That time of the year is near, and soon enough, you might find yourself searching for “Spanish classroom decoration ideas” or “Spanish classroom posters”.
Am I right? Been there, done that.
Now, I am going to help you with that in just a minute, but as your close Profe friend, you know I am going to be honest and I want to remind you of one thing:
If you decorate your classroom at the beginning of each year, keep in mind that not everyone’s classroom is a Pinterest classroom and that is okay. You must not hold yourself to that standard.
Now, if a Pinterest classroom TRULY makes you happy and it is your heart’s desire, by all means go ahead.
I don’t even consider my own classroom to be a Pinterest classroom, I mean, it is nice, and I do have a lot of nice things…but I have accumulated these over the span of eight years.
Now, the rest of this blog post is going to be short and sweet.
As you consider classroom decor (and I don’t even like to call it that, as a matter of fact, please help me come up with a better name for it), consider the purpose of each Spanish classroom poster. Such as, it:
- makes the class a safe & welcoming environment
- promotes positive messages/SEL
- promotes the target language/cultures
- assists the teacher or the learner to stay in the target language
- serves a permanent scaffold
- celebrates learners
- promotes all voices
Now, this is not an all encompassing list. Just some food for thought because to be honest, during my first years of teaching, I put zero thought to it. Back then, my rule of thumb was “if it’s cute and I like it, it is going up,” just being honest. I did the best I could with what I knew at the time, so I forgive myself. Yet, I still have a long way to go.
The following poster recommendations for your classroom are listed in no particular order.
Inspire With This Word Wall by Profe Tauchman
The creative mind behind these beautiful and empowering posters is Profe Tauchman.
She has shared the file on her blog and while not requesting $$ for the resource, she kindly invites you to consider a $5 donation to NAACP.
You can access her posters by visiting her blog post!
Bring Awareness to Mental Health to Your School with these Encanto Spanish Classroom Posters by Erin Castillo
Use these posters and/or create this bulletin board to promote mental health at your school any time of the year, and just this month.
I used the posters created and shared by @affirmationsandaccessibility and made them into smaller images using a slide deck to create this beautiful bulletin board to spread awareness to mental health in my school.
In fact, I kept this same bulletin board for August, but now it says “THIS YEAR TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH” instead of “MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH.”
Highlight Diverse Women in STEM because Representation Matters
Representation matters. In my teen years as an undocumented teen, I lived many experiences that absolutely inspired me to continue to push myself against all odds. Because I crossed paths with many empowered and accomplished Latinas, I was able to push myself more…because if they could do it so could I.
Every student deserves to be empowered through representation and we can do just do that in our classrooms.
These posters featured many women in the field of STEM from different backgrounds and with different stories. The posters were created by the team at Storythings.
Pledge Your Support to DACA, TPS, and Undocumented Students with this poster by ALAS
I cannot emphasize how important it is to be seen and to feel understood, especially for learners who are often living under the shadows.
How do I know? Well, for seventeen years, I was undocumented in this country. I attribute much of my resilience to God and to those teachers who created safe spaces and believed in me.
This poster is a great way to show your support to your DACA, TPS, and undocumented students. It is brought to you by the organization ALAS and it was created by Emily Rhyne.
Enlighten Your Entire School With These Famous World Language Quotes by ACTFL
These posters are perfect to not just go inside the classroom but also throughout the school. You can get them from ACTFL at this link.
Set Up Your Own Flip Calendar Brought to You By Meredith White
Leave it to Meredith White, the queen of practical classroom systems and organization (GOALS!!!) to have a flip calendar ready to roll for you! Download it by checking out her tweet here!
Stay Comprehensible and Empower Your Learners with These Interrogative Posters from Sra. Cabello
Empower learners to understand & ask questions with this stylish set of interrogative words by Mrs. Cabello. Get it free at her Tpt store here!
Break Down Your Lesson with These "I CAN" Posters from Mis Clases Locas
I have been using these Spanish classroom posters for many years. I love that these help my learners can understand what we are actually going to do and why.
Leave it to Allison from Mis Clases Locas to simplify CAN DO statements for us!!!
You can get a hold of these posters at Allison’s Tpt store!
Activate Engagement with These Class Rejoinders from Sarah Breckley
Get your learners to join every conversation by using this beautiful rejoinders and interjection posters from the one and only Sarah Breckley!
Get these at her blog’s downloadable freebies!
Welcome ALL Learners with These 3 FREE Inclusive Posters Created by Yours Truly
Last but not least, I have created these welcoming and inclusive Spanish classroom posters to help you welcome all your learners this upcoming year. You can get them free at my Tpt store!
Well, that’s it for now. If you found the blog post beneficial, please help me get it out there to more readers by sharing it. Thank you!
My admin calls these wall items instructional aids. I had to move classrooms this year. I was originally going to be in a room that would make it difficult for students to see the walls due to all the extrusions for plumbing and HVAC. When I expressed concern about that, she moved me to a rectangular room. She was my evaluator and sees how I teach with the walls. What I put up is instructional. It can be pretty or fun or inclusive, How’s that for a different word for decor.
Thank you ,this is really helpful.
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.