A couple of people have posted on the Classroom Displays Facebook  Page recently looking for ideas for phonics displays and I’ve been really pleased and impressed with the willingness of people to help.

• An igloo with other i words on the bricks
• Iguanas? Insects? Impossible insects – the children have to draw weird insects and they have to give them or make up a name that begins with the ‘i’ sound.
• I think the insects sounds interesting! I can see randomly collaged insects with big googley eyes! Have fun!
• I recently did a display on inchworms, there’s a great inchworm poem and story that I found on the internet.
• Interesting Inventors – let them invent their own method to remember the sound. Or Ingriedients for a recipe; some insects & inventors ….
  Or the Interesting ball … The only people invited are I sounds …. Good luck
• What about an interactive wall display where the children have to place a sticky backed cut out cartoon character or arrow above the ‘i’ that makes the ‘i’ sound
• Incy wincy insect?
• Use marbling inks to make insects or iguanas? Lots of i sound there!
• Indian faces (native Americans) and the children colour mix variety of “feathers” and thread beads for the head dress …..

And then we had a breakthrough!

• Kyle – it’s the sound a mouse makes, it’s from an old phonics scheme. Say it to your self in a squeaky voice and you’ll get it.
• Ah, it’s Jolly Phonics, Inky the mouse spills black ink on herself. It goes to the tune of Hickory Dickory Dock so do a mouse and a grandfather clock, perhaps.
• We do jolly phonics and yes it’s inky the mouse. We think it is a brilliant program. Alternatively I would make Indian headwear and play tee pees and Indians on the oval and run around being indians. Investigate jolly phonics, there’s HEAPS on you tube.
• As a follow on from J.phonics- Impy ink dips his ink inot iii sounds- inky Indian, Inky igloo -they’ll have great fun inking these i sounds could be linked in with art.

Jolly Phonics Resources on Amazon

This whole box of Jolly Phonics resources is available on Amazon. Jolly Phonics has been around a long time but it is still very effective and widely used.

Not sure what Jolly Phonics is all about? Have a look at their web site Jolly Learning

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10 Ideas for Quick Interactive Displays

1. Junk modelling pile – students produce relevant artefacts – eg cardboard rolls can be used as mock telescope. Tea boxes make good treasure chests or gingerbread houses.
2.   If one group perform an experimental activity, equipment can be left for other students to try & space given to record results.
3. A tray of moist, fine-grained sand on a table below a display. KS1 letter formation, later for creating things like animal prints or buried treasure, (place a string grid over and use co-ordinates to locate hidden items.) Sand try can also be used for creating Treasure Island, forest or other setting in which props can be manipulated.
4. Small figures/finger puppets & other props to represent actors in story – students can manipulate and retell story in own words.
5. Create cardboard sailors with movable arms and semaphore flags in their hands. Students can move the arms around to spell different words
6. Tudors or pirates – Put an A3 world map onto display table. Create (or use small plastic) ships and label on sails. Students use display to track where each ship sailed. Variation – change to a map of island/treasure map as the story progresses (pirates).
7. Cardboard time-line with large cardboard arrow on paper clip shows how many days at sea or where we are up to in story.
8. Worksheets, several kinds, (eg. questions that student needs to use the display to answer, colour and label, cut out and sequence, story starters on themed backgrounds) are placed nearby.
9. Dressing up boxes – ideal for topics like Tudors, Vikings, Romans, pirates, persuasive writing or Shakespeare! Role play is not just for KS1!!
10. Children’s voice This consists of a board or part of a board,where a teacher or child poses a question. Children then have a period of time (for example, three days) to write their responses. This method works best if it!s a regular routine in the classroom and children have easy, daily access to the board.

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Classroom display courses available through classroomdisplays.org this year (2013)

All classroom display courses run on a dedicated private web site

The next Classroom Display Basic Course will run on a ‘self-study’, ‘start when you like’ basis from July 1st  over the summer of 2013. This will be the basic course which is suitable for teachers, all kinds of teaching assistants, learning mentors and librarians. It covers the basics of displays and is suitable for all key stages.

It cost just £20 GBP.
I’ll just explain some basics of how it works and what we cover, then please, ask any questions in the comments, if I’ve missed anything.
As I said the course usually has a mix of teachers, teaching assistants and library staff. They can come from any key stage and we often have people from outside the UK involved as well.

