Fall & Back to School Bulletin Board Ideas

 

The Back-to-School Bulletin Board Ideas page will provide you with great resources for a number of back-to-school related topics. Our bulletin boards will help you integrate various activities into your daily curriculum. Ideas within the back-to-school bulletin board pages include resources for the following: teamwork, school memories, fall, and general back-to-school.

We are always looking for new ideas! Your creativity can help other teachers. Submit your bulletin board idea and don't forget to include a photo if you have one! We also want your pictures of the bulletin boards below. Please send them if you make one!

Wild Bunch!
Jungle theme:  Take pictures of students on the first day and add to board. Heading: "Mr/Mrs _________ Wild Bunch"
Submitted by: Ann

 

"Welcome"
Upon return, take each child's photo. Put their name in a star cutout and frame the photo with a simple square of construction paper.

"Welcome to Xth Grade!"

"Up and Away"
Put student names on multi-colored balloons for a fun 3D Back to school bulletin board

Like the blooming of flowers...
My back to school board. I will ask the students to bring in their pictures, and will put it in between every flower. "Like the blooming flowers, let's chase the sun and make our future bright!"

Submitted by: Ramisha A.

 

"A Special Bunch"
During the first couple days of school, take each child's photo. After having them developed, cut the child's face out in the shape of a circle. Using a flower pattern, have students paint their own flower using water colors. They can also write their names in the petals. Students will then glue their photo in the center of their painted flower. Finally, use green butcher paper to create the steams, and a color of your choice to create the bow. You can print a PDF flower pattern below.

Submitted by: Jennifer

Apple Graph Grades K-2
Use an apple Ellison die cut to make apples out of yellow, green, and red construction paper or tag board. Using a large piece of butcher paper, create your pictograph. Using tape or glue, students vote for their favorite type of apple and attach the corresponding color. You can also have students write their names on the apples.
Submitted by: Jennifer

Cupcakes
I print cupcakes from my computer's Printshop. Each cupcake has the child's name and birthdate printed on it. I tape them to the wall near my calendar/weather center. The child takes the cupcake home on his/her birthday.

Fall Facts Grades K-2
Use different colors of butcher paper to make large, child-sized leaves. As part of an Interactive Writing lesson, students record facts about the fall season on chart paper. Glue the statements onto the large leaves.
Submitted by: Jennifer

Help Wanted Grades Intermediate
This works well for the upper grades. I found classified want ads and laminated them. I also found a bulletin board set that focused on the attributes of cooperation, perseverance, respect, etc. The bulletin board kit is called Wanted: Good Character Bulletin board kit. #CD-3441 (Carson-Dellrosa). The week before school starts, I send out a post card to the students inviting them to apply for a position in the ____grade workshop. I tell them they were referred to our management team because they possessed the skills needed to work well in the workshop. I also stress that I would be thrilled to have them work WITH me this year. The postcard also asks that they bring in a photo of themselves on the first day of school. I also list our class web page so they can check out any updates before school begins. On the first day of school, I have the students paste their photo on a template of a "resume" for the position of student worker in the ____grade workshop.
Submitted by: Ginnie Goldovich

I Am Special
This is a great activity and display for the beginning of year, or any other time that you would like to focus on unique qualities of individual students (photo below). It's a fun activity that allows you to introduce and/or practice quotation marks with your students. Make a class set of a basic person shape. Students then decorate and cut out their shape. Students write their own sentence explaining why they are special. Here is an example: Sue said, "I am special because I can ride my bike around the block with no training wheels." Having a parent volunteer available to type the statements would be great. After printing, students cut out their statement and glue it to a piece of construction paper that resembles speech bubble.

