Owl-riffic Bulletin Boards

Yes, I said "Owl-riffic". Typically I'm not into the cutsey classroom decorations (hence the overhaul of my classroom theme), however I do use the term "Owl-riffic" on my writing traits board.

These bulletin boards look barren right now, but that is because we add to them together as a class. I have read extensively about creating the content of your boards/anchor charts WITH students. When you create these as a class, students are more likely to utilize them in their own learning.

Owl of the Week Board. I will choose my owl of the week based on students who have been contributing to the classroom community in various ways. Maybe I caught a student being a good friend, studying for a difficult test, or challenging themselves academically; For any of those reasons a student could be chosen as Owl of the Week. Students then get to decorate a poster all about themselves and bring in a shoe box bio with small items that are important to them.

Here is my writing traits bulletin board. Currently it looks pretty blank. That is because as I introduce the six traits, we add to the board together so that everything is written in "kid" language. At the beginning of the school year, my classroom looks pretty bare, but we need plenty of wall space for all of the charts and posters we create together as a class!