorating you classroom:

A. Punny Titles and Craftivities:

“Taco ‘Bout a Great Year!”: Start the year with a bulletin board featuring taco-themed crafts. Have students create their own taco toppings, writing their goals or fun facts about themselves on each piece.
“We’re ‘Soup’er Readers!”: Display a large pot of soup and have students add “ingredients” (book titles they’ve read) throughout the year.
“Bee Your Best!”: Use bee-themed decorations to encourage positive behavior and highlight student achievements.

B. Interactive Boards:

“Math Mystery”: Change weekly math problems or riddles to keep students engaged. Offer small rewards for correct answers.

“Caught Being Kind”: Dedicate a space for recognizing acts of kindness. Students can add notes when they catch someone doing something kind.

C. Seasonal and Thematic Boards:

Spring Garden: Flowers with students’ goals for the remainder of the school year.

Autumn Leaves: Create a tree and let students add colorful leaves with things they’re thankful for.

Winter Wonderland: A snowy scene where students can add snowflakes with their favorite winter activities or holiday traditions.

2. Functional Classroom Decorating Ideas: Enhancing Classroom Practicality

Decorations in a classroom can do more than beautify the space; they can also serve practical purposes that enhance the functionality and efficiency of the learning environment. Here are some ways to incorporate functional decorations into your classroom:

1. Word Walls

Purpose: Enhance Vocabulary Learning

Design: Create a colorful and organized word wall to display new vocabulary words. Use vibrant borders and clear labels for different parts of speech or subject areas.
Implementation: Add new words regularly, and encourage students to refer to the word wall during writing and reading activities.

2. Learning Centers

Purpose: Facilitate Independent Learning

Design: Decorate and organize specific areas for different activities such as reading, writing, math, and science. Use signs, posters, and themed decorations to designate each center.
Implementation: Equip each center with the necessary materials and instructions. Rotate activities regularly to keep students engaged.

3. Student Work Displays

Purpose: Motivate and Recognize Students

Implementation: Change the displays frequently to showcase different students’ work and celebrate their achievements.

Design: Dedicate a wall or a section of the room to display student work. Use colorful frames, borders, and labels to highlight individual pieces.

3. Organizational Tools

Purpose: Maintain Classroom Order and Efficiency

Color-Coded Supplies:
- Design: Use color-coded bins, folders, and labels to organize supplies and materials. Assign different colors for different subjects or groups.
- Implementation: Teach students the system so they can easily find and return materials.
Daily Schedule Board:
- Design: Display the daily schedule in a prominent place. Use a large, easy-to-read format with magnets or Velcro for easy changes.
- Implementation: Review the schedule with students at the beginning of each day to set expectations and keep the class on track.
Classroom Jobs Chart:
- Design: Create a chart for classroom jobs, using themed decorations or a creative design that fits your classroom’s overall theme.
- Implementation: Rotate jobs weekly or monthly to give all students a chance to participate and learn responsibility.

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Other Classroom Decorating Ideas!

Classroom Decoration Ideas – Hilary Statum

Pinterest Decorating Ideas for Middle School

Incorporating functional decorations into your classroom not only makes the space more aesthetically pleasing but also enhances its practicality. These decorations can streamline the organization, support learning, and create a positive and engaging environment for students. By combining creativity with functionality, you can create a classroom that is both beautiful and efficient.

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Decorating the Middle School Classroom

Kim — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 18:39:55 +0000

Decorating the middle school classroom can sometimes be challenging. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m already thinking about my classroom for next year. I like to do prep work a little bit at a time throughout the summer, so I am not frantically rushing just before the start of the school year. I always start with how my room physically runs and what makes it operate smoothly because to me, that’s the most fun! Here are a few tips and suggestions to help your classroom look good and run well next school year.

Classroom Decoration Ideas

Here are some exciting decorating ideas for your middle school classroom:

Student Center

Have a small area of the classroom with supplies students may need for class. This may include pens and pencils, loose-leaf paper, a stapler and staples, a three-hole punch, a basket to hand work in, tissues and hand sanitizer. You may also want your hall pass to go in this area. I know we want to teach students to be responsible and to come to class prepared, but kids will forget, (I mean I forget things all the time, hence my sticky notes everywhere) and some kids may not have access to supplies at home. Their education shouldn’t be hindered because of this.

Calendar System

Find a calendar system that works for you. Some teachers love Google Calendar. Others have a whiteboard in their classroom that has nightly assignments as well as long term, big assignments. Honestly, I prefer both. I’m a paper and pencil, planner type, so I figure some of my students may be as well. I also know the majority have grown up with a screen, so a lot of them like the digital calendar to see assignments. Regardless of which you choose, I highly recommend having somewhere students can look to see what’s going on and what’s coming up in your classroom. You can tell your classes something 100 times for your auditory learners, but some will inevitably forget (as would I!). It also helps your students try to budget their time better if they have upcoming events outside of your classroom.