Submitted by: Jennifer

I'm Falling for You
Take simple leaf outlines and copy them onto fall-colored construction paper or tag board. You will then need to take a digital photo of each child. After printing these, cut a hole in the center of the leaf and mount the photo from the back.
Submitted by: Jennifer

The Kids in ___ Are Groovy!
I used a tie-dye theme this year. On my welcome board, I put tie-died butcher paper as a background and put the students' names on old CD's with a sharpie. The title was: "The Kids in 402 Are Groovy!"
Submitted by: Sandi Attaway

Summer Memories
1.  I send an opening letter to each of my first grade students about two weeks before school begins along with a paper that I want them to fill in about their summer vacation memories. (Download Summer Memories form.)
 *On the attached paper, I put handwriting lines by the blank spaces where I want them to write so that they can make appropriate letters.
2.  They bring this paper with them to school on the first day.  We have a community circle and each child shares his/her paper and shows the picture. This gives each child a chance to introduce himself/herself to the rest of the
class.
3.  When we are finished, I take a picture of each child.  I hang up their pictures with their stories on a bulletin board in the hallway.  I have used many different sayings:  "Look What We Did This Summer!"  "Room 112's Summer
Memories"
I've made different backgrounds for the bulletin board. (The Sky, The Beach, The Park, etc...)
Submitted by: Melissa Empie - Toledo, Ohio

We're a Scooper Bunch
I put the students names on different colored ice cream cones and blew up a picture of a child eating a cone. We served cones at the end of our first day.
Submitted by: Melany Kowalchuk

What's in a Name?
To introduce my class on our outside bulletin board, I first write the child's name in beautiful calligraphy (or cursive, printing, etc). on 4 x 8 white paper. Then I place a feather (representing a quill) at the beginning of the first letter.(For 18 students you need 18 feathers). Then I have each child fill out a research paper "What's in a Name?" that includes questions like: what your name means (use baby books), famous people or friends that have your name, your favorite names, your name spelled backwards, why you think your parents picked this name, nicknames, a sentence with your name in it, etc. Then I take a picture of each child and put their photo above this worksheet. Everyone learns so much about the origin of their name, and visitors are intrigued. Good research/learning experience. I used this in the 3rd grade.
Submitted by: Lorraine Parsekian

"A Brand New Batch of ____ Graders!" Grades Any
Make a giant cookie sheet out of aluminum foil. Construct several "chocolate chip cookies" out of a brown paper grocery bag and coloring in a few chips. Write the name of each new student in the middle of a cookie. As a background, use a plastic picnic tablecloth (red and white checkered). Title your bulletin board" A Brand New Batch of Third Graders".
Submitted by: SStar5245@email-removed

A Hunny of a Group Grades K-3
Last year I made a transparency of Winnie the Pooh (see below) and enlarged it onto tagboard using the overhead. I colored and laminated it and ran off honey pots (see below). The door was labeled "A HUNNY OF A GROUP" and each child's name was on a honey pot.
Submitted by: Bonnie BLHgata@email-removed

Awesome Autumn Attractions
Use this BB to display students' work. Keep it open for artist work as well as academic items. A student may not produce excellent language, math, or science papers, but can draw incredible fish or flowers. Let students choose which of their papers to display. This BB is great because it can stay up for several weeks in the fall, just change the papers every couple of weeks.
Submitted by: Lori, Fourth grade teacher, Cassie3099@email-removed

Back-to-School Animals Grade Primary
Put a background up of a ocean or jungle, etc. During the first week, have students talk about what kinds of animals can be found within that settling. Organize the group so that every child has their own animal or it is disbursed evenly. Then give the students many different kinds of materials and tell them to create their animal to put on the board. Just make sure that they put their name on their animals!
Submitted by: Jaime Boyce- Special Education Teacher - jboyce357@email-removed

Back-to-School "Recipe for a Great School Year" Grades Any
You cut out a giant recipe card out of poster board....put the title in the index tab part such as "Recipe for a Great School Year". Then write "ingredients" and list the kid's names. Then write "directions" and add your part about one cup cooperation etc... You can also draw a chef to go on the board and write the teacher's names in it.

