How do you create an inclusive classroom?
By displaying student work on the walls.
There is nothing colder than a classroom that has already been fully decorated at the start of the school year BY THE TEACHER!
If every space on the wall is taken up with posters, vocabulary cards, calendars, classroom rules and pretty decor - where do students place their work? It becomes THE TEACHER'S ROOM and not the students.
On the other hand, some decoration makes a cosy space for students to feel comfortable in but please let them decorate the walls with their creations as early as possible. Even right from the first day with their name.
Try these handy wall or door decor ideas to help students display their names. These activities are so easy they will suit First Grade students or Prep students with some assistance.
With all these activities, I would recommend pre-cutting the letters of the student's name and placing them in a plastic bag. Then give them the pre-cut label, pencils and glue and let them decorate and then glue down the letters in the correct order.
This activity will also let you see who can spell their own name!
1. Pencils in a bucket
This would make a lovely door display or make some wooden shelves with wood-look adhesive and place them on the wall in your classroom. Place a pretty plant on there too.
2. Books on a shelf
As with the pencils in a bucket, you could also create some books and place the students' names on the spines and place them on the shelves too. Why not let students decide for themselves if they want their name on a book or a pencil?
3. Backpacks on the wall
These little backpacks are so cute! They would look great around your classroom wall, on the back of chairs or on the front door of your classroom.
4. Crayons in a box
This one is my absolute favourite because the boxes look so sweet!
For this one, and all of the other suggestions, you can download the Student Name Displays Pack and you'll find the template for the crayon box in there too.
Print the template pages on yellow paper, trim and attach them together.
Then cut a slot for the crayons to go in.
Place green strips for the bottom of the box and a red oval in the middle for the name.
Name your box either in group names (reading groups or maths rotations) or make many boxes to go around your room.
Students make their crayons with their names and pop them in the box! Because they are removable you can pull out crayons and move children around into different groups as necessary.