Ideas for a Reading Literacy Bulletin Board

Using a classroom bulletin board to encourage literacy is an effective tool to help children become interested in reading and writing. When children know their work may be displayed, they tend to work harder to make the work suitable for public viewing. The classroom bulletin board can promote literacy in many creative ways.

• Favorite Book - Have children draw scenes from their favorite book. Use colored paper to frame the work, and hang it on the bulletin board. Ask them to write down several sentences about why the book is their favorite. Hang their descriptions next to the picture.


• The Classroom Zoo - Instruct children to draw their favorite zoo animal. Ask them to write the name of the animal on the drawing. Use a dictionary to assist them with proper spelling. Ask them to pronounce the animal name. Decorate the bulletin board with an animal or safari themed border, and hang the drawings.


• Classroom Collage - Choose a theme such as emotions, weather or candy. Bring in magazines, and ask children to cut or tear words from the magazines that fit with the theme. As the children bring words to you, staple them to the bulletin board to form a word collage.


• Vocabulary Review - Print several vocabulary words in large letters and hang them in various places on the bulletin board. Break the children into small groups, and let them use old magazines to find pictures that pertain to each vocabulary word. Hang the pictures they cut or tear from the magazine near the corresponding word.


• Vacation Information - When school starts, ask children to write about their summer or winter vacation. Give them writing prompts to help them develop their stories. Hang their stories on the bulletin board along with pictures they draw of their vacations.