Ever thought about allowing your students to decorate the classroom? Bobbie, teacher and National Education Association (NEA) contributor, has made it a tradition to set aside at least one bulletin board for students to call their own - dividing it into as many spaces as she has students and assigning each a piece of board for each to decorate with photos, bios, school work, projects, etc. She entitles the board, "My Space EDU". Honestly, with only a few elements and a small amount of work from you, this option provides one less board to worry about during the school year!

"Rock Star" Student Board

While this idea is certainly open for interpretation, we found a few "rock star" elements while tooling around our favorite websites that we thought might make a nice bulletin board {see photo above}!

• Background: Black bulletin board paper.
• Title: "My Space EDU!" - While students would certainly identify with the popular social networking fad, you might also consider other titles like, "Rock Stars of 203!", "Star Students of Room 302!", etc.
• Border: Star border in bright colors.
• Decoration: Create rock star posters like these designed by Beth Newingham! Have a photo shoot, providing "rock star" elements like blow up instruments, microphones, sparkly hats, colorful boas, etc., and photograph your students against a solid background. Using photo enhancing software, superimpose student images onto fun rock star backgrounds {i.e. a colorfully lighted stage, etc}. Add their name and print, placing the newly created "posters" at the top of the assigned sections. Have students complete a "rock star bio" to hang under their picture, then provide tape, staplers, fun tacks, and other supplies for students to use when decorating their "space"!

Bobbie suggests having your students change the decor every two or three weeks. As an alternative, you might also consider creating a "graffiti board", papering the bulletin board with black paper and providing colored chalk for you kiddos to draw and decorate at random during free time. In the same vein, you might offer your students white paint with which to decorate the black paper. Then, when their doodles overtake the board, switch the white paint for black and have them continue the process!

Supplies for this bulletin board...

• Black bulletin board paper
• Bulletin board letters
• Colorful star trimmer
• Rock star posters

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