How it works
Each week for 4 weeks I send you a link to a page that contains some written explanations of the topic, maybe a video or two and a slide show of examples. There is a handout, sometimes two, to download as well.
What we cover:
1.Why we have displays, ways of using displays for learning
2. Design guidelines
3. Using colour with confidence and mounting work
4. Fonts and lettering for displays

What you have to do
You are expected to read the course materials, it works best if you join in discussions on the site and complete the  practical task each week.

You can share your completed tasks in the private section of the website. You might also want want to share your ideas on the Facebook page or via the Flickr Group, maybe even on Twitter. Sometimes people prefer to respond privately to the tasks by email & that’s fine too.
You keep your access to all the lessons on line for up to 6 weeks, with an extension if you need it to complete the tasks.

You also get a pdf file of the lessons that you can keep and work through at your own pace.
What you need

• Internet access
• An email account

Optional but nice to have:

• A printer
• A digital camera, your phone is fine!

What happens after the course
When you complete the course I send you a pdf certificate of achievement  to print out and keep in your CPD folder. The main thing though is that you should be buzzing with new confidence in your displays ability and full of ideas. I hope that we’ll be able to keep in touch and I’m always glad to see display photos from course participants.

Participants will also be entitled to a discount on the Advanced Classroom Displays Course.

Book Now via PayPal (you do not need to have a Paypal account) The course costs just £20 GBP.  Email me if you need to arrange another payment method :

Other Classroom display courses coming this year

Later in the year I will be adding some new courses. These will include:

•   A course aimed at displays in FE settings
•  An advanced course for those who would like to explore displays in more depth and perhaps create their own digital display resources. Update: the next Advanced Course will start at the end of September 2013
• A range of short topic specific display courses.

I will be posting more about these in the near future.

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Our emotional literacy displays & learning environment

Emotional literacy display – Busy bees

We are very lucky to have our own classroom to carry out our emotional literacy activities. It is in the process of being changed from an old intervention/guided reading room to ‘The Hive’ our new name for the room. As our groups are called ‘Busy Bees’ we decided to carry that theme throughout the room. All our displays are backed in bright yellow with black borders. It is very eye catching.

We also purchased some Bee cushions which the children sit on for circle time activities. I have a cooling down area which consists of a table with a ‘cool it’ activity,  and a (yellow)timer and have plans for a covered ‘hive’ where children can read books etc. When the room is finished I will happily send in some photos for you to see.

The photo I have included in this post is of the Busy Bees display in the corridor leading up from Reception. All visitors must go past the display when they come into our school. We used our yellow and black theme here too. Everyone knows this is Busy Bees. The display is very eye catching and eyes are drawn to it when walking down the corridor. We decided to put the bright yellow sunflowers to enhance the display. Yellow makes me think of happy things; of the sun, warmth and friendship. That is what we wanted to achieve.

The display consists of photographs of the children taking part in different activities, feelings fans, lots of speech bubbles which the children wrote saying what they had learnt in their Busy Bee group. We also cut out bees and flowers out of clipart to dot around. We included some friendship quotes which I made on the computer. I love positive quotes and sometimes we discuss them in circle time.  I also wanted something that visitors could look at and also most importantly the children. We made our ‘Look at what we do in Busy Bees’ book. This is updated regularly with photographs of our sessions. We often see parents looking through the book as well as children.
A little more about our ELSA work
Many people may wonder what an ELSA is so I will explain. An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant, a teaching assistant or in my case an HLTA who has undergone training by Educational Psychologists. It is quite a new initiative which aims to address the problem of children’s social and emotional needs enabling them to access the curriculum.

I have been trained for a year now and the value of the ELSA role has been recognised in our school to such an extent that the Head has invested in training for three more ELSAs. I am now the Lead ELSA and line manage the three other ELSAs. We work both reactively and proactively with behaviour, social and emotional needs.

