Coming up with creative ideas for the classroom can be challenging; finding July bulletin board ideas can be even moreso, since not all schools are in session during that time. If you’re stuck for new and interesting things to add to your summer classroom bulletin boards, look no further. We’ve gathered the latest tips and examples of fantastic bulletin board designs to help spark your creativity.
Table of Contents
- What makes a good July bulletin board?
- July bulletin board ideas
- What makes a good July Bulletin Board?
- Ideas for a bulletin board in July
What makes a good July bulletin board?
As every teacher knows, bulletin boards are more than just to decorate the classroom walls. A good bulletin board can serve as an extension of teaching – using all that blank wall space to reinforce concepts and engage students. The best bulletin board for your classroom is one that reflects your own teaching style and serves the needs of the students.
While there is no one-size-fits-all type of board, there are a few guidelines that we use to help us design classroom bulletin boards:
- Know the purpose of the board. Most bulletin boards serve one or more of three main purposes – decorative and display, informational, or interactive.
- Know your budget for putting the board together, in terms of time, actual monetary budget, and supplies.
- Consider getting the students involved. The students are the audience. Consider finding a way to involve them in the creation, or to use an assignment or unit as the basis for a board.
- Be inclusive. Decorative bulletin boards serve an important purpose in creating a welcoming environment. An attractive classroom with images that reflect the diversity of the student body and the classroom values/environment will make all students feel included and valued.
- Consider placement. In order for a student to interact with the bulletin board material or activities, it must be placed in an accessible area. Interactive boards for younger students should be situated closer to the floor, for easy reach. Informational boards should be placed in a central location, where students will see or pass by it regularly.
It can be hard not to get caught up in trying to create the most aesthetically-pleasing, IG-worthy bulletin boards in the school. We try to remember that DIY boards are often the most original and that creating bulletin boards should be an enjoyable and creative experience.
As we mentioned earlier, the best boards are a reflection of the teacher. That’s where creativity comes in! While bulletin board kits and pre-printed materials can be a great resource, DIY boards can easily be put together for little to no cost. Many teaching resource websites offer free bulletin board printables, ideas, and kits to help you design within your budget.
July bulletin board ideas
Coming up with July bulletin board ideas can take time and effort. While Independence Day offers great color scheme opportunities, deciding how you want to use the space can be difficult. Do you show off student work? Provide an interactive activity? Display anchor charts or other reference guides?
To help you, we have gathered 21 awesome July bulletin board Ideas for you to use in your classroom.
- Flip Into Summer Board By McKinley Early Childhood Center
Who could resist these adorable little footprints? This simple beach-themed design uses toddler footprints to create a landscape of “flip flops” – a terrific sensory activity for the smallest students.
- Under The Sea Themed Classroom By DigiGirl Paper Crafts
We were absolutely wowed by this mesmerising, magical under-the-sea themed book fair. Large paper cutouts of sea animals are displayed against a plastic backdrop, with a few 3D elements thrown in for good measure.
- Stars And Stripes Fourth Of July Cards By Sunny Studio
These crafty cards would make a perfect bulletin board display and craftivity for students, who will love the bright colors, adorable animal characters, and fireworks graphics. Check out the blog post for a tutorial on creating these designs.
- Digging Up Some Great Work Ocean Board By Mud Pie Studio/Lori Zitzelberger
Nothing says summer like sand in your toes! This lively, bright take on summer sandcastles will brighten up any classroom. Use it to display your students’ work for the entire school to see by posting it on colorful sand pails. Variations on this board use real dollar-store pails to hold activities or supplies.
- Ready, Set, Goal Board By School And The City
Got some summer school students who could use some positive reinforcement to get through the season? This goal board will help them keep their eyes on the prize. We love this clever idea of mounting prize-filled plastic tissue-covered cups on a board for students to open as they reach goals.
- Swimmin’ Into Summer Literacy Stations By Amy Lemons
We are big fans of Amy’s site, which is full of resources, tips, and articles for elementary school teachers. Her Swimmin’ into Summer pack of resources includes several different summer-themed literacy stations, many of which can be used as interactive bulletin board activities.
- Marvellous Mushroom Multiplication Board By Step Into Second Grade
This sunny interactive board will encourage even the most math-phobic students to practise their skills. Simple cutouts of mushrooms display number dots and multiplication problems for students to work on their own or in groups. A great visual aid for beginning multipliers, or those in need of a review.
- Smore Books For Summer By Mary Ann Mulroe
This smore and camping-themed board will add a bit of summer evening joy to your classroom or library. Consider asking students to create the marshmallows, displaying pictures, book covers, or illustrations of their favourite books.
- Retro 70s Classroom Decor By Maude In The Middle
While it may not be explicitly summer-themed, the 70’s retro feel of these neato designs remind us of summer sun and surfing! Earthy pastels and groovy flowers and hearts create a terrific backdrop for bringing retro summer vibes to the room.
