Punctuation Bulletin Board

This is a bulletin board I found at Dassa McKinley Elementary School. It was in a third grade classroom and deals with punctuation. The teacher that created this did some really great things and there are also things that I would change in order to make it more visually appealing according to the tips given in Products & Utilization of Instructional Technology. I think this bulletin board does a good job with sticking to one idea, which is punctuation. However, when dealing with punctuation there is a lot going on such as colon, semicolon, parenthesis, and so on. The teacher did a good job of bordering her bulletin board, but did not follow the guidelines of three or less colors. Most of the words are mixed case, which is good. The teacher could have made the title stand out more, the color blends into the background color and the border and is not much bigger than the other letters. The spelling is all correct, however the size of the sentences beneath each picture are not readable from a distance. In order to read the captioning the student would have to be right at the board. The size of the letters should be 1/4 inch for every 8 feet. I believe the purpose of this board was meant to be instructional, but I do not feel that it invites students to actively participate. It does not ask questions or allow students to manipulate. I think it would fit more into a decorative purpose because of this. There also could have been more white space. The pictures seem to crowd the board. Also, there is part of another bulletin board of the United States overlapping onto this bulletin board. This distracts the punctuation bulletin board. The teacher should have been sure to space her other bulletin board as to not interfere with this one.

Busy Bees

Dr. Jenny's Busy Bees bulletin board is one that is very colorful and inviting. The pink flower in the center of the board draws attention to the eye; especially with the yellow ball placed in the center of the flower. Its 3D effect would be appealing to younger children. This board would be very appropriate for this time of year, being that most teachers and students are anticipating spring. The giant flower, yellow sun, and background of clouds help complete this picture. The red boarder that encloses the edge is a great choice. This particular boarder draws viewers eyes to look inside the edges of the bullet board; rather than confuse them as to what they are looking at. If I were to do this bulletin board again, I would suggest placing the bumble bees in a more suitable arrangement. It seems as though some of the bees are sporadically placed and would be better placed elsewhere. Placing the bees not as close to the boarder as they are in this picture would be a wiser decision. Other than that, I found this bulletin board to be thematic and a great addition to a classroom.

The purpose of the bulletin board represents a second grade classrooms, helpers of the week bulletin. Each petal represents a different job that requires the student to fulfil a set of duties for that week. The bumble bees hold the name of the students in the classroom. Each new week of school, there is a rotation of the bees around the flower petals. At some point, every student in the classroom will have the oppertunity to experience every job that is on the flower petals.

Bunny Math

This bulletin board shows a good example of utilizing third grade math instruction. Each specially colored bunny adds or subtracts to the same number. For example, the peach colored bunnies have the same answer of nine. The bunnies colors are limited to four, thus having good visual design. The setup of the board could have been done differently. While there are only three or four of the same color bunny, there are seven green bunnies. The colors should have been distributed evenly. There is a gap on the upper left corner which could have been filled in by other bunnies or the instruction sheet. The border does not match the colors presented on the bulletin board. The border is Christmas colors, while the content inside is for Easter. Although there are visual problems with this bulletin board, the content is of high quality. Passing students will be able to do the math problems, and realize the pattern that is hidden within.

Good Morning!

Hey girls are we going to meet sometime after class to work on the project?

Ladybug Bulletin Board

Overall I thought this bulletin board was well done. It sticks to 3 main colors: black, red, and pink, white is included in the bulletin board but it does not make it busy. It is simple, it shows off the students work and is only made up of lady bugs and the title letters. I like the fact that the bulletin board is made up of the students work, I think that the students would like to walk by and se their work on the bulletin board for the whole school to see. The letters are done in mixed legibility and I think that is appropriate for this bulletin board and they are large enough to be seen. The spacing of the title is done well and of most of the ladybugs. The two ladybugs above the word symmetrical are a little bit too close to the word and could have been placed on better. The background pink paper could have been put on better it loosk a little bit messy. I also liked how in the right hand lower corner they put the standards the bulletin board addressed. This is a pretty good bulletin board that could have just been tweaked in some places to make it even better.