Every day is different and the children actually self refer themselves to us now. It might be that their dog has died or they had a conflict in the playground or they feel angry about something. I knew I had made a difference when one little boy in year 2 asked his teacher if he could come and see me because he felt so angry. This little boy would, in the past have lashed out at others but now he recognises his anger, walks away and seeks adult help. I was so proud of him that day when he knocked on my door. We also work closely with parents to foster good relationships and to help the parent to help their child.
Proactive work
Our proactive work involves running our ‘Busy Bee’ groups. These are hand-picked children who have problems managing their feelings, self esteem problems, friendship problems or just need a little nurturing. We always include ‘LAC’ (looked after children). This is a 12 week intervention where we work on lots of things including feelings, team work, friendship, social skills, calming down and relaxation strategies. The biggest strength of Busy Bees is the fact that children feel they belong to a group. Belonging is very powerful! We also work on a one to one basis with children where we can teach ways to manage their feelings, change their negative behaviour or perhaps support them after bereavement.
Reactive work
Our reactive work involves sorting out problems which occur on a daily basis. For example if a teacher is struggling with a child’s behaviour and has gone through all the sanctions then she/he will call for us and we will remove the child, calm them and have the ‘talk’ about expectations in class. They usually go back in a much better mood and get on with their work. We also sort out playtime issues using a restorative approach to conflict.
ELSA Support website
Earlier on in the year I realised that there was no central area on the internet for emotional literacy resources and resources are difficult for some people to make. In my past life before having my children I was an ICT technician with a very large multinational company so had the skills to make resources for my work and I thought it would be good to share with others. I started ELSA support. There are many resources on there and links to resources I have found. Also some people have started to send in resources they have made which is fantastic and just what I want to happen. I have also started a Facebook page where people can ‘like’ the page and they will get regular updates to the website. It is growing slowly but surely. Although the original intention was to support ELSAs, everyone who works with children is very welcome.  Children’s emotional literacy is a key element of their success in life so we are all equally responsible; whether a parent, Head teacher, teacher, teaching assistant, volunteer or ELSA.
Visit www.elsa-support.co.uk

Thank you Linda for allowing me to write this article

Thank you Debbie for guest posting!

BTW If you’d like to write a guest post for Classroom Displays do get in touch!

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As with most aspects of school life the first thing to check is whether your school has a displays policy. If it does then much of how you make displays in the classroom will be laid out for you there.

Classroom Displays – Boards

Display boards are usually backed with ‘fade-less’ poster paper which is more fade resistant than ordinary papers. Occasionally sugar paper might be used but it can fade very badly.  Other materials can be used but they have to meet the fire regulations. Teachers sometimes use fabric but it should be fire retardant. There are sprays available to help with this.
The backing paper is either in rolls or sometimes A3 sheets.

See more rolls and borders in the Classroom displays Book shop

These rolls might look rather bright and that can be an issue. I go into more depth about choosing suitable colours for backing and mounting in Week 3 of the course.

Make sure you know the school etiquette before you help yourself to the displays store cupboard.  In the coming months everyone will be looking for black and dark blue for bonfire night displays. Try to be a bit more original with colours and you will find display making easier and your displays might be more interesting!

Display basics, showing the edges of A3 display backing paper

Some schools use A3 sheets rather than rolls. Schools vary in their paper buying policies and you just have to be adaptable. When using sheets they are placed next to each other and attached to the board with staples. You can  see it if you look closely here, from a distance the edges are not visible.
Sometimes school use rolls of plasticised paper to provide a more lasting background. These can last a whole term or even longer. Colour choices can be a bit limited but it is easy to use.

Backing paper is usually stapled into place and can often be re-used for two or three displays depending on how well it has survived.

Round the edge of the display board we usually also add a border of contrasting plain paper. It comes ready cut on a roll. Sometimes borders are scalloped or have designs on them. Plain is usually preferable as it distracts from the work less.

Mounting Work

Children’s work is usually fixed to another sheet of paper to ‘mount’ . We usually attach work by using a glue stick. If you do it carefully round the edge and a dab in the middle then it won’t wrinkle.Work can be mounted on poster paper, sugar paper or sometimes on pre-cut mounts like the ones in the photo. Mounting can be single, double or triple depending on the look of the display.

A4 Mounting Paper

When the display comes down work is often given back to the children but it often remains mounted. It can be carefully removed from pre-cut mounts but it is fiddly and work can be damaged.

