Bulletin Board Ideas

Special Events

Homecoming

Homecoming is an exciting time in high school. The bulletin board has "Homecoming-Then and Now" as the title. Pictures of faculty members who were on their own high school homecoming court are displayed under "Then" and the students on Homecoming 2000 are featured under the "Now". We used blue and white (school colors) wallpaper as the background. This bulletin board is a hit with both faculty and students.

Suggested by Kathy Edwards, Secretary, Lovejoy High School.

Women's History Month

This bulletin board was completed by an intern at Kendrick Middle School, Mr. Colyer, on women's history. A clue was read on the announcements pertaining to a woman in history. It was then posted on the bulletin board, giving students the opportunity to read the clue and do some research.

Cheryl Goff, Kendrick Middle School, Jonesboro, Georgia

Teen Read Week

From the ALA web site....great quotes to use on a bulletin board.

• “The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein taught me a great lesson about how some people in the world are givers, others takers, and that by the end when the giver has shared all he thinks he has, he realizes he still has more to give to the ones he loves.”—Harley Rodriguez, television actor (Manny Lopez - “Sweet Valley High”)

• “The Little Prince is a book that I think every human being should read at least once a year. It helps people remember how innocent and beautiful life can be!”—Melissa Joan Hart, television actress (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”)

• “My favorite title is Study Skills for Life by L. Ron Hubbard. This book was written especially for teenagers and helped me to learn the basic ways of how to study any subject. Knowing how to study has opened doors to areas of life which I had only dreamed of before. Now I know when and why I don't understand something and I know why I get bored and how to keep learning and reading fun.”—Patrick Renna, film actor (“The Sandlot,” “The Big Green”)

• “Books are a more reliable guide through the world's snaking trails and knotted conundrums than anything else I know.”—Annie Dillard, author

• “The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.“—Ursula K. LeGuin, author

• “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”—Harper Lee, author

• “One of my greatest sources of pleasure is reading. I knew at a very young age that reading for me was the ultimate source of freedom. With knowledge, you have the potential to reach great heights in every phase of life—from childhood through adulthood.”—Oprah Winfrey, talk show host

• “The part of my education that has had the deepest influence wasn't any particular essay or even a specific class, it was how I was able to apply everything I learned in the library to certain situations in my life. The library takes me away from my everyday life and allows me to see other places and learn to understand other people unlike myself.”—Gloria Estefan, singer

• “As a child, I loved to read books. The library was a window to the world, a pathway to worlds and people far from my neighborhood in Philadelphia. And even today, as I travel around the world, I often visit places I used to dream about because of the books I'd read. The library made a difference in my life.”—Ed Bradley, news correspondent for “60 Minutes”

• “When I was young, we couldn't afford much. But, my library card was my key to the world. HAVE FUN—READ!”—John Goodman, actor

• “Virginia Wolf's 'Mrs. Dalloway' is the first great book I ever read. I read it when I was 15, almost by accident. It stayed with me in a way no other book has. ”— Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours, 1999 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction

Election Day

This bulletin board is appropriate any time, but especially at election time.  I found political signs (after the election, of course) that said " Vote Read for District Attorney".  I cut off the district attorney part and laminated the signs.  (They are a little worn from being out in the weather).  I added slogans such as "A book in every book bag", "I like Reading", "Vote for Reading".  The caption on the bulletin board says "Exercise Your Right to Read".

     Judy Serritella, Lovejoy High School, Lovejoy, Georgia

Book Fair

To promote your book fair and summer reading at the same time, try this bulletin board idea.

Sheryl Goff, Kendrick Middle School, Jonesboro, Georgia

Olympics

Holly is planning an Olympic bulletin board by combining books on the Olympics, winter sports and Utah.  She will make rings, a torch and place winter sports equipment in her display case.  The catchy phrase is still being considered.

Holly Spanier, Osseo Junior High, Osseo, Minnesota

Good Bye, Seniors

This bulletin board is done for the last month of school.  The tiger is our mascot and there is a good bye in different languages.  The display case could also be designed as a bulletin board.  

Jackie Jones, Oakville Senior High School, St. Louis, Mo

Congratulations Grads!

The library/media specialist cuts out graduation hats, diplomas, triangles and tiger heads (our mascot) in different colors.  These are given to the seniors during homeroom to fill out and are then returned to the media specialist. This bulletin board is designated for one particular local college that many students attend.  

Jackie Jones, Oakville Senior High School, St. Louis, Mo.

National Hobby Month

Each piece of paper has a picture of a slide projector that is "projecting" the 1. names of the teacher or student, 2. the occupation: teacher or student, 3. their favorite hobby. You could include a picture of each person or their hobby.

Jackie Jones, Oakville Senior High, St. Louis, Mo. 

Black History Month

Jackie got the idea for this bulletin board from the book  Off the wall: school year bulletin boards and displays for the library by Gayle Skaggs. 

Jackie Jones, Oakville Senior High, St. Louis, Mo. 

Banned Books Week

For Banned and Challenged Book Week, cover the display case or bulletin board with black or white paper.  Cut in peek holes and display banned books.  Barb got this idea from LM net and Deanna Harris from East Garner Middle School.

Barb Devore, Oakville Senior High, St. Louis, Mo. 

My Teacher Has a Hobby!

We have a new elementary school with a very nice glass display wall cabinet outside the library.  For a fine arts month display I asked the teachers about 2 weeks ahead for samples of their hobbies that related to fine arts.  We received a violin, guitar, sheet music, crocheted baby afghan with pattern & hook, a needlepoint picture in its hoop, flute, scrapbook art sample, a painting with paints & brushes, clay pottery, interesting photographs, hobby books, & book jackets featuring fine arts titles.  I made placards with the teacher's name & placed in front of his/her particular hobby/craft.  It was one of the most successful displays we had all year.  Everyone stopped to look it over several times.  

Ruth Ellison, Library Clerk, Veterans Elementary School, Hannibal, MO.  

Leaders are Readers

Last year for the Read Across America celebration I made one up called "Leaders are Readers". I found pictures of famous people from Google, and blew them up. I also included pictures taken with our school's digital camera of some of our school administrators and teachers reading to students. It really added a personal touch.

Barbara Klinck, Media Center Assistant, Chester M. Stephens Elementary School, Budd Lake, NJ