Give and Take Bulletin Board

A spectacular idea for a bulletin board in your classroom, or maybe even somewhere in your school, is a Give and Take Bulletin Board. There are lots of fun and cute ideas on Pinterest, but the gist of the board(s) is “Give” suggests random acts of kindness students can do for others and “Take,” students can take quotes based on what they are feeling they emotionally need at the moment. Suggestions for “Take” include confidence, calmness, hope, patience, peace and love.

Décor

This should be fun! This can go one of two ways. You may want to decorate with what you love (the beach, a particular sport, sunshine, farmhouse, etc.) and share your love of whatever you’ve chosen with your students. It helps students get to know the personal side with you making a stronger bond between you all. Plus, you’ll enjoy walking into your classroom every day. The other option would be to decorate with a theme that you know your students will love. This will make them excited to walk into your classroom and they will know you went out of your way to make them excited for school.

Are you looking for some fun bulletin board ideas? Check out two of my latest products:

Sunshine Board & Door Decor Set

Mountain Classroom Decor

I hope these tips are helpful as you ease into prep for next year. What tips or suggestions would you add to this list? Be sure to tell us in the comments!

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My Favorite Quotations for the Secondary Classroom

Kim — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 01:27:00 +0000

Hi Friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful summer. As August approaches and some of my teacher friends begin thinking about returning to school, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite secondary classroom quotations. Even though this does say “secondary”, I know many of these quotations would fit just right in an elementary setting too!

As you walk into my classroom, I have a bulletin board to the left that I never knew what to do with-it is too small to do a large theme, and a calendar never did fit quite right. For years, it was wasted space- I would use for upcoming events, I would hang important papers there, and by the end of the year is was just ‘blah and ugly.

Last year, I decided to get creative. I have always shared a weekly quote in my classroom, and normally I would write it on my front board; however, it sort of blended in with the date, idiom of the week, and normally just got lost. I felt bad for my quotations because I REALLY love them, and I think they are impactful for my students…here enters the “blah” bulletin board. It was time for a fancy quotation board. I decided to paint the bulletin board in chalkboard paint, and I purchased the chalkboard paint markers from Amazon. I educated and taught myself some of the fancy handwriting fonts, and my quote board was off to a fleeting start. Here are some of the pictures from my classroom over the year-

I introduced a quotation a week. Some were just purely inspirational, and others were thematic to what my students were learning. I decided this would be a perfect time of year to share with you my top ten quotations that really impacted my classroom this year.

You can get a free set of these posters below right HERE!

1. Choices and Consequences:

This quotation resonates so much in the secondary classroom. I talk to my students all year long about their choices and what consequences can arise from their choices. More importantly, we talk about the impact that their choice/s can have on their family and friends.

2. Kindness-

Kindness is free. It does not cost a single ounce of money, sweat or tears, but its impact has the capability of being monumental. I teach my students an act of kindness, the smallest one at that, can be life-changing for another person.

3. Difficulty & Patience =Reward:

Instant gratification is the bane of my classroom. This generation of students we have needs answers and things done immediately, and we cannot really blame them because everything today happens so quickly-conversations, texting, the Internet, and information; however, I tell me students that sometimes you have to wait, be patient even though it may be difficult, and the end product will be amazing. Just. Be. Patient.

4. The Dream & the Hustle:

Many kids have this glorified view their life will just fall into place, they will become famous athletes, and will make millions of dollars. I always explain to my students, that though this may be true (odds are not in their favor), EVERYONE needs to hustle and work hard in order to make their dream come true.

5. Your People:

Good attitudes attract good people. The character that one reflects attracts a specific group of people. Period.

6. Comfort Zones:

One thing I try to stress to my students is everyone has to step out of their bubble and try new things that they are not comfortable with in their daily lives. We have to push ourselves outside the box, even though we may believe it may not happen or come true. The best inventions came when people least expected them.

7. Choose Good People:

I must have this discussion with my classes quite a few times each school year. Surround yourself with good people and true friends. The people and friends they surround themselves with are either going to lift them up or bring them down. Teachers tend to see this often; kids are in with the wrong crowds and how they are affected by this choice.

8. The Courage to Stand Alone:

This is probably my favorite quotation. I always commend those students who are willing to not follow the crowd and make a choice to go in another direction. It is not an easy task, but it reflects true leadership. It is so courageous and brave.

9. Perfection:

From day one, I tell my students I am not perfect, I make mistakes, I am human, and it is fine to make mistakes because we are all learning. Many mistakes can be erased, and we can take what we learn from the mistakes, and fix them. I encourage my students to make mistakes; I know they are learning.