When mounting work it is important to note the child’s name in pencil on the back of the mounting paper before you glue it down! Best practice suggests we should unobtrusively include a small name label on each piece of work displayed but that is not always possible.
Work is usually attached to the board by stapling the mount at the corners, ideally just catching it rather than piercing the mount. This is even more important with pre-cut mounts which are too expensive not to re-use. Use the stapler at an angle to make it easy to remove staples afterwards. Drawing pins are not ideal in the classroom for health and safety reasons. Blu Tack is sometimes used but it can leave sticky marks on the backing paper and sometimes falls off after an extended period.

Occasionally double sided sticky tape can be used on displays, but I usually had to provide my own! It’s too expensive to use for displaying work. I also found stick velcro pads very useful for attaching 3d items. Spray mount isn’t often used, partly because of issues with asthmatic children. I have used it myself sometimes on display items, but only when working outside school hours.

I hope this has given you a quick insight into some classroom displays basics. If you want to know more then why not have a look at the Classroom Displays Starter Course?

If you are a seasoned display maker, thank you for reading this far! Please leave your tips and suggestions in the comments section. What do you wish someone had told you about making classroom displays when you started?

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A Warm Fuzzy for your positive behaviour strategy

Making Warm Fuzzies as one of your positive behaviour strategies

You can buy ‘warm fuzzies’ for your classroom. They are little balls of fluff, often with feet and googly eyes, usually sold in bulk. However the whole point about warm fuzzies is that they never run out and that makes buying them a very expensive option. I found that the best way to have an almost limitless supply was to get the children to make them. This has numerous advantages. It gives the children a sense of ownership of the scheme and helps them to invest in it. I prefer to separate the making from the giving and work with small groups or individuals to make our communal collection of warm fuzzies. These can then be stored somewhere so that the whole class has access to them.

All you need is some wool, funky foam or cardboard for feet and a jar of googley eyes. I used to keep my jar with wool and some plastic forks ready for children to make their own. It is a good, quick, ‘busy hands’ activity, and, while hands are busy is an excellent time for quiet conversations. Five minutes at the end of a guided reading session or another group activity can be spent discussing and reflecting on the activity whilst hands are busy making warm fuzzies. Once children get the knack it is amazing how quickly they can be made by using the following method:

You Will Need

If you are making warm fuzzies with the children you will need

• Wool, real wool rather than acrylic is nicer to the touch, warmer & fuzzier
• Plastic or wooden forks, must have a gap in the middle.
• Sharp scissors (with adult supervision!)
• Funky foam or coloured card for the feet
• Googley eyes or card for eyes (optional)
• Glue, or if possible, double sided sticky tape.

The Method

I cannot say this too often – Do this with the children! Not at home, not in your own time, unless you happen to enjoy it of course!  Be kind to yourself too

1. Cut a length of wool and fold it in half
2. Thread it through the middle of the tines of the fork
3. Wrap wool round the outside of the fork, not too tight or it will be hard to remove
4. Spreading the wool along the whole length of the fork makes a rounder shape.
5. Keeping mainly to the middle gives a tall thin shape and a flat base.
6. Either of these styles work and look fun afterwards!
7. Cut out some feet from foam or cardboard
8. Use a dab of PVA glue or (better) double sided sticky tape to attach the pom-pom to the feet
9. Do the same with the eyes.
10. Eyes and feet are fun but optional. They do tend to fall off so you might choose to avoid them.
11. Make far more than you think you will ever need!

It is fun to have a special container for your warm fuzzies and many teachers use a decorated sweetie jar or similar. The main thing I would say about this is that it must be freely available to the children. It is not something that should be under the teacher’s, or the TA’s control. Children need free access to the supply of warm fuzzies or the point is lost. A big, open, unbreakable, bowl or a box, placed somewhere  that it won’t easily be tipped over works well.

The Story of the Warm Fuzzies

Buy it on Amazon

The idea comes originally from psychology and  Transaction Analysis^[2]and I first came across it via a children’s book called TA for Kids. There is an older book, which has dated quite badly now, which tells the story of the warm fuzzies and their counterpart the ‘cold pricklies’ in more depth. I wouldn’t use that book directly with children. I preferred to tell a simpler oral version of the story. You can find the basic story here: A Warm Fuzzy Tale. I suggest you learn it and then tell your own shorter version to the children. It is meant to be like a fairy tale so keep the witch but alter the rest of the language to help your children connect with it.

