Bulletin board ideas can be easy to come by but tedious to implement. There’s always lots of prep work from creating templates to cutting construction paper to organizing the entire production in your classroom.
Half the time you feel obligated to make a lot of the bulletin board design yourself – you know, because teachers can be competitive with that sort of thing. You wind up spending too much time doing it and once you’re done, you’re happy you don’t have to do it again for another month. Face it, bulletin board ideas can be a huge time suck for teachers!
How about a fun, no-prep bulletin board project you can do with your elementary students that’s low cost and low fuss?
I’m a huge proponent of keeping it simple. I like displays which are less about the borders and background papers and more about showcasing student work. Therefore, I prefer that the students to do all the work. My only job is stapling it up!
When I was a co-teacher in a regular classroom environment, I liked to pair the content we were learning in, say, language arts with a simple art project that could be completed quickly with almost no management on my part. I also like projects that are more than just a coloring worksheet because they keep students engaged and on-task. Sound good? Keep reading!
Bulletin Board Games for Teachers
I’ve started creating a series of roll-a-dice art games that are meant for pairing with assignments you might already be hanging on your bulletin board. Unlike the other art history games I have in store, these give you the most flexibility because they’re not content-specific.
The first of these is a Design a Pencil Game. Pair it with the writing prompts that are included or incorporate it into a back to school theme. All you need to provide to your students is white drawing paper, markers, small brushes, and water containers. Let them do the rest!
Here’s how it works: Students roll the die five times to collect different patterns to fill inside the pencil shape. Included in this resource is a pencil tracer to ensure success for every student. There are a couple ways teachers can approach this project. Pick which is most suitable for you:
- Follow all the directions as given: have students trace the pencil worksheet onto a sheet or white drawing paper, draw the patterns, color over them, and use water to “paint” it in.
- Print out the tracer as a worksheet for your students, skip the “paint” portion, and just have them color it in with dry media like markers, crayons, and colored pencils. This is great if you’re in a time crunch!
MONEY SAVING TIP: If you’re short on time and paper or you’re in a one-on-one school environment, just post the game board on your smartboard. You can always have them draw their own pencil, too, if you don’t have time to run to the photocopier. We’ve all been there!
Design a Pencil Game Video
Pencil Art Projects
My fourth graders designed these pencils. Considering they only has one class to work on these, I think they did a fabulous job! 
Bulletin Board Ideas That Work
Bulletin Board Ideas That Work- No prep, fuss-free!
- More than a coloring worksheet
- Interactive and engaging
- Hands-on learning
- Low cost, minimal materials
- Easy to implement
Bulletin board ideas don’t have to be so much work for teachers. Let it be about what the kids have created. And put your focus on grading papers, handing back work, and communicating with parents. You can check out this Design a Pencil Game in my shop. It comes with the game board, step-by-step photo directions, two writing prompts, and a template.
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