Back-to-School Writing Grades 3-5
My team partner and I put up red gingham and red and white checkered cloth on a bulletin board. We had the kids write on plates what they did over the summer and displayed them on the cloth with the caption..."What We Did Over the Summer". The border of the board were ants. The kids loved making the ants and loved writing!! We also used the same cloth when we were studying Italy and made pictures with pasta and labeled the board "Pastabilities".
Submitted by: Just2ha102@email-removed

BE WISE.....Watch Out For Computer "BUGS"
I have an idea I use for my October bulletin board. We study about computer viruses in October. I make up this bulletin board: BE WISE.....Watch Out For Computer "BUGS". I make a large picture of a computer that has a sick look on it's "face." I make a thermometer and put it in the computer's mouth, an ice pack on the computer head. I make "bugs" and make them look like they are crawling all around the computer...making it sick. Information is posted all on the board explaining how computers get a virus, how to protect a system from viruses. We also talk about viruses, what causes them, how to protect our system from viruses.
Submitted by: ElyK@email-removed

Blast Off to a Great Year! Grades K-5
I make a big space ship and an alien like person for each student in the room. Then in big letters I spell out BLAST OFF TO A GREAT YEAR!!!
Submitted by: Msr208@email-removed

"Check in and check us out." Welcome Back!
To welcome students back for a new year. I made a huge checker board using black and white 9"X12" construction paper. I bought solo plastic plates in red and black in the dessert size (you can cut out black and red circles). I placed them on the grid. "Check in and check us out." Welcome Back!
Submitted by: Margene Patrick artgirl16n@email-removed

Chicka-chicka-boom- boom Grades K-2
Decorate a bulletin board like the cover of the book CHICKA-CHICKA-BOOM-BOOM! With the letters spelling out the students names. Ex. Maria's name could be going up one side of the trunk, and Andrew's name could be up in the leaves of the tree... Just randomly spell out the students names inside the picture. the heading could read : CHICKA-CHICKA-BOOM-BOOM, LOOK WHO'S NEW IN OUR ROOM !
Submitted by: daddyjak@email-removed

"Color First Grade Fun" Grade K-2
Years ago I made oversized boxes of Crayola crayons (I laminated them) and about 25 colored crayons. I put up the boxes and then put the children's names onto the crayons and title it "Color First Grade Fun".
Submitted by: Nancy Flashete@email-removed

"Darting Into A New Year"
I like to play darts, so this year I thought that I would include darts into my classroom. I am going to have a welcome back bulletin board that says "Darting Into A New Year" I will hang up a dart board and then make darts out of tag board and write my student's name on each dart. This bulletin board tells a little about myself and welcomes my new students!!
Submitted by: Michelle Dewwoman@email-removed

Fall Art Display
If you have an art lesson for Fall, especially involving landscapes, trees, or leaves, either buy some fake Fall leaves or press your own colorful leaves. Then cover your bulletin board with yellow, gold, brown or orange paper, pin the artwork here and there at angles, and scatter the leaves in the spaces between.
Submitted by: Paula Guhin, art teacher at Central High School, Aberdeen, SD guhinp@email-removed

"Fall Into ___ Grade" Grades Any
The background was a buckskin colored fabric that was donated, the tree was brown poster paper crumpled up and then smoothed out to resemble wood - then we enhanced it with markers to make the grain and knot holes.

We stapled smaller leaves around the perimeter and each childs name was printed and glued onto a larger leaf and hung from the tree. We purchased the leaves in packs of 10 for the large leaves and 20 count of the smaller ones. They were 2 packs for 10.00 at our local Rite Aid store. Best part is they are reusable - just peel off the names and you are good for another project or for fall decorations.

"Fall Into First Grade" was added with large die cut letters. Adding a rake and basket of apples printed from Print Shop were just the final touch it needed!!! It was fun to do and came out very nice!! The students really liked seeing their names on the leaves.
Submitted by: Jessie Martin, 1st grade teacher, Regent Park Scholars Academy, Detroit, Michigan.

