EU-T SBE- - AB-T TEDP

European Union-Turkey Avrupa Birliği-Türkiye

Support to Basic Education Project Temel Eğitime Destek Projesi

CLASSROOM AND SCHOOL DISPLAY

A Guide for Teachers and for Teacher Training

Dr David Smawfield
2006
CLASSROOM AND
SCHOOL DISPLAY
This booklet is intended to be of interest to
teachers and teacher trainers. Its objectives
are to:

• create increased awareness of display

possibilities;

• develop the skills of teachers in display techniques;

• motivate and inspire teachers to create displays and use them effectively for
educational, management, and other purposes;

• reflect on how classroom display can be used to promote active learning.

In a training workshop environment, the subject of classroom displays could usefully

be the subject of a brainstorming activity in groups.

Groups could be set the task of coming up with as many answers as they can think of
to the following questions. (Groups could report back to a plenary session, if
appropriate. The Guidance Notes can then be used by the facilitator to fill gaps in
knowledge and provide additional ideas and inspiration!)

• Why are there so few displays in school classrooms?

• How many reasons can you think of for making classroom displays?

• How many display surfaces and display methods can you think of?

• How many places can you think of for displaying pupils’ work?

• What “tips” can you think of for successful and effective class display?

• How can classroom display be used to promote active learning?

For workshop use, this set of questions is reproduced as a Handout (See the last page
of these Guidance Notes for a photocopy master).

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 Display Examples from Turkish Schools
Can they inspire you to produce even more-spectacular displays?

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Some Reasons for Making
Displays

• Displays can be merely decorative. They

can make the classroom brighter, and a
more interesting and stimulating place.
This, in itself, can have a direct impact
on pupil motivation and thus on pupil
learning.

• Display materials can include useful direct teaching aids

(see photo), such as anatomical models, number lines, and
letters of the alphabet. They can help to make the
teacher more effective.

• Display materials can include supplementary teaching aids

that simply enrich or reinforce what is being taught,
helping to bring the subject “to life”. If a foreign country
was being studied as part of “geography”, a display might
include pictures of the people and their costumes, famous
landmarks, and so on.

• Displays can take the form of useful reference material,

to support pupil learning: such as letters of the alphabet
and “number lines”.

• Display material can include information that it is important for students to

memorise: such as number tables, formulae (see photo), spellings and other
important factual information. The display material can be used for “drills”.
Students will also tend to learn the material, simply because it is displayed and
there to look at.

• Displays can be used to “set the scene” for a new teaching topic. The teacher can
put some stimulating material on display to promote pupil interest in a topic that is
going to be taught. If the theme was “volcanoes”, some interesting pictures and
diagrams about volcanoes might be displayed before the teaching begins: perhaps
even several days before, not just immediately before the lesson.

• Displays can form the central basis of a piece of class work or a topic. They can be
a means of reporting on, and recording, the work that has been undertaken. For
example, the title of a display might be “What we did in Science”.

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• Displays can be part of some ongoing work. For example, if metamorphosis is being
studied, a display might include an aquarium with tadpoles. The growth of tadpoles
can be monitored and recorded on graphs that form part of the display.

• Displays can be used to stimulate and create pupil interest.

Books might be displayed on a shelf, and opened at an
interesting page (see photo), to encourage pupils to read. A
“nature table” is another example of a display to create
interest.

• Displays can be used to provide students with something

extra to do, in spare moments. A “puzzle of the day” would
serve this purpose well. Few students will be able to resist
trying to solve it!

• Displays can be used to promote class management. They can

include lists of routines, responsibilities, tasks, and rules.
They can include directions, labels, and instructions.

These display • Displays can form part of record keeping. They can be used to
shelves were record pupil and class progress, and topics covered. They
improvised from might also record student awards, such as “gold stars” and
scrap box lids of bonus points.
cardboard boxes
that had previously
contained • Displays can be used to communicate to others what the class
photocopying paper. is doing. This can include other students from a different
class, other teachers, the principal, official school visitors,
parents, and members of the local community.

