8 Classroom Decoration Tips & Ideas for Teachers

Teachers

Decorating your classroom is the perfect way to set the tone and create a memorable educational experience for your students. With a little planning and creativity, you can transform your entire classroom without having to spend tons of money.

Should You Decorate Your Classroom?

Decorating your classroom can seem like a lot of work with little payoff, but it's actually an opportunity to share your educational vision with your students, as well as learn more about their interests and learning goals and needs.

While it would be easy to decorate the room based solely on what you want, taking a student-focused approach will ensure that your classroom design not only looks good but also promotes student learning. Keep reading for eight budget-friendly classroom decoration tips and ideas that are easy to implement.

1. Ask for Student Input

While using student work to decorate your bare walls is an old teacher trick, you can take it a step further by asking your students for ideas, for example, by distributing a survey or holding a classroom meeting to collect input. For instance, these high school level tips work especially well with older students.

Benefits of this approach include giving students the opportunity to share their classroom vision and take pride in their space. Furthermore, it will ensure that your classroom setup will be better suited to meet the needs of all your students.

2. Consider the Five Senses

Start with the aesthetics of your classroom when decorating, but remember that the process also involves the senses, like sound and touch. For example, tap into your students' senses with decorations and sounds that relate to your theme, such as woodland music for a classroom with an animal theme. Using rugs and pillows, you can also add a bit of texture to your space. And if you really want to win the teacher of the year award, bring in cookies, cultural foods, or other snacks for a little flavor.

3. Change Decorations Throughout the Year

There are so many things to celebrate during the school year. So switch up your classroom decorations to reflect the inclusive nature of the holiday season or topic of focus for the quarter.

Go all out for Dr. Seuss's birthday, add visuals and posters that play into your science lesson, or take students on a virtual trip to China when discussing historical empires. Partner with other teachers to merge your ideas across subjects and to develop hands-on, interactive learning experiences that keep students on their toes.

4. Recycle Classroom Materials

Classroom clutter is kryptonite to most teachers. If you, too, are suffering from the ''I could use this'' syndrome, then this decorating tip is for you. Round up your junk, we mean precious treasures, items like plastic crates, cups, and magazine holders; baskets, coffee cans, cookie sheets, and shoeboxes. In partnership with your students, use them to create classroom organizers to display and house their work. Think of exciting ways to decorate the items with paint, glitter, or even colorful duct tape. By recycling and organizing, you'll reduce your infamous teacher pile without having to throw a thing away.

5. Incorporate Technology

Technology can give you classroom decorations a personal touch. Have your students take selfies that you can post on a classroom door or wall or incorporate as decorative elements for hall passes and station labels.

You could also set up a selfie station with photo props that relate to the topics that you discuss throughout the school year. Another tip for using technology is to create a personalized computer desktop or classroom logo.

6. Create Safe Areas to Support Students' Needs

Some students learn better at desks, others in an open space. As a teacher, it can be difficult to meet each student's needs; however, when decorating your classroom, you can create a setup that accommodates and supports a variety of learning styles.

Some ideas include:

• Arranging student desks in a circle rather than facing the classroom board.
• Designing a positive affirmation corner.
• Designating an alternative seating area for students who aren't comfortable working at desks.

7. Put a Spin on Your Classroom Rules

This teacher hack may save both your life and your nerves. As students tend to forget even the simplest rules, and it can be frustrating to repeat yourself throughout the day, create funny signs that can help them remember classroom rules.

You can decorate the walls with memes, comics, or witty sayings that communicate the dos and don'ts of classroom behavior. Another idea is to put the signs in decorative frames and place them at stations or on your desk.

8. Give Your Chairs and Tables a Makeover

Your classroom tables and chairs could likely use some personality. Use contact paper to decorate your desk and add dry erase polka dots to your student's work spaces for safe scribbling.

You can also buy inexpensive cloth pouches or recycle old aprons to create chair satchels to house student books or supplies, an idea that's especially helpful for classrooms that have limited desk space. If grade-appropriate, and if time permits, have students use markers to decorate their satchels with different patterns and colors.

Remember, there's no right or wrong way to decorate your classroom. These eight tips and ideas can help you communicate your classroom goals, engage students beyond the books, and show off their success.