10. Doing What is Right:

Would you like all these INSPIRATIONAL POSTER for FREE to hang up in your classroom? Feel free to grab them right HERE!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, and for those who start school soon, you have a smooth and enjoyable start!

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Finishing the School Year…and I Already Have Grammar Goals for Next Year (as well as a few other things)!

Kim — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 14:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone!

Happy end of the year for many of you, and happy summer for those who have already started their glorious summer. I have five more days left (YAY), and I am typing this as I watch 25 sixth graders take their math final!

I am wrapping up the end of the year like many of you; however, you might think I am crazy I have ideas and goals already for next year! Most people are thinking about the beach, vacations and sitting by their pools; nevertheless, my brain NEVER stops. I am alway thinking of new, modified and better ways to do and implement things in my classroom. So what goals do I already have for the 2017-2018 school year? You wouldn’t believe it…

1. Implementing Grammar Back into my Curriculum: My first major goal is implementing daily to weekly grammar back into my curriculum. Over the past few years, slowly, grammar instruction has disappeared from my curriculum due to the restraints I have with the literature and the timing of everything. I started using Bell Ringers last year, and my students loved them! I am thinking of implementing them into my Bell Ringers twice a week. I find it very important English students have grammar implemented into their instruction, as well as the practice. I believe this is why many of our students struggle with writing complex and sophisticated sentences and as well as paragraphs. It is so sad when I ask my 7th graders what a verb is, and some of them cannot even give me an example?!?!? They need the instruction at any age.

I recently polled a Facebook Group (2ndaryELA) on what grammar books and resources are truly resourceful and helpful to teachers. In addition, these books the teachers felt they had the best results with, and the students were not bored out of their minds all of the time. This is the key. Here are some of the books these brilliant teachers recommended, and some I cannot wait to purchase for my summer reading:

A Janette Snelson recommended Grammar to Get Things Done:

B. Lisa Braden Carlson recommended Kelly Gallagher’s, Write Like This . Lisa has been using this in her classes for 17 years, and she feels that it is the most practical, effective and painless grammar method!

C. Jennifer Reid Galmoff suggested Evan Moor’s, Daily Language Review. She implements this as a Daily 10 minute warm up resource at the middle school level.

D. Linda Fittro Lanchak and Shauna McNabb both recommend Doug Stark’s, Mechanics Instruction that Sticks.

E. Stephanie Hughes Ruback has been using Phyllis Hostmeyer’s, Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers: Building Better Sentence Patterns, and she has been using this book for 12 years and absolutely LOVES IT!

F. Need some resourceful online grammar resources? Lauralee Epplin Moss wrote an amazzzing blog series about grammar and implementing it into the classroom. You have to check it out!

A Practical Approach to Grammar Blog Series

**Another great online resource recommended by Janice Ruschman O’Brien is NoRedInk.

**Lori Hudeck recommended English Grammar 101-I personally checked this one out and absolutely loved it!

MY SECOND GOAL FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

(I just thought I would share my idea 🙂

2. Chalkboard Bulletin Board-I have a small bulletin board in my room which probably is about 3ft x 3ft in size, right by my door. I really never know what to do with it because it is not large enough to have an entire class worth of projects displayed on it, and sometimes it is just wasted space, though last week, a brilliant idea came to mind.

On my front white board, I always write the quote of the week-a motivational, sometimes curriculum related quotation. Recently, I purchased this fantastic book on learning how to write in chunky calligraphy with markers and pens. You have to check it out! I already started practicing, and you will love it!

I decided when I go back in Septemeber, I am going to buy chalkboard paint and paint the bulletin board in the paint-

The next step is to buy some snazzy chalkboard markers-

I am really hoping that my chalkboard/bulletin board will look like this!

Wish me good luck. I will take lots of pictures of them once I get the ball rolling!

Kim, English, Oh My!

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How-To Tutorial on Enlarging (REALLY BIG) Clipart & Fonts and Printing Them for Your Classroom

Kim — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 22:09:00 +0000

Hi Everyone!

Have you ever wondered if you were able to enlarge a picture or font beyond the 8 1/2 x 11 standard page? How cool would it be if you could print a larger version from any printer?!?! Well, you can, and it is actually very easy!

A few days ago, I did a Periscope tutorial (Find me on Periscope at @kim_englishohmy) on how to do this, but I will give you the quick version below.

Here are the directions:

If you would like to view and print this from Google drive, here is the LINK.

Stay tuned to my latest news, products and freebies by signing up for my newsletter. Click on the link HERE, and fill out the Google Doc.

The post How-To Tutorial on Enlarging (REALLY BIG) Clipart & Fonts and Printing Them for Your Classroom appeared first on English, Oh My!.