I. Working from the yearly plan

A. Make a plan for bulletin boards from the general yearly plan.

B. Write possible titles for bulletin boards in the boxes on the yearly plan.

C. Examine your social studies teaching file for pictures, articles, and artifacts which can be used in the displays.

D. Mount and laminate fragile or special materials.

E. Check to see if you have materials representing all areas to be studied.

F. Be alert to new materials which can be added.

G. Determine whether all ethnic groups, social groups, sexes, and people with handicaps are represented in your materials.

II. Captions

A. Brainstorm several ideas.

B. Choose the best idea and do the lettering.

C. Package the lettering so it is ready to be placed on the board.

III. Design

A. Lay all the material on a flat surface.

B. Move it about until a pleasing arrangement is made.

C. Draw a sketch of the arrangement.

D. If you are ready to use the bulletin board, put it up; if not, package the materials and keep adding to what you have.

IV. Design and place the ideas on an interesting background.

A. Materials for the background.

1. Consider texture, color, design, and relationships to the material placed on the background.

2. Cardboard and paper (Boxes, colored paper, corrugated paper, foil, maps, mat board, newspaper, newsprint, oak tag, sandpaper, wall paper, wrapping paper, or shelf paper.)

3. Cloth (Burlap, carpet remnants, cheese cloth, printed or plain cotton, felt, flannel, netting, oil cloth, string or yarn.)

4. Other materials (Chicken wire mesh, cork, peg board, plastic, or window screen.)

B. Placement and shape of the background.

1. Cloth fastened to the wall or ceiling molding and a board on the floor.

2. Hooks from which to string rope or twine.

3. Lattice work made of wooden laths.

4. Wallboard attached to a stand.

5. Pieces of cardboard suspended over the shoulders, covering the front and back of a child. This becomes a walking, talking bulletin board and can encourage others to "Read all about it."

6. Cylinders, stacked boxes, insides of boxes, individual bulletin boards on desks, table tops, or the surface under a table top. Laminate or place under glass items displayed in areas receiving heavy use.

7. Place materials in rectangles, squares, ovals, or circles.

C. Borders related to the theme enhance the materials displayed. (Purchased, cut from folded fan, or magazine pictures related to the topic glued onto strips of paper)

Borders which have an interesting shape in the center can serve the same purpose as matting around framed pictures.

V. Teaching from the bulletin board.

A. Determine whether it will be introductory or motivational only. Design a lesson for the use of the bulletin board.

B. Determine whether it will be used throughout the unit to motivate, teach, review, or summarize. Write down ideas for such uses.