Find books about positive behaviour strategies and emotional literacy in the Classroom Displays bookshop

Possible problems with these positive behaviour strategies and how to deal with them

It is worth saying that there can be issues with using warm fuzzies, especially with troubled children.

Not all children (or adults!) are comfortable with this idea. Sometimes it can bring difficult feelings to the surface and cause unexpected reactions, including sadness, anger and hostility. Tact and gentle support can be very helpful.

Another management issue can arise when the fuzzies become a kind of classroom currency. Any experienced teacher or TA  will recognise this phenomenon.Hoarding, collecting and trading are natural activities for primary aged children and the warm fuzzies can easily become part of that, if you are not careful.

I found that we had to be very explict in the setting up of the scheme so that children understood there was no need to hoard or even steal ‘warm fuzzies’ as the supply was unlimited. Even then some children, perhaps because of their emotional background, found it hard to grasp this and much tact and understanding was needed to help them work through it.

Some children crave the physical stimulation that holding and fiddling with a warm fuzzy can give. You’ll quickly identify them, if you don’t know who they are already. Make sure they have an acceptable alternative to fiddle with. Keep the warm fuzzies for their intended purpose .

As an adult in the class it can be hard to keep hold of the idea that we are not in charge of the warm fuzzies. Beware of removing someone’s stock of warm fuzzies, how ever badly they behaved or you will quickly be identified as the witch with her bag of cold pricklies, and no one wants that!

Using A Warm Fuzzies Display Area

One way to counter some of these problems is to have a warm fuzzies display area. This is a display where the children can store their warm fuzzies. You can adapt a plastic shoe hanger bag giving each child a pocket. I prefer to use A4 piece of card for each child and glue on either a clear plastic pocket or a decorated brown paper bag. Children can help to make these and decorate their card. It is good to use soft textures to decorate the cards, foam, felt or textured papers.

I like this idea because you can hang them somewhere easily accessible and not too high for children to easily interact with, along the bottom of a display area for example. It is no fun if you have to ask someone to put the warm fuzzy into the bag for you.

Which ever you choose it is a good idea to have something tactile on the display and to use lots of soft, inviting textures. I like to use textured paper or even felt for the lettering. A collection of warm fuzzies can be stuck to the display as well, maybe in a heart shape and again, this really should be where it can be touched.

Don’t forget to make pockets for yourself and the rest of the classroom staff. Children will sometimes want to give you warm fuzzies and you should be gracious enough to accept and enjoy them. You are, of course, modeling the behaviour you want to see.

At an agreed point in the process, say once a week, or once a fortnight, all the warm fuzzies go back to the main container. This gives you a chance to remove any damaged or dirty ones (it does happen!)Make this clear from the start and children will just accept it.

These physical aspects of  positive behaviour strategies are not meant to go on for ever. Once the class has learned how to identify, give and receive warm fuzzies then it is time to move on to something else. Some children may take longer and in small nurture groups, SEN groups or with the learning mentor the strategy may continue for some time.

1. ^[1] "the ability to understand your emotions, the ability to listen to others and empathise with their emotions, and the ability to express emotions productively." Steiner, C. with Perry, P. (1997) Achieving Emotional Literacy. London: Bloomsbury. ↩
2. ^[2] TA is a theory of personality  for personal growth and personal change. Read more on Wikipedia ↩

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Viking display – The Vikings Are Coming

The Vikings Are Coming

Viking displays are a popular and usually people go for the classic Viking long boat. Just recently posted in the Classroom Displays Flickr group by Sway1233 this one is particularly fun as it includes photos of the children disguised as Vikings. You can adapt this idea for lots of other displays, of course, pirates works really well. Longboats can be as simple as this one, just a paper shape, or more complex. You can find my post about making a 3d longboat over here Viking Invasion. I love the cheery colours of this display. I wouldn’t want something quite so bright at the front of the classroom but it would be ideal at the back or in a shared area. I am not sure the sea has quite worked. I think I might have kept it more simple as it slightly distracts the viewer from the children and their shields. That’s just me being picky! Overall it is an excellent display.

