As you can see in the examples (and freebie printable) below, classroom decor or theme ideas don’t have to take up a lot of time to design, prep, and display.  Even better when you are able to use the bulletin board materials as a part of your curriculum too!

Since I was pretty much stuck in the house yesterday because we had yet another snow day, I decided to make the best of it.  What started as a fun little activity, turned into a full project (don’t they all?).

Introducing Interactive Bulletin Boards from Organized Classroom! This category brings learning and classroom organization together as a team! Check out the possibilities when you combine great looking displays and fun learning objectives!

This one is PERFECT for March learning: Lucky Leprechauns Probability!  You can tie it in to your math standards for creating/analyzing tally charts, fractions, fractions equivalent to 1, and more!

With 42 pages in total and best suited for grades 3-5, this file includes the following:

•Bulletin Board Borders
•A Spinner
•Week and Day Labels
•Large Daily Task Questions
•Weekly Student Answer Sheets
•Bulletin Board Header Letters in 2 different colors
•Envelope Labels for the Student Answer Sheets

Once you have your board set up like the picture above, you can either use your interactive bulletin board as a center or as a whole group activity at the beginning of math or for morning work.

Students will get an empty answer sheet at the beginning of the week. Each day, you will flip to the corresponding question, and students will write their answer down. Preferably, this is not a graded assignment, but a chance for them to see what they already know or as a review.

At the end of the week – or each day, you can then review the correct answer from the day. There are 4 weeks in total, with 5 questions per week.

In addition, there is a spinner. Once per day, spin the spinner and keep tally data right on the board for the month.

At the end of the month, use the data collected to analyze probability for the spinner, making sure to discuss simplest fraction forms and he likelihood of landing on specific spaces.

You might want to check out:

Need some new ideas for hosting successful classroom celebrations?  This 416 page digital book has you covered! Includes 61 ad-free articles from Organized Classroom, including holidays such as:

• Groundhog Day
• Winter
• Black History
• Valentines Day
• St. Patricks Day
• Earth Day
• Spring
• Mothers Day
• Memorial Day
• Summer
• Independence Day
• Fall
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

…and even more!

Now available in our Shop!  And the second copy to share with a friend is half price!

See it HERE.

What if I don’t have a bulletin board?

I know many teachers don’t have a bulletin board – or any extra space to display one.  But I have an easy solution:  Use a thumbtack board!

By using a science fair display board, you now have a portable bulletin board that can be displayed or hidden when more space is needed in the classroom.

And bulletin board organization has never been easier!  Simply fold up your bulletin boards and slide them behind a cabinet, a coat closet, or lay it high on top of cabinets.  Reuse the same board annually.  Plus, they come in a wide variety of colors for any project you wish.

St. Patrick’s Day Bulletin Board Inspiration

Whether you teach preschool, kindergarten, or even upper elementary, these Pinterest-worthy bulletin board ideas for St. Patrick’s Day will get your wheels turning!

Speaking of bulletin board suggestions, don’t forget to hop over to another one of my teacher websites:  School Bulletin Boards!  

That site has lots of boards for all throughout the school year.  The Bulletin Board Club even gives you access to ALL the templates from EVERY post on the site.  Pretty snazzy.

School Bulletin Board Full Site Access

Create your bulletin boards in a snap with premade templates!

Click HERE to see more!

What an easy display to put together!   A simple title and some shamrocks with student names on them and your classroom bulletin board is set.

This PK-Kindergarten option can be used in so many ways!

I love the gold coins on each of the leprechaun pots.  Perhaps use them as positive behavior reminders or from learning new skills.  The possibilities are endless really.

How cute is this for an example?  I love how it includes an Irish blessing.

An idea for older students would be to do some research on Irish blessings and write them down on the colored shamrocks.  Then, have the class vote for the best one to display as the title phrase of your bulletin board.

Rainbow writing isn’t just for spelling words!  This bulletin board shows student work on the worksheet and then students used their own fingerprints to create the color rainbows on the pictures.

