It may be difficult to believe, but it is already time to start planning your November bulletin boards. With most states adopting the Common Core State Standards, many teachers are now required to align their visual displays with a specific learning objective. The boards below combine seasonal learning and fun with the standards you need to teach.
Bulletin Board Ideas for November
I Will Stand Up to Bullying Bulletin Board
October is Bullying Awareness Month, but there is no better time to talk about bullying and cyber-bullying than during the season where giving thanks is stressed. In November, turn your bulletin board into a talking point and research station for bullying awareness. Cover the board with plain white paper and in the center put a sign that says, “I Will Stand Up to Bullying.” Have resource material available under the board or attached to it that lists the signs of bullying, what to look for when others are being bullied, and how to stand up to bullying. In a lesson, or during center time, have students write short essays about what they have learned and how they can stand up to bullying when they see it. The final drafts can be written on face shaped paper and, when they are all finished, can be hung on the bulletin board itself.
Related to Common Core Standards: W.3.2, W.4.2, W.5.2
I Feel… Bulletin Board
Identifying words that authors use to express feelings is an important skill to learn when reading. For those First Grade students who are turning their attention to feeling words, a collaborative bulletin board is just the thing they need to build their vocabulary and word recognition skills. Use a piece of solid colored fabric as the background and trim the board with smiley faces. As students are reading, either individually or in pairs (a perfect idea for the Daily 5 concept), have them jot down the words that express feelings. At the end of the lesson or center time, they can hang their circles on the bulletin board. Not only does it encourage them to actively search for feeling words, but it also gets them writing and reading other words that their peers have discovered in their own texts.
Related to Common Core Standards: RL.1.4
Thanksgiving Dinner Bulletin Board
Planning Thanksgiving takes a lot of coordinating of schedules and budgets. Turn one bulletin board into a Thanksgiving Dinner meal planning station that makes students use their knowledge of math to make sure that everything gets done on time. Cover the board with a Thanksgiving theme print or plain brown paper (paper bags also work well). Hang a file folder with a variety of local grocery store ads. In the center of the board hang a Thanksgiving Day menu and decorate the rest of the board with holiday images. Students are then tasked to look through the ads and find the lowest prices for each item on the menu. They have to compare and contrast the ads, analyze quantity vs. price, and add the cost of the items to determine the amount of money it will take to host Thanksgiving dinner. When they are finished they can write their total cost on a turkey shaped cut-out.
Related Common Core Standards: 2.MD.8, 2.OA.1
What are some of your favorite bulletin board ideas for November? Share with us!
Karen says
My favorite November bulletin board idea is a tree with leaves falling. Each student writes on a leaf something he or she is thankful for. I would LOVE to incorporate the Snoopy decorations into this year’s board!
Cyndi Snapp says
I love using a large turkey cutout minus the feathers. I give each of my students several colorful feathers and have them write things they are most thankful for. It is so great to see their responses. It is sometimes funny too, especially the little ones who put toys or games. Great time of year. 🙂
Julie P. says
I love putting up a turkey. Each student gets a feather and says what they are thankful for and why they are thankful for it. It is not just a bulletin board but a writing activity.
Cheri D, says
My favorite BB includes the children’s turkeys (their painted handprints are the feathers), and a response to literature based on “A Turkey for Thanksgiving.”
Helen Wagner says
We are busy filling buckets with good deeds that we do. This year my November bulletin board will focus on letting the children post about the goods things they have done/are doing in November as well as things they are thankful for as good bucket fillers. I would love to use this Charlie Brown set for my Thanksgiving board!
Gloria Wilson says
The students (K) draw a picture of their Thanksgiving meal and dictate how that meal was prepared. The answers are always adorable (500 degree oven for 10 hours to cook turkey, for example, as well as some rather odd practices by the family). This is absolutely adorable. These are then taken down and made into a book. Parents love this. So you have an adorable bulletin board and also a class book.
Marie Madden says
All the bulletin boards are very creative… Wish I had more time to create!
Martina Kull says
My favorite November bulletin board is when the students make a turkey and on the feathers theywrite what they are thankful for. Especially for the little ones it is cute to see what is important to them. Sometimes it is their family and fodd and others it is candy and games.
Kelly Beam Brown says
Oh love Thanksgiving! I like to have the students tell me their recipe for how to cook a turkey. I type it up just like what they tell me then they make a handprint turkey to hang outside the classroom door. I have the words: How to Cook a Turkey punched out and above the papers for all to read and enjoy! Some funny and unique recipes for sure!
Liz says
Great ideas for Common Core
Cheryl says
I like to make a turkey body and the students write things they are thankful for on many-colored feathers to make the tail.
Judy Behling says
I love using fall leaves and vegetables
Jo Anne M says
My favorite November bulletin board is one that has leaves falling. Each student makes their own leaf patterned after a real leaf. We live in the desert and the changes in nature for seasons is very subtle, so it’s important that students be reminded of them.
marti says
i always read the book “one” by katherine otoshi.
very relatable for my kinders and very powerful for any grade level!
all it takes is one!
Sarah says
Oh, man! I just missed the giveaway by one day! But I have seen a really cute Thanksgiving bulletin board, so I’m going to share anyways. In Pre-K last year, we gave each child a turkey coloring page and sent it home with a little rhyme for the parents to help children “disguise” Tom Turkey, so that he would not be eaten for Thanksgiving. Children had the freedom to use any 3-D materials they wanted (scrapbooking paper, pompoms, glitter, etc.) so long as they could find it at home. The results were SUPER cute! We had some army men, super heros, princess turkeys, and some wearing other cute halloween costumes! Then, we put them up around the bulletin board with the rhyme (I can’t remember it now), and it turned out to be really cute.
Christy Bassett says
Neat ideas – I like using fall leaves & writing about what our thankful for. Good way to get children to think about the things they have that others may not.
Adrienne says
I have many ideas brewing for Thanksgiving but I always make my curly feathered turkeys. We write about turkeys as well…
Mary Timpf says
I love the Thanksgiving Dinner idea. Great reall life experiences.
Amy Gosla says
Love these Common Core ideas for bulletin boards. My favorite is the math idea where the students find the best prices for Thanksgiving foods from ads. I’m thinking about adding the CCSS at the bottom of the bulletin board so Admin can see what skill the work is aligned to. Thank you!