The Display of Pupils’ Work:

• The display of pupils’ work is an aspect of display that is so important that it

deserves special consideration. It is a powerful way of showing pupils that their
work is valued. It creates a sense of achievement. It can vastly enhance pupil
motivation.

• The display of pupils’ work needs to be approached sensitively. It is important that

some students do not feel excluded or failures because their work is not displayed.
It should be a target to ensure that all students have a piece of their work on

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 display somewhere. This can be achieved by having an “all class” display that
includes one piece of work from each student, or a space for each student to
display his or her best piece of work.

• Displays should celebrate effort, as well as perfect work.

• Displaying pupils’ work can help pupils to appreciate their own work and the work of
others.

• In most cases, pupils’ work should be displayed with their names visible – so that
they receive recognition.

• Pupils’ displayed work should always have a name on somewhere, (even if at the
back) so that the teacher knows to whom it belongs: when it is marked, when it is
returned, or stored for record purposes.

• Older pupils can be involved in putting up displays themselves. But they will need to
be taught how to do this well, and some supervision will be necessary. This can be
labour saving for the teacher. It can also increase students’ sense of ownership
and pride in the display. Pupils will also be able to contribute their own ideas to
making a creative and stimulating display.

Display Surfaces and

Display Methods

The purpose of this section is to help

teachers and trainers to think creatively
about the possibilities that exist, or can
be created, for classroom
displays.

Most classrooms, but not all,

will have a notice board or
display board that can be used
for classroom display. But
teachers should not make the
mistake of thinking that a
display or notice board is the
only place for classroom

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display. All of the following are potential display surfaces:

• Walls – especially if special adhesive is used which does not damage painted
surfaces.
• Windows (see photo examples on
previous page).
• The Ceiling – from which displays can
be suspended e.g. as mobiles (as in
the photo on this page).
• The Floor.
• Windowsills.
• Shelves.
• Cupboard tops.
• Backs/sides of cupboards.
• Backs of bookcases.
• Tables.
• Boxes.
• Chests.
• String “washing” lines (see the photo on Page 9 for an example).
• Display stands (which can be improvised from many things).

Where Displays can be Made

These Guidance Notes are mainly

concerned with display in the
classroom, but it is worth thinking
about where else displays can be
made - especially of pupils’ work
as a way of giving praise and
credit and promoting motivation.

Other good places can include:

• Corridors, verandas, and

staircases (as in this photo
example).

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• The reception area.

• The school library.

• The school dining area.

• The staff room. (Even though students do not themselves usually use the staff
room, it will be a source of great pride to them if they know their own work is
thought worthy enough to be displayed there).

• The headteachers/principal’s room.

• Another school: perhaps even an exchange of pupils’ work from a school in another
country!

• Some other public place (this can be extremely motivating) such as a local library,
community hall, or hotel, or other government building, such as a hospital.

• It might even be possible to get some pupils’ work published. For example a story
or poem in a local/national newspaper, or the newsletter of some local society.

Some Miscellaneous Classroom Display Tips

• Change displays regularly, to maintain interest and freshness.

• Displays need maintenance. Keep up running repairs if things come loose, or

damaged, or untidy.

• Encourage students to bring in interesting pictures and objects to add to displays.

• If the display is aimed at the class, think about the eye level of students, including
when they are sat at their desks. This is not the same as adults. This should
influence the height of displays.

• Give displays titles. Include explanations and other signposts (such as pointers) if
these are helpful.

• When you visit other schools and classrooms, look out for good display ideas.

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• Search the Internet for classroom display ideas and help. Use key words in a
search engine such as www.google.com. Try “Classroom Displays” as your key words.
This will yield many results.

• Arrows for pointers can be cut from paper. It is easier to create symmetrical
arrows if the paper is folded before it is cut (see illustration). Several arrows can
also be cut at once.

Fold line

• Another good way to create pointers on a display is to use coloured string or wool
connected between two drawing pins (see illustration).

Fin

Pointer, created with two

drawing pins and coloured
string or wool

• A good way of making displays when wall space is limited is to hang display materials
from a string line, attached with pegs or clips:

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• Raffia or binder twine is an excellent material to
use as the line, as it can easily be spread wide
enough to use staples, saving the need to use pegs
or clips. (Raffia has been used in the photo
example of this display technique).