Viking Voyages

Viking display – Viking Voyages

This Viking display, originally by a teaching colleague of mine, uses the Viking voyages as a starting point. Maps like these are easier to produce than you might think, even if you are not an artist.  You could find the map you want online and get it up on your IWB. Use your browser to zoom in or out to get the image the right size and then use thin paper & gently (very gently!!) trace the outline. This is one of those things that was easier when we had overhead projectors! Alternatively use a service like Blockposters to print out a large version. Your map needs to be simple & stylised if it is to work on a display, so don’t go for anything too detailed. Personally I think I’d have been tempted to get a group involved in drawing the map. It has so much learning potential! This might not be a ‘wow!’ display but it would be (was) a great focus point for a working wall approach. This was the finished version but it had been used over the course of the topic and been covered in sticky notes, questions, prompts etc.

Paper Plate Viking Shields

Paper plate shields are an easy Viking art activity and look quite good on a display once finished. I wonder how many paper plates actually end up on displays, we used to get through stacks of them every term! The classic is to use a flattened foil pie dish for the centre, it can be further embellished with patterns made with a pastry wheel if you’ve time.

Viking Display Shields detail

Individual 3d Longboats

Another approach to the Viking display is to go for individual art works and writing. Maureen Crosbie shared this lovely small 3D Viking Ships idea in the Classroom Displays Group. Sometimes simple is really effective.

Viking display – Viking collage

A Reproduction Viking Longboat

In case you need anymore long boat inspiration I saw a really great reproduction one in London the other day. I’ve put a creative commons license on it so feel free to grab it for you display.

Danish reproduction Viking longboat

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Remove Sparklebox toolbar – via @mikemcsharry

Do you have the Sparklebox toolbar on your school laptop? I know lots of teachers still do despite all the warnings about the site. I also know that removing toolbars can be a bit daunting. I found a resource via  a Twitter conversation the other day that makes it much easier and explains just why you should.

You can download this pdf file (sparklebox notes march2011) mentioned in this tweet and use it to help you (or your technician) remove it. Mike includes quotes from several LEAs who are blocking the site in his blog post Sparklebox Removal

I hope most teachers now understand just why the site is banned by so many local authorities but if you are not sure then have a look at this from the BBC. There seems to be no evidence that the ownership of the site has changed recently, despite several rumours to that effect.

Of course we all get tempted to install things we probably shouldn’t, especially when they offer us incentives. It is worth remembering that if something seems to be free then access to your information is often the hidden price. That is why I think it is important to use trustworthy sites for free resources. This PDF will help you, or your technician if you are lucky enough to have one, to fully remove the toolbar.

As for where to find good quality free resources from trustworthy CRB checked sites have a look at the rest of the articles in this series Alternatives to Sparklebox and if there are some you’d like to add just leave them in the comments and I’ll link to them here:

Alternatives to Sparklebox wiki page

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Welcome. The acrostic elements were generated by Year 6 right at the start of the year. Ownership of the room was thus subtly established as being shared with the teacher.

A big question when you finally get to the holidays is the extent to which you get ready for your new class before the term starts. I want to look at how you can prepare your classroom for the new school year and still have some time for yourself.

I’ve written about this before (Leaving Room for Your Class) but I think it is worth re-visiting . Recently we have been having an interesting chat about this on our Facebook page following on from reading a post on Lessons from My Classroom. I know that many teachers like to feel their classroom is a welcoming, exciting place for the new class to come into. I just worry that they can spend far to much time and energy during the holidays on achieving that impressive effect.

Get Ready for Your New Class – Things to consider

Teacher Time

During the holidays you do not  have your TA to help you get ready for your new class with the displays so everything is down to them. Usually. Once, long ago I was that daft TA who came in during the holidays unpaid (!) to help sort out displays! As a teacher you can feel that the classroom environment is something you are judged on, and not just by the children. In a school with that sort of culture it can be very hard to be the person who does not do everything in advance.

In the UK this is less prevalent than it is in the US. Themed classrooms and matching everything to your theme is much more common there. A few hours (days, weeks, you have been warned!) on Pinterest will quickly show you the extremes to which this can be taken. There teachers seem far more likely to spend quite considerable amounts of their own time and money decorating their classrooms. It is almost as though they see it as an extension of home decorating. All that effort can create some really impressive results, classrooms that sometimes really make you green with envy and that you can see it would be a joy to be a child in. Other times the results are so fussy and feminine I can’t help but wonder how any child with ADHD or for that matter many boys (!) would cope.