- Cut And Create Bugs By Classroom Complete Press
With this craftivity kit, students can create butterflies, spiders, crickets, and more. The activities are designed to reinforce early learning concepts for early learners – science, shapes, hand coordination and more. Use the students’ insects to decorate a board or door, or create mobiles.
- Easy Tissue Paper Fireworks By Hey, Let’s Make Stuff
This gorgeous fireworks craft is a great project for 4th of July, or anytime you need to brighten up your classroom! Best of all, they’re made with nothing but tissue paper – use up all your leftovers. Get students involved in creating the fireworks pom-poms. It’s great practice for fine motor skills and following directions.
- America The Beautiful Craftivity By Supply Me
Students will love these spinning stars which allow them to turn the wheel and see their own writing response to a prompt about what they like about America. The stars can be printed in assorted colours and arranged on a door or bulletin board display.
- Patriotic Bulletin Boards By Supply Me
We love this idea for getting students on board with learning about our nation’s history and landmarks. It’s a simple design to create, using printouts of clip art or even magazine or postcard photos. Turn it into an interactive board by including landmark or geography trivia or having students choose a landmark to research.
- Abraham Lincoln Door Decor By Doodle Bugs Teaching
How much fun is this cutout of Abraham Lincoln? The cartoon design will encourage kids to stand beside the prez to measure themselves against his 6 foot plus frame. Add a measuring stick for kids to practice using measurements and fractions with questions like, “How many Lincolns tall are you?”
- Memorial Star Quilt Board By Artolazzi
Fourth of July is the perfect time to talk about honouring our veterans. This red, white, and blue art project is a lovely tribute to those who have served. It’s perfect for children of any age, as you can adjust the complexity of the design. We love the idea of pairing this with veterans interviews or stories of service during conflict.
- Summer Board Ideas By My Calcas
While some of these boards skew more toward “end of year,” most of them incorporate a summer theme, and could easily be adapted for July. A few of our favourites are the Lego Movie and “Future World Changers” themed boards.
- Hello Summer Board By Preschool Ideas
Having trouble coming up with summer board ideas? Check out this helpful tutorial from Preschool Ideas with instructions on how to create a rocking summer water scene, complete with boats and beach-goers.
- Patriotic Board Ideas By Little Learning Corner
Here’s a blog with a host of great Fourth of July/Veteran’s day ideas for students of all ages. We are partial to the touching handprint flag design, which uses student handprints in red, white, and blue.
- Native Americans Board By Karenlynn Williams
We love the idea of incorporating studies of the indigenous peoples of America into lessons about the Fourth of July and the founding of the country. This map puts Native Americans from various groups into a map of the U.S. to encourage discussion of their contributions to the beginnings of the nation.
- Summer Reading Board By Michelle Brinn
We are always blown away by the amazing 3D designs that teachers come up with, particularly when they use up recycled or on-hand art materials. This gorgeous summer reading board is a looker, but relatively easy to put together with basic art supplies. We’d love to see student book recs or reviews against this sunny backdrop.
- July Writing By Knowledge Mobile
This learning passport book features July-themed writing prompts and activities for students in grades 3-4. Let your students’ imaginations go wild when they write about summer holidays and activities, then use the results to create a display board to show their work off. Don’t let being indoors spoil your summer fun; bring the sunshine inside with these July bulletin board ideas.
What makes a good July Bulletin Board?
The perfect bulletin board has three essential qualities: attractive, informative, and interactive. But how do you create such an awesome board? Keep these things in mind.
- Blank space. While it can be tempting to fill up all the available space, a cluttered bulletin board can become a distraction. Keep those easily stimulated kids in mind when you create!
- Purpose. What do you need this board to achieve? Do you want to reinforce learning, demonstrate student achievement, or encourage, inspire, and motivate?
- Resources. What resources do you have easily and freely available to you? It can be tempting to create a social media perfect board that will get you tons of likes, but those efforts can quickly become cost prohibitive.
With these three keys in mind, you can create an affordable, attractive board that is not too cluttered and keeps your purpose in mind.
Ideas for a bulletin board in July
- “Baby, You’re A Firework” Welcome Board By Little Learning Corner
Welcome your little sparklers back to the classroom with this fireworks display board. Each firework lists a student’s name. Listing the names helps everyone get to know one another and is a great way to start the year off with a bang.
- A Little Slice Of Summer Watermelon Board By Inspiration For Education
Do a writing pre-assessment from Inspiration for Education with this adorable Watermelon board! Each seed features a writing piece from each student telling about their summer vacation. Not only do you get an attractive board and get to know your students, but you also get to see a little bit about their writing.
- We’re Poppin In The Red, White, And Blue By The Simplistic Teacher
This awesome kit is for a door but could easily be adapted for a bulletin board. Get in on the poppits trend and give your kids a fun visual welcome with this red, white, and blue interactive board.