Such a simple idea!  I remember making paper chains for DAYS when I was a child.  I would have never thought to create a rainbow from them.  What a great tip!

Use the paper chains as the rainbow which ends in your pot of gold that contain crepe paper streamers.

Paper plate crafts for St. Patrick’s Day are fun and make cute bulletin board displays too!

Eeeek!  The little leprechaun beards are so cute!  Another paper plate example that includes student writing and drawing to go along with their work.  Great example of standards-based lessons.

No board?  A door will usually be a good choice too!

The covering looks like a basic plain plastic tablecloth and I’m guessing the leprechaun legs are made from either covered paper towel tubes or a pool noodle – both equally good ideas!

Let’s not forget about all the amazing specials teachers out there!

This would be a great option for any special area subject – just swap out PE for your specialty!

For anyone who teaches in a Parochial school, this one includes a Bible verse for you!

We’re not forgetting about the librarians and parent organizations who run the book fairs!

I love this option for displaying a reminder and can even see copies of book covers in a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow display.

Ok – I’m not sure whether this example was done for a daycare baby room, BUT I can definitely see it being used at any grade level!  Dig up photos of the teachers as babies and display those.  See if students can guess who they are!  HA!

Need something just easy and fast to display?  Grab some pots of gold and student pictures.  Done in a snap!

Loving this stained glass art project!  It creates a perfect way to get across the concept of being unique and hard-to-find four leaf clovers.

Using student handprints as the rainbow makes a cute display.

Does your school have core values or guiding words?  This is the bulletin board for you.

Could also be an option for a guidance counselor’s bulletin board.

I love how this title is “More Precious Than Gold.”  Pretty much sums up our students.  Very cute St. Patrick’s Day door decoration option.

If you prefer to create your own bulletin board from some of the ideas above, I will help you out a bit and will provide you with a freebie border – yay!

If you use it, I would LOVE to see your boards submitted at School Bulletin Boards!  {You even get FREE memberships for the site from me when you do!}

Print these off on cardstock, laminate, and then use wide clear packing tape to connect. Just as good as what you can buy in the store (and at a much better price too)!

Just click below and grab it!

Click here to email your freebie

Here’s to hoping for some warmer weather and seeing those rainbows in March! What’s your weather like this time of year? I would love to hear in a comment below!

~Charity

The post Feeling Lucky? appeared first on Organized Classroom.

The best part is that they can be as complex or as easy to put together as you like.

It is usually a rarity when I ask parents to get involved in their child’s homework projects because I know the majority of the time, it is really a “parent vs parent” result.  

But, sometimes it is just fun to include families in their child’s learning.  

I never ever take a grade on something like this – it really is just for fun since many students won’t have any help to complete the project.

One huge tip I have learned from being on the receiving end of helping with my child’s own school projects:  Give a long lead time.  At least 2 weeks.  

That gives busy caregivers a chance to collect materials for a few days, plan the project for a few days, and actually put together the project over a few days.

With so many students involved in numerous extra curricular activities, family events, and other busy children, having the flexibility to work on the project as each schedule allows is imperative.

You might also be interested in:

This interactive bulletin board is perfect for March probability fun! With 42 pages in total and best suited for grades 3-5 for creating/analyzing tally charts, fractions, fractions equivalent to 1, and more!  

See more pages here.

Including parents in the learning with their children is always a way to incorporate STEM lessons at home – and shows students that educational activities do happen outside of the school building too.  

Check out this great guest post today with more ideas…

St. Patrick’s Day is coming, so we have let the “leprechaun” loose at our school.

On Monday, we went around messing up our school with green paper and glitter while the kids were eating lunch.  We used green markers to scribble all over the boards and anything green or gold was put into a crazy spot.

Then, we told the kids about the leprechauns, little mischievous creatures who had lots of gold.  If we catch them, we told the students, maybe we can get their gold, or at least they will stop causing havoc in our school!