"Fall" Into Good Habits
I created a fall bulletin board titled: "Fall" Into Good Habits. I used black paper as the background, and bought a colorful leaf boarder. I drew and cut out a large tree for the center. The different colored leaves each had a good habit labeled on it. Along the bottom I had red apples, each with a student's name.
Submitted by: Catherine catherine.elizabeth@email-removed

"Fall into the Reading Habit"
For reading or fall: Use a real "fallen" leaf to make a pattern for autumn leaves and cut leaves from "leaf-colored" construction paper (red, yellow, brown, orange). Most language arts teachers get a new poster each year of all Newberry Medal winning books. Cut the pictures of the books out from an old poster and glue them onto the construction paper leaves. Scatter the leaves over the bulletin board in a random fashion. Use Ready Letters or cut letters to say "Fall into the Reading Habit." Make the letters of the word "Fall" drift down the board.
F
  A
     L
       L
              INTO THE READING HABIT!
Submitted by: Michal tigerags@email-removed

"Fall"ow us to Success
I saw a bulletin board that said, "Fall"ow us to Success...I thought that was a clever way to display student work.
Submitted by: Gabrielle gbezou@email-removed

First Day of School Grades Any
The first day of school my giant bulletin board had on it a quote that I love very much and feel something the kids should hear..."If you shoot for the moon and miss at least you land among the stars." It tells the kids a lot in just a little sentence. Then I put stars all around the words with the kids names on it. I was very impressed by their facial expressions as they walked through the door. They loved seeing their names on the board.
Submitted by: Shaun Vest Portsuk@email-removed
6th grade teachers at Croton Elementary in Melbourne Florida

Gumball Machine Grades K-4
Draw and place a huge gum ball machine on your door. Use the heading " Wel GUM to my Class". Then place your student's names on the gumballs inside the gum ball machine.
Submitted by: Flashete@email-removed

"Lights, Camera, Action!" Grades Any
"Lights, Camera, Action! Meet the Stars of Room 7!" I cut out a large silver star for each child and place it on the board with their name and a picture (taken and developed the first day of school.) I use discarded filmstrips to decorate around the stars. The filmstrips can also be used as a boarder.
Submitted by: Maura Cantwell CantwellM@email-removed Third Grade, Highcrest School Wethersfield, CT

"Look who's hanging out in 4th grade"
I cut t-shirt shapes out of white construction paper and have each child decorate the shirt with their name and pictures that illustrate their hobbies and important things in their lives. I title the board, "Look who's hanging out in 4th grade." I hang a string on the wall outside my door and hang the t-shirts with small clothespins.
Submitted by: Kathy Seibert scteacher007@email-removed

"Look Who's Hangin'-Out with Mrs.____"
I do this bulletin board for the beginning of the year! I have used it for 1st and 4th grades.
"Look Who's Hangin'-Out with Mrs.____"
I hang a close line up and use close pins to hang little tee-shirts from the close line. I also have hung a washing machine beside the close line, however I did use it for the 1st graders! It turns out really cute!
Submitted by: Sherry Burks sburks41@email-removed

Look Who Popped In! Grade K-4
Another teacher at school has this adorable welcoming bulletin board in her room and I thought I'd share it. She made popcorn pieces out of paper and wrote each child's name on one. Then she made a pan - with aluminum foil so it looked like a real pan. She put the popcorn on the top of the pan (so it looked like it was popping out) and all over the bottom of the bulletin board (so it looked like the pan overflowed with popcorn). In big letters she wrote, "Look Who Popped In!"
Submitted by: IL2Teach@email-removed

"Look who POPPED into __ grade"
My favorite back to school bulletin board is popcorn based. I cover the board with denim fabric and in yellow cut-out letters I title the board "Look who POPPED into __ grade" I then cut out popcorn shapes in yellow and boxes for the popcorn in red with the students names. I frame the board using popcorn bags.
Submitted by: Stacy Bruce bamayankee7@email-removed

