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Classroom Accessories Tips
School Bulletin Board Ideas
School bulletin boards contribute to the learning process. For this reason many teachers are often seeking school bulletin board ideas which will stimulate and motivate the students. There are a number of different options for decorating them. This may include bulletin boards designed to be visually appealing as well as bulletin boards designed to be educational in nature. Teachers may opt for one option or the other and may prefer to incorporate both types of boards throughout the year.
Bulletin boards which are decorative in nature may relate to the season of the year or the current holiday. However, even these types of bulletin boards can provide an opportunity for educational elements. Teachers can quiz the students about the colors on the board or the different elements of the season to provide instruction with respect to the bulletin boards.
Bulletin boards can also be designed to be educational. These bulletin boards may focus on historical events or the items currently being covered in the lesson plan. This option provides the teacher with an opportunity to expand upon the lesson in a less structured way.
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Marker Boards
Dry erase marker boards work as useful visual aids without the muss and fuss of chalk and eraser dust. Dry erase white boards are offered in fixed, mobile, framed, and unframed options. The two most popular types of marker boards are magnetic and melamine boards.
Magnetic boards are usually the more durable of the two types, standing up to heavy use, scratching, and daily cleaning. Because these boards are magnetic, teachers often stick refrigerator letter magnets to these boards for an added visual benefit.
Melamine boards are made of melamine, a clear-coated, erasable writing surface. Melamine boards are recommended in settings where erasing is infrequent. These boards are not magnetic and tend to cost less than magnetic boards. Melamine boards generally don't stand up to heavy use for quite as long as magnetic boards, so if you intend to use the board on a daily basis, it may be cost-effective to choose a magnetic board for your classroom.
Most classrooms mount whiteboards to the walls, but if you are looking for a portable option, you may want to consider a mobile board. These boards are available with or without wheels, and many offer the option of double-sided use. Other options include two-sided cork bulletin boards and markerboards, or a markerboard on one side with a chalk board on the other. Dry erase white boards come in framed or unframed options. However all white boards must be framed in order to be hung.
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Maintaining Dry Erase Whiteboards
Dry erase whiteboards are an essential part of a classroom setting. This piece of equipment can be used for a variety of different purposes. A dry erase whiteboard can be used to work through sample equations, provide information or write assignments for students to copy into a notebook. However, these useful tools can become less effective if the board is not maintained properly.
Care and maintenance involves using only the markers specifically designed for use with the whiteboard. Also, the whiteboard should be erased using the recommended guidelines for the whiteboard. This may include the use of an eraser or specially designed spray. The whiteboard should also be deep cleaned on a regular basis. This cleaning is more intensive than simply erasing the marks on the whiteboard and can help to remove markings which linger on the board.
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School Rugs
When choosing a rug for your school, keep in mind that you’re not just purchasing a rug for looks, you need a rug that is durable enough to withstand heavy foot traffic, one that matches with the overall aesthetics of your school, and in some cases, one that has added teaching benefits, such as maps, letters, or numbers. The rug’s material, theme, color, and size are all important features to choose from when purchasing school rugs. Most classroom rugs are made of cut pile yarn, a heavy and durable thread that is made to withstand years of trampling. Many school rugs include serging, a heavy yarn that’s sewn around the edges in a close stitch, which keeps the rug from fraying. It is important to make sure that the rug you choose has polypropylene backing to prevent it from slipping.
School rugs come in a variety of themes depending on the age and level of the student. For younger students, brightly colored rugs with pictures are beneficial in promoting learning. Older children can enjoy the educational benefit from rugs with illustrations of the alphabet, numbers or other learning tools. Solid and multi-colored options are available and tend to be the most popular for long-time use. It is important to consider the overall theme of the classroom, and certainly the color scheme, when choosing a classroom rug. Depending on the size and shape of the room, color can play an important part in creating a learning-friendly environment. Lighter rugs can open a small space, while darker, more colorful rugs can create a cozier space from a large room. Be sure to measure the size of the room before purchasing a classroom rug, keeping in mind vent and door placement as well as higher traffic areas. Consider purchasing a rug that has been treated with a stain resistant product, especially if your rug is to be subjected to children, art supplies and food. Most manufacturers offer protection against stains and fading that will keep them looking clean and new for years.
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Involving Students in Decorating Classroom Bulletin Boards
Classroom bulletin boards can offer so much more to a classroom than simple decorations. These bulletin boards can actually be a part of the learning process when they are educational as opposed to being purely decorative in nature. However, the effectiveness of classroom bulletin boards may be improved by involving the students in the process of decorating the boards. The students can be involved in the process of planning the design of the bulletin boards, incorporating the design elements or both.
There are endless possibilities for decorating classroom bulletin boards. The designs should be age appropriate and appealing to the students. Additionally, teachers may want to design bulletin boards which are also educational in nature. Examples of themes for classroom bulletin boards include geographic locations, historical events, mathematical concepts, animals, careers and nutrition. Selecting a theme which is applicable to the current lesson plan will help to incorporate the décor into the learning process.
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Selecting a Classroom Map
Although selecting a classroom map may seem like a simple process, it is often a much more difficult process than anticipated by many educators. This is because they must consider a wide range of factors including the purpose of the class, the size of the class, the appearance of the map as well as the price of the map.
The classroom map chosen should be appropriate for the size of the classroom, the subject matter taught in the classroom and should fit within the school’s budget. The size of the map factors into the decision because the map should be large enough to be visible by all students in the class without being too cumbersome for the size of the classroom. The map should also be relevant to the subject matter taught in the classroom.
The options available may include world maps, political maps, history maps, state maps and physical maps. There may even be combination maps available. Finally, it is important to consider the price of the map. Larger maps made of higher quality and with greater detail will likely be on the more expensive end of the price spectrum while smaller, less detailed maps will likely cost less.
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Necessary Classroom Accessories
There are a number of classroom accessories available. However, what's deemed necessary largely depends on the needs of the teacher, the needs of the student and the purpose of the classroom. A few examples of classroom accessories include bulletin boards, maps, whiteboards, carts, audio visual equipment and decorative items.
While none of these items is vital in every classroom, there are certainly accessories that are very beneficial in most. For example history and geography classes may greatly benefit from the inclusion of maps and globes, while music classes may benefit from audio visual equipment in the classroom.
The needs of the classroom are often closely related to the purpose of what is being taught, but often the needs of the instructor or students may also factor into the equation. For example a wheelchair bound teacher may benefit from an accessory such as overhead projector which will enable him or her to utilize the entire projection screen as opposed to only being able to utilize a small portion of a chalkboard or whiteboard.