All throughout the week, the leprechaun will steal green items and hide them in various places.  When students find them, they will have a leprechaun taped to them.

Meanwhile, we have asked students to go home and build leprechaun traps to see if we can catch a leprechaun.  Students will bring in their leprechaun traps on Monday and present them to the class.

Here are some more pictures of the leprechaun traps from last year:

This family project gives students the opportunity to work on critical thinking and imaginative design as well as fine motor skills. 

Traps can be as simple or as complex as the students desire, so this project works for very involved families as well as uninvolved families.

How to Build Leprechaun Trap Project

Fun leprechaun traps use easy to find materials.  Encourage students to look for the following items around the house to use in building their homemade DIY plans:

• Legos
• Game board pieces, such as options from the game Mousetrap
• Shoebox
• Cereal box
• Popsicle sticks
• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper

Items you will want to have at school for “catching” leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day:

• Gold coins
• Pots of gold
• Green glitter
• Lucky Charms cereal
• Green footprints

How to Make a St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Trap Videos:

Need some online tutorials for tricking those scoundrels the night before St. Patrick’s Day?  Here are a few good tips videos for creating a trap door that works – and the longest one is only 7+ minutes long, so they would be a good way to introduce the idea to students in class.

This option shows a pretty involved example of a trap and how it works for the family…

This student has materials and supplies to show the making of the trap as it’s done.  Super fun!

Have you ever done leprechaun traps as a classroom assignment?  We would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!

Hedi – Raki’s Rad Resources

Would you like a free download of some glittery green leprechaun feet? Grab them below!

The post Leprechaun Fun in the Classroom appeared first on Organized Classroom.

Whatever you choose, you’ll feel like a leprechaun who has hit the pot of gold when you hear the kids’ creative writing stories all about everything green!

Here are a few free resources from around the web:

Coloring Pages

• St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Pages for Preschoolers
• Happy Saint Patrick’s Day Coloring Page
• Shamrock Coloring Page

Word Searches and Other Word Printables

• St. Patrick’s Day Word Scramble for Kids
• St. Patrick’s Day Word Search Printable
• St. Patrick’s Day Jokes and Riddles for Kids
• Trivia Quiz

You might want to check out:

Need some new ideas for hosting successful classroom celebrations?  This 416 page digital book has you covered! Includes 61 ad-free articles from Organized Classroom, including holidays such as:

• Groundhog Day
• Winter
• Black History
• Valentines Day
• St. Patricks Day
• Earth Day
• Spring
• Mothers Day
• Memorial Day
• Summer
• Independence Day
• Fall
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

…and even more!

Now available in our Shop!  And the second copy to share with a friend is half price!

See it HERE.

Creative Writing Kit

I remember doing creative writing assignments as a student in elementary school myself.  I loved being able to sit and just make up a story as I went along.

Today’s writing standards are far more in-depth of course, but sometimes just giving students a bit of time to think outside the box.

Here’s a fun idea that is both creative, fun, and will correlate with academic standards in writing if you make sure the writing is formatted correctly, spelling/grammar is counted, and speaking standards if students are orally presenting their finished versions.

Step One:  Prep your Creative Writing Kits

This is the most fun part!   Grab some bags or boxes and random trinkets to place inside.

I decided to go with a “green” theme – and I picked up various items from the dollar store.

Step Two:  Give student partners or small groups a bag.  The group is then given a set amount of time to create a narrative story around  the items in the bag.  They can be as creative as they like as long as each item is mentioned within the story.

Step Three:  Each group reads aloud their creation.  One student reads the paper, while another student or students, holds up the items to show the class as they are mentioned in the narrative writing prompt.

Fun, right?   And super easy – I love the creativity that students can come up with while crafting their stories!

Don’t forget to grab your free writing template below too!

What else do you like to do for lesson plans on St. Patty’s Day?  Feel free to share in the comments.  #sharingiscaring

~Charity

The post Irish Creative Writing Kit appeared first on Organized Classroom.