Meet the Bunch Grades K-4
I use plastic grapes to decorate and the kids draw their faces on an oval which I then paste onto purple paper and group like a bunch of grapes!
Submitted by: Flashete Flashete@email-removed

"Mrs. C's Bushel"
I use black butcher paper for a background. Using my computer's Printshop program I Print black apples trimmed in white. I put the children's names on each apple in white using a font described as "chalk dust". I print a banner with the same font "Mrs. Cobb's Bushel" I add "ABC's" & Simple math, ie 1+2=3, etc.
Submitted by: Elaine cobbfam@email-removed

"Ms. Shelly's Toadally Terribbit Class"
This idea was placed on my room door. I placed a green/white gingham checked fabric on the door. I placed a large frog in the corner of the top with the phrase "Ms. Shelly's Toadally Terribbit Class" in bold black letters. Underneath, I placed small frogs on lily pads with the students' names on them. I also placed a blue piece of butcher paper at the bottom so it looked as if the frogs were in a pond....also a few cattails. The kids love the door because the first thing they see is their name. This was a fun project for me to come up with as well...ENJOY! :)
Submitted by: Shelly Teachusumfin@email-removed

Our class is full of Pumpkin Personality Grades Any
Cover the door with black butcher paper. Write in glitter glue pen or letter cut outs. Cut out orange pumpkins and write each child's name on one. Tape them to the black paper on the door. Tape up some scarecrows the kids drew also.
Submitted by: Angela Kennedy 4th grade teacher Three Rivers Elementary ANDEKEN@email-removed

Our Promise
Through an interactive writing lesson, student create a document entitled, "Our Promise." This promise includes the behaviors and expectations for the classroom. (eg. be respectful, follow directions, etc.) Students then create a self portrait using construction paper to display around the document.
Submitted by: Jennifer

Overall Good Class
Laminate a note pad shaped like overalls and label with students names. You can hang them with clothespins on a piece of string made to look like a clothesline across you bulletin board.
Submitted by: con003327@email-removed

Popping Into "___" Grade Grades K-3
I had a box of popcorn 3-d filled with white and yellow curly ribbon and put a smiley face on it. On the board, I had popcorn pieces "popping" out from it. At the top I wrote in popcorn letters POPPING INTO FIRST GRADE.
Submitted by: CleverTchr@email-removed

"Quack, Quack, Welcome back!"
Place blue cellophane or wrap along bottom of bulletin board. Write each students name on a die cut or computer made duck (see below). Place ducks along water and board with a sign or spelled out in letters Quack, Quack, Welcome Back!
Submitted by: Brooke Vance bbvanc@email-removed

"Sail into ___ Grade"
Great for "Back to school" Create a water color background and have a sailboat for each student with their name on the boat, S.S. Kayla for example.
Submitted by: Jennifer Connell JDolfin11@email-removed

"Stepping In!" Grades Any
Materials/Preparation: Die-Cut of a foot, clear packing tape, colored bulletin board paper.
Activity: Place die-cut feet with class names on them and cover them with clear packing tape. Place them on the floor so that they "step" into the classroom and stop under the nearest bulletin board to the door. On the bulletin board put up a giant shape of a foot and the title "________ Grade is a BIG step!" or "We are stepping into the __________ Grade!" This gets their attention in a BIG way and immediately starts a conversation! Any additional Comments: This is a sure fire conversation starter.
Submitted by: Holly Alderson halarada@email-removed - Corpus Christi, TX - Tuloso-Midway Primary

Summer Fun Grades 1-5
I write the children weeks before school begins and ask them to bring in a picture of them from the summer doing something. When they come into school I have them paste the picture onto story paper and try to write about the picture and what they did in the summer.
Submitted by: Nancy Flashete@email-removed

Sweet Success Grades Any
Use a black piece of paper to cover the wall or bulletin board. Use tin foil to create Hershey Kisses that are about 8 x 8 inches large. Use white paper to write each students name just like Hershey letters to hang off the top like the wrapper. Title the board "Sweet Success in ___ grade"
Submitted by: Marci Heyman - 3rd Grade - Park View School - Morton Grove, Illinois

"Take a Bite out of ___ Grade!"
Great for "Back to School" Create a giant watermelon and let each seed have a different child's name on it.
Submitted by: Jennifer Connell JDolfin11@email-removed

VROOM VROOM, Welcome toYour New Room

Submitted by: Lesha Curtis, Pre-School Teacher, Dalton, Illinois.

