DIY Classroom Display

Here's another great find from my Pinterest board: BEST Teaching Tips & Tools. The creator just used a paper towel holder, binder rings, and clear page protector sheets to create this simple display.

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Here's how you might use it in your classroom:

• Put each child's name on a label and stick it on a page protector. As students receive back papers that they are proud of (good spelling test, nice picture, etc), they can choose to put it in their sheets. The best part: they decide what goes in there and it's their job to change it out for a new one whenever they wish. Even your most struggling student will have a place to proudly display his or her best work.

• Use the page protectors that are designed for 4x6 photos. Print off class pictures throughout the year and create a class photo display. Parents and administrators can see at a glance what you've been doing all year (plus kids just love to see pictures of themselves!).

• As students read a good book from your classroom library, have them fill out a simple book-report form and present the book to the class in a quick one-minute presentation. The forms can then go in the page protectors and you've created a reading resource that students can use as they try to decide what good book they should read next.

• At the end of each unit- as a review activity- have students draw a picture of one thing they learned in this unit and write a short summary about that fact. Add these pages to the display all throughout the year as a record of what your class has been learning. 

UPDATE: I received an email from a lovely reader named Michelle last week who saw this post. She teaches in the middle/high school setting and had some great ideas for using this display in a secondary classroom. She suggested using it as a quick reference for student data that you could keep on your desk. Here's what she wrote:

"The teacher's desk version could include the following:  
- class rosters
- seating charts
- daily agendas
- standards/benchmarks per unit
- weekly lesson plans
- charts/graphs of class achievement data 
- group assignments/arrangements 
- textbook numbers
- participation tracking sheets.  

These are things that we normally keep in separate binders or plan books.  If student data was coded (to protect privacy!), then the information would all be very helpful for the regular teacher on a daily basis but for paraprofessionals in and out of the room different days/times, substitutes, progress monitors, administrators, and other visitors needing to see class data without interrupting your teaching and students' learning, too!  ELA teachers in middle and high school classrooms could also track books read by students throughout the year for silent reading time without having to dig in a file card box or student notebooks."  

Wow! I love these ideas and I love that she was able to take something useful she found here and think outside the box. Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

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This is just one idea that was pinned to the BEST Teaching Tips & Tools board on my Pinterest page. This is a awesome board full of TONS of creative ideas pinned by other teachers. Check it out:

Wanna join the board?

Do you sell your own teacher-created products? Have a teaching blog? Just love sharing interesting teaching pins with other teachers? Then this board is for you! It's easy- just follow these simple directions.