• When preparing hand-written titles and labels for

displays, use guidelines (or stencils if these are
available and suitable). Draw guidelines faintly in
pencil and rub out afterwards. Measure carefully. See the analysis on the next
page for suggestions about proportions of letters.

• If preparing titles and labels by computer, choose an appropriate font. Young

children will find some fonts easier to read than others. Of the two examples on
the next page, “Comic Sans MS” is better for young children than “Arial”. When
choosing a font to use with young children, look in particular at the letters “g” and
“a”. Use a font where these letters are shaped liked the hand-written form of
these letters:

a and g

and not: a and g 

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 An analysis of the proportions of two font types:

Arial: total letter span (highest point to lowest point) = 50 mm

Approximate Exact
proportions proportions
as a % and ratio: in millimetres:

Mkatg
20% 1 11mm

60% 3 28mm

20% 1 11mm

Comic Sans MS: total letter span (highest point to lowest point) = 50 mm

Approximate Exact
proportions proportions
as a % and ratio: in millimetres:

Mkatg
25% 1 12mm

50% 2 26mm

25% 1 12mm

Additional observations:

In some lettering styles, the height of capital letters is very slightly smaller than the
height of tall lower case letters. (The Comic Sans MS style is an example).

The lower case letter “t” is an odd letter. It is slightly less tall than all other tall
lower case letters (such as “b”, “d”, “k”, etc).

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• Use strong, contrasting, colours for display.

• A “colour wheel” is a useful reference tool for designing colour schemes:

Orange

Red Yellow

Purple Green

Blue

It can be used in several ways. It helps to identify “opposite” colours: those that
will give a good contrast. “Yellow”, for example, is the opposite of “Purple”. If the
predominant colour in a display were “Orange”, then “Blue” would make a good
contrasting colour for the background.

If it is wished to create “harmonies” – colours that seem to go together - choose

any two or three neighbouring colours on the colour wheel.

An effective colour scheme, which provides both “harmony” and “contrast”, based
on three colours, is the use of any two neighbouring colours with any one
contrasting colour: for example – blue, purple and yellow.

• Dark backgrounds often work best, especially if the material being displayed
comprises drawings, text, or pictures on white paper.

• Decide on a scheme for the alignment and arrangement of display material. If

display items are of different sizes, they can be aligned along a top edge, or a
vertical or horizontal line of symmetry. Symmetrical arrangements are often
effective. The following page provides a few examples.

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Example Layouts:

Display material of different sizes aligned

with a top edge, and arranged with a vertical
line of symmetry:

Display material of different sizes aligned along

vertical and horizontal lines of symmetry:

Another symmetrical display:

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• Double mounting display material can add greatly to its visual impact:

Background

Outer mount
(contrasting colour
to background)

Inner mount
(picking out a colour
in the picture)

Picture

• A cheaper (and quicker) way of creating mounting effects is to draw borders with
pens.

In this example, the picture

has been given a border with
a thick, dark blue, marking pen

Another excellent and cheap way of achieving border effects is to stick narrow strips
of contrasting coloured paper around the edges of pictures. If reels of crepe paper
are available (i.e. the type used as “streamers” for parties and Christmas decoration),
these can also be used to create powerful border and framing effects.

The photographs on the next page provide examples.

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 The Power of Borders to Enhance Visual Display and
Add Impact and Contrast

In the photo shown at the top left, a teacher has made a very attractive display along the wall of
the classroom. Unfortunately the impact of the display is lost completely as a result of white
paper being displayed on white walls. The display is hardly visible from a distance.

In the photo shown at the top right, wooden display rails have been used effectively to provide a
frame in which to set off displays attractively.

However, as the six examples shown below confirm, wonderful contrasts can also be achieved by
using brightly coloured borders and without display rails. It is not even necessary to mount work
on expensive coloured card. Borders have been made with strips of coloured paper.

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• Borders for the display area itself can also be created using repeat motifs.

