Beth Newingham, third grade teacher and blogger for Scholastic, created this fun interactive literacy bulletin board that may just come in handy as we approach International Children's Book Day {on April 2nd} - and any other day, of course! Not only does the board get your students reading, it invites them to pay attention, make observations and comparisons, and ultimately, share their opinion.

Interactive Literacy Bulletin Board

• Background: Beth created this bulletin board on a white board surface, but if you're using a traditional board, consider using green or blue background paper {or another bright, fun color to draw attention and add some visual interest!}.
• Title: "Reader's Choice...Would you recommend this book to others?" - Beth used word processing software to create and print the title, mounting it onto a piece of bulletin board paper to create a border. If you're unfamiliar with how to do this, you could also use traditional bulletin board lettering to spell out "Reader's Choice" and script the question directly onto the background paper or a piece of construction paper.
• Border: The original board did not have a trimmer, but on a traditional bulletin board you might consider a reading bulletin board border.
• Decoration: 1) The Book Cover. Print an 8" x 10" of the week's feature book cover {you can usually find these online}, mount it to a piece of colored construction paper, and laminate. Place the book cover in the center of the board. 2) The Symbols. Beth provides links to both the thumbs up and thumbs down symbols so all you need to do is download, cut, and laminate. These can be attached to either side of the book cover. 3) The Critics. Have a student photo shoot, taking a head shot of each child to develop and use with the board. Keep the photos in a recycled plastic pamphlet display {mounted to the board under the book cover} labeled with "Waiting for the Book". Once the student has read the book, invite them to locate their picture and place it beneath the proper opinion heading. Since Beth's white board was magnetic, she attached a small magnetic strip to the back of each picture. Traditional boards are not magnetic, so consider finding some scrapbooking glue dots that will temporarily stick the photos to the board. Each week, as you change the book selection, just peel the glue dot off the back of the photo and place them back in the pamphlet holder.

Any activity that will get your students to invest in the book {even if the final outcome is a picture in the "Dislike" column} will assist in building reading skills, teach students about making comparisons, and help your kids to learn how to form and share their opinion. This is a fantastic board to keep up year round! It even offers a great learning exercise for younger children. Instead of having them read the book on their own time, complete the activity after a group reading during circle time...

We appreciate that you took the time to stop by! Let us know what you think of our site and this bulletin board by leaving a comment below! :)