- Red Number Line Bulletin Display By Our Strange Class
Need something to help support your students’ math skills? This red number line display will give them a visual reference for their numbers to help with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more.
- Paper Chain Flag Bulletin Board By Little Learning Corner
This paper chain flags is a great opportunity for a cooperative activity in your classroom! Have your students help you create this patriotic theme display for your bulletin board. It’s a great way to celebrate the patriotic holiday and how everyone works together in a democracy to make it work.
- Anything Is Popsicle By The Applicious Teacher
Inspire your students and make them laugh with this punny board. The popsicle and firework theme is excellent for summer and July in particular. It will give them something to smile about daily when they enter your classroom. It also supports a growth mindset!
- Branches Of Government Board By Mrs. Baker’s History Classes
Teaching about government and our history just makes sense in July. Take advantage of the patriotic holidays by teaching your students about the branches of government with this easy-to-follow board. Branches of Government are confusing, but these visuals break it down nicely.
- Classroom Constitution By Mrs. Tehrune
Another great way to take advantage of the patriotic holiday focus in July is to create your classroom constitution. At the beginning of the school year, create a classroom culture students feel invested in with this activity and then use it as a display. PBIS for the win!
- Inspirational Unity Board By California Casualty
It’s never the wrong time of year to remind students to celebrate and accept their differences. This beautiful inspiration board offers an excellent opportunity to remind and inspire students that our differences make us unique and beautiful and that we have plenty of similarities that also keep us together.
- Happy Culture Day Display Board By A Traveling Maestra
Remind students of the diversity in their classroom with this Happy Culture Day board. Each student can fill out this fun worksheet and decorate it. Then, display the worksheets to showcase the background and interests of every student.
- Flag Bulletin Board By Abounding In Blessings
This beautiful and simple bulletin board is a grand holiday celebration. It is especially great for teachers pressed for time or resources. Abounding in blessings also recycles the background for their valentines day board, so she gets more use out of her materials!
- Gnome Of The Brave Board By Creatively Taught
Recognize the work of our service men and women with this adorable “Land of the Free, Gnome of the Brave” board. Gnomes are very cute and trendy. July is a great time to celebrate our country and what makes it great. This is clearly a match made in gnome heaven.
- The Road To Revolution By Collaboration Cuties
This timeline board is a great visual reference piece for students learning about the American Revolution. It helps them understand the progression of the events. If you’re teaching about the Revolution in July, this is the perfect time for a board like this!
- Summer Reads By Tracee Orman
Encourage or celebrate summer reads with this display board! If you want your students to jump into books over the summer, it’s a great opportunity to display books you think they will like and want to check out. If you are coming back, you can ask for student recommendations so that their reading will inspire their peers.
- Anything’s Popsicle With A Book By Cathy Taylor
Another summery way to display book titles is with these adorable popsicles! Just pair each popsicle with a book title, or have your students make recommendations. It’s impossible to resist a summery book board like this.
- Our Futures Are Bright With Math By Rise Over Run
Getting students to see where their math skills will take them can be challenging. With this board, you can help them visualize all the different careers their math education can prepare them for! That way, you can point to the board when they ask when they’ll ever use this.
- Random Acts Of Kindness Board By Ripple Kindness
Whether July sees you at the end of the year trying to hold things together, at the beginning of the year trying to get them started, or in the middle of the year just trying to survive, there is always a need for kindness. Encourage your students to be kind to one another and give them actionable prompts with this board.
- Summer’s Almost Here By Little Learning Corner
The end of the year can be a slog. Remind your students that the finish line is within sight with this adorable countdown board. The reminder will help keep them focused on their goals and help you remember you’re almost there too.
- “What Did One Flag Say To The Other…” By Kaitlin Poll
Crack your students up and give them a fun activity with this board. Each flag is made and decorated by the students. They can also add fun information about themselves to introduce the students to each other at the beginning of the year. This funny board will break the ice and get them talking in no time.
- It’s O-fish-Ally Summer By Creative Shapes
Swim into summer with this cute fish board. Make it interactive by having students decorate the fish or have them fill out a paper fish with a plan they have for the summer. Most importantly, just keep swimming because summer is almost here!
- Free To Be Me By Primrose Cumming West Toddlers
Remind your students that the best part of where we live is that everyone is free to be themselves. This message creates a welcoming classroom and lets all your students let out a breath knowing whoever they are, they’re welcome. And that is the most important thing a teacher can do for their students.
Creating a good July bulletin board is challenging. July is an awkward time of year for many teachers. Depending on your district’s schedule, you could be wrapping up the year, beginning the year, or right in the middle. But these ideas will help you carry through regardless of where you are and what you want to achieve. You will have an attractive, functional, and inspiring board to keep your students smiling.
