Some teachers prefer a basic, minimal classroom setup, while others embrace a colorful, lively arrangement. Either way, there are many resources online to help personalize your classroom and make it ideal for Social Studies Learning! Your classroom is already prepped for the perfect learning environment. With the four walls of your room, you’re allowed many square feet of space to decorate. Choose these resources wisely. Wall decorations should be engaging, accurate, filled with knowledge, easy to comprehend, and beneficial. With the right setup, your students will start off the school year in a learning state of mind, surrounded by a Social Studies classroom ideal for Social Studies Learning!
Engaging resources are out there – all over the World Wide Web. However, it may be difficult to sift through the low quality images, copyrighted products, and less-than-efficient products. Finding the perfect resources for setting up your Social Studies classroom doesn’t have to be difficult or demanding. Instead, use these 6 perfect resources for setting up your Social Studies classroom, and simply print, laminate (if you wish), and hang!
Bonus tip! Do you have a humid classroom or less-than-cooperative walls? Use high-temp hot glue!
Organizational Tools: Use posters to remind students of acronyms to help organize note-taking! Posters that explain SPRITE, PERSIA, and SPEC allow your students to quickly reference the acronym, improving and speeding up their note-taking process.
Course Descriptions: Posters that detail history, geography, economics, psychology, and more, can help students differentiate between different divisions of Social Studies. This can be especially beneficial when comparing and contrasting different areas or regions.
Classroom Study Tips: Provide a gentle reminder of how your students should behave by posting study tips and behavior expectations within easy view. Remind students to work cooperatively, respect others, and listen carefully. These classroom management tips will be used throughout the classroom, so commemorating them on your walls will ensure retention.
Blooms Taxonomy: Use posters to explain the skills that should be regularly practiced in the Social Studies classroom. Break down hard-to-understand concepts like “synthesize” as in the poster below.
While functionality is priority when using your precious wall space, these U.S. History, Ancient World History, and Modern World History Quote Posters are perfect for historical context, decoration, and drawing a student’s eye to something that may seem decorative. Hidden learning opportunities are often the most important! With nearly 100 posters, these sets can line your classroom twice-over!
Bonus! On a really tight budget? Pick up some discounted National Geographic magazines at your local Half Price Books store and pull the maps, images, and infographics for quick and easy wall posters!