Watch the 1st Graders Grow Grade K-1
I put up a huge tree with branches and fringed grass. I made a banner that says "Watch the 1st Graders Grow". I do a lot of fall apple activities and one of the first things we write about and learn is the new word c-a-n. So we write a sentence on a red paper apple that says "I can ---------". I then hang the apples on the tree. I have seen these trees kept up all year and you can change them for the seasons. I may try that this year.
Submitted by: Nancy Flashete@email-removed

We are Batty for our Books! Grades Any
The kids are given a bat to color any way they like it, then I take the bat and in a glitter glue pen write their name. These bats are then placed on the bulletin board. For each book they read on their grade level, they get a hole punched in the wing of their bat. Once the student reaches 20 holes punched (or however many you require), then the child gets a homework pass.
Submitted by: Angela Kennedy 4th grade teacher Three Rivers Elementary ANDEKEN@email-removed

We are Here to Shine Grades Any
I use a star border and the words WE ARE HERE TO SHINE. I then die cut stars and glitter the borders of the stars. I take a photo of each student and place it in the center of the star. It's simple, but parents love to see their child's photo during Open House.
Submitted by: SnDAcuna@email-removed

"Welcome Aboard!" Grades K-3
I make a boat for our bulletin board and on the port holes I have the children draw their faces and we put them on the boat. I title the boat the school name such as SS. Brookdale. Then I make a sign that says "Welcome Aboard".
Submitted by: Nancy Flashete@email-removed

Welcome Back! It's Beary Nice to See You!

Submitted by: Lesha Curtis, Pre-School Teacher, Dalton, Illinois.

Welcome to A "Fin" tastic Year" Grades Any
Last year at the beginning of the year, I did a fish theme. My board outside my door said " WELCOME TO A "FIN"TASTIC YEAR" and I cut out fish from tag board and wrote children's names on them. We read Rainbow Fish then wrote, "I would be a good fish friend because...".
Submitted by: Tracy Owen - 3rd grade - Greensville Elementary - Emporia, VA

"Welcome to Our ____ Grade Pad"
On the first day of school take a picture of each student. Have them color and decorate enlarged frogs. Attach their picture to the lily pad. Hang a sign, "Welcome To Our ____ Grade Pad".
Submitted by: Aimee Zollinger TeacherMrsZ@email-removed

"Welcome to the Pit Crew!"
I am a huge NASCAR and Jeff Gordon fan so I am the Crew Chief and my students are the Pit Crew. I make racing flags with each child's name and place them on the class door. I carry this theme into my behavior plan with green, yellow, and red flags. When Jeff Gordon wins a race, we celebrate by sharing a chocolate race car. Each week we learn about geography and map skills by labeling a map with the city of each race.
Submitted by: Annette Vest avest@email-removed

"Write Stuff"
Draw lines and black circles on a piece of white poster board so that it looks like a sheet of notebook paper. In large letters write the following caption: In Room ____, we are the "WRITE" Stuff. Make paper pencils our of construction paper, laminate, and write on student names. Place these all around the poster board. This makes a great hall display for the first of school that can be left up as long as you like.
Submitted by: Sandra Frazier teacherslzf@email-removed

 

Also see our other Fall Lesson Plans, Thematic Units and Activities

WE WANT YOUR PICTURES! Please use the email link at the top of this page to senbd us pictures of the bulletin boards above! Or send us your new ideas!