These can be cut from folded paper (as a paper chain):

For example:

fold a long, thin, piece of paper into half; half again; and half again; and then cut
out the following shape:

Main fold line

Cut out blue shape

This pattern is produced: -

This shape:

Produces the following pattern:

And so on.

Stencils could also be used, or a repeated shape produced by photocopying.

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 More Examples of Effective Display:

[These examples are from China. Notice the display of students’ work and how some of the display
goes beyond the decorative – to include teaching material]

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Outdoor Display

The photographs below highlight the contribution outdoor display can make to creating
a welcoming, attractive, and child friendly learning environment.

This kind of school decoration can often be approached as a community initiative.

Parent or local businesses may be able to donate the paints. It might also be possible
to use the services of a community artist.

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Improvising when Display Materials are Scarce

Most teachers will be confronted by a scarcity of display materials and it will probably
be necessary to improvise. Here are a few ideas.

• Discarded packaging is a good source of potential display material. The inside

surfaces of most packaging materials usually have no printing on them. Yet the
card itself may well be of high quality. Packaging of this kind can make good
material for artwork and display, if opened up carefully and cut and used
appropriately.

• Make a display of interesting found objects.

• Create artworks, e.g. collages, from found material. Effective glue paste can be
made from flour and water.

• Try to find a local printer. The printer will probably be willing to donate card and
paper “off-cuts” for school use.

• Try to find a local timber merchant, factory, or carpenter that produces wood
“off-cuts”. Again, it is likely that scrap material will be made free to a school.
Wood off-cuts can make good display boards and also serve as surfaces for
painting and decorating. Smaller, interesting, wooden shapes can be used to create
collages and sculptures.

• Investigate other factory sites that produce waste material. Pieces of cloth,
leather, plastic, tinfoil, etc. All materials of this kind have tremendous potential
for use in creative display.

• Write to some of the major national and multinational companies, and explain that
the class is doing a topic on a related theme. Request that they try to send you
some free material for use in a display. Most, if not all, of these companies will do
their best to respond favourably. Some companies will even have a dedicated
educational adviser and education resource section to help in this way. Many
teachers will be amazed to discover what companies will be willing to send for free,
and will probably wonder why they never wrote before! Writing to companies can
also be a good “real life” exercise and experience for the pupils themselves. This
can have educational value in itself.

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Here are a few examples of the types of companies that could be approached together
with a suggested display/topic theme.

Company: Display/Topic Themes:

Oil and Oil Exploration Companies. Rocks and Minerals, oil exploration; the
story of oil.
Motor manufacturers. Transport.
Footwear manufacturers. The story of leather; footwear; sport.
Food manufacturers.
Banks. Banking services; the economy.
Timber manufacturers. Furniture, wood processing, different
types of wood.
Food manufacturers. The story of chocolate, cocoa; coffee, tea
etc.
Clothes manufacturers. Fashion, costume.
Insurance Companies. The story of insurance.
Electricity generation companies. The story of electricity.

What other ideas can you suggest? This might be a good workshop “brainstorming”
activity. Try looking through a magazine, newspaper or phone book for more ideas.

Another workshop output could be a list of actual names and addresses of potential
free sources of educational display materials.

Think, too, about the government departments (such as fisheries and forestry),
museums, national foundations and charitable trusts that might also be sources of free
educational material.

Remember, too, that if any of the material sent to you does not prove suitable for
display in the way intended, it can still be used in other ways. The reverse sides of
posters will probably be blank and can be used as drawing material. Photos from
pamphlets can be cut out and used selectively. Glossy coloured material can even be
cut into tiny squares and used to make attractive mosaics, and so on.

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[The next page includes a workshop handout that can be used in support of these
notes, for training workshop activity. See Page 1 for further information.]

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CLASSROOM DISPLAY:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Why are there so few displays in most school

classrooms?

• How many reasons can you think of for

making classroom displays?

• How many display surfaces and display

methods can you think of?

• How many places (other than the classroom)

can you think of for displaying pupils’ work?

• What “tips” can you think of for successful

and effective class display?

• How can classroom display be used to

promote active learning?

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