Schools have holidays not just for the children.You do need to spend part of your ‘time off’ preparing for next term but I seriously question if you should be spending a large part of it on displays.

The  other thing I’d question is whether all of this teacher work is actually adding anything to the children’s learning.

Ownership

I want to consider the idea of  ownership of the classroom. If children come into a room that feels totally finished, maybe with just a few gaps for their work, then it is hard for them to feel it is their classroom. I think this is especially the case when teachers re-cycle important elements of a display and bring them out every year. I remember coming into a Year 4 ‘rainforest’ themed classroom with a visiting Year 8 child and having him remark “Wow! We made all those parrots when we were in this class”. Chatting to him further it became clear that it was not that the lesson had been repeated. These really were the same parrots and he quickly identified his one, still with his name on it. To the current Year 4 this impressive rainforest display was likely to be little more than pretty wallpaper as they had no real involvement with it.  This sort of classroom display undermines the use of displays for learning.

Part of the move towards ‘working walls‘ has come from a rejection of this kind of display. In particular books and courses about ALPS and Assessment for Learning have led some schools away from themed classrooms even to the extent of not having any displays in the classroom.  If you are teaching in that sort of setting then your approach to your classroom set up will be very different. I’d love to hear more about that so do leave a comment.

Creating Interest

There is an argument for some display preparation though. It’s good to have boards backed and borders up if possible. Maybe even just some rough plans of what will go on each one. I quite like the idea of creating a bit of mystery and interest for the new class. Here are some ways of doing this to start you off:

• Ask a question in the centre of a board and provide an area for post-it notes guesses. Great for establishing what they already know about a topic. Turn the question into a statement & use as the board title once the topic work starts.
• Prepare a board to display a class charter or Golden Rules maybe in a form that relates to your overall theme for the term or your class name. The point about this board is that it is ‘child led’. The work of filling it then becomes in part their responsibility and forms part of your first PSHE lessons.
• A target board (again themed if you like) for group or individual targets. Personalise it as quickly as possible by adding photos of the children to moveable elements. Make sure you get the children to make these! eg peg butterflies or similar
• If you really do want to have a ‘Wow!’ display already in place then give the class the  topic title, cover the main element with brown parcel paper and have the class guess what might be underneath. This will works well with role play areas and things like the giant legs from Jack and the Beanstalk or a pirate ship corner. The reveal involves ripping off the paper to create real excitement which you then quickly follow up with getting them involved in creating other display elements.

I am sure you can come up with lots of other ideas to create that excited buzz but just remember the magic does not last long. I believe it is the displays that they create themselves with your help and guidance that have lasting meaning for most children. What do you think?

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Tattiebogle – a Year 1 materials display

A 3D Display

This is a lovely example of a using three dimensional element on a display to add interest. The scarecrow is stuffed with straw and dressed with a variety of fabrics, papers, buttons and even a feather. The children have also added scraps to their own written work which has also been mounted and put round the display. Photographs of the making of the scarecrow show the children working on him and sorting the materials to be used.

This display was originally sent to me several years ago and formed part of my degree research.

The display in more depth

Let’s explore the detail of the display in more depth.

The green and orange colour scheme works quite well for the subject. I like the choice of dark green backing paper as it shows off both the scarecrow and the photographs.

The mounts on the main board add interest and make the photos stand out. At first it looks like triple mounting but closer examination shows that the white is simple the border round the images. A slight quibble might be that the orange of the mount does not match the display border but sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got! If the school has a policy of using scalloped corrugated borders then we need to work with that.  Displays are not about perfection and sometimes you have to settle for ‘good enough’!

The children’s work has been double mounted using the same colours but reversed and this works really well. The use of the narrow, bright orange mount next to the fairly pale writing brings the writing forward and helps to make it more visible. The green ties it back to the main display, showing us that this work relates to the scarecrow display.  I also like the way the work has been placed, using the lines of the brick wall to keep the work straight.

Tattiebogle

Just in case you don’t know the book I highly recommend it for key stage 1. It is a wonderful optimistic tale and full of opportunities for learning across the curriculum. The book can link with literacy and PSHE as well as with science. I really think it should be in every Year 1 classroom. Making scarecrows is lots of fun too!

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