Bulletin Board Solutions

One reason I decided to become a teacher was because I liked doing bulletin boards. I still do, but not when I'm under pressure. A solution for me was to buy BIG wall maps: one world map, one U.S. map, one map of my state, and a map of Europe. These go up before school begins and don't come down until the year ends. I relate anything we learn in any subject to the maps whenever I can throughout the year, and we use them for geography and games. They are in use practically every day.

Another yearlong display is a long time line extending from 3000 B.C. to 2000 (or 2010) A.D. It's marked out in 500 year increments. National Geographic photos illustrate the following eras and events: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Birth of Christ, Middle Ages, Columbus (1492) and USA began (1776). I introduce this rough outline of western history early in the year, and as we study events in any subject, we locate them on the time line. See the Fun with Facts handout for more details.

This made for a beautiful and useful classroom while leaving me with only one or two bulletin boards to change frequently.