Jan 262013
Ten quick ideas for interactive display corners:
An interactive display corner can quickly be set up in your classroom, where students research or explore a particular topic. They are ideal for “what do I do now times?” but make sure all students get a chance for play as those who may benefit most might miss out if it is only used as a reward.
10 Ideas for Quick Interactive Displays
- Junk modelling pile – students produce relevant artefacts – eg cardboard rolls can be used as mock telescope. Tea boxes make good treasure chests or gingerbread houses.
- If one group perform an experimental activity, equipment can be left for other students to try & space given to record results.
- A tray of moist, fine-grained sand on a table below a display. KS1 letter formation, later for creating things like animal prints or buried treasure, (place a string grid over and use co-ordinates to locate hidden items.) Sand try can also be used for creating Treasure Island, forest or other setting in which props can be manipulated.
- Small figures/finger puppets & other props to represent actors in story – students can manipulate and retell story in own words.
- Create cardboard sailors with movable arms and semaphore flags in their hands. Students can move the arms around to spell different words
- Tudors or pirates – Put an A3 world map onto display table. Create (or use small plastic) ships and label on sails. Students use display to track where each ship sailed. Variation – change to a map of island/treasure map as the story progresses (pirates).
- Cardboard time-line with large cardboard arrow on paper clip shows how many days at sea or where we are up to in story.
- Worksheets, several kinds, (eg. questions that student needs to use the display to answer, colour and label, cut out and sequence, story starters on themed backgrounds) are placed nearby.
- Dressing up boxes – ideal for topics like Tudors, Vikings, Romans, pirates, persuasive writing or Shakespeare! Role play is not just for KS1!!
- Children’s voice This consists of a board or part of a board,where a teacher or child poses a question. Children then have a period of time (for example, three days) to write their responses. This method works best if it!s a regular routine in the classroom and children have easy, daily access to the board.
About Linda Hartley
Hi, I enjoy helping teachers to make their classrooms into interesting visual learning environments. I write most of this site and I also run the Classroom Displays online course which you can find out more about in the sidebar.