It’s that time of year again! The stores here in Japan have already brought out the Halloween decorations, and I wanted to make the classroom more festive.
Unlike past bulletin boards with lots of different parts, I kept this one really simple. I’d wanted to try out this idea from ALT-JTE Connect (which had used food and ordering as the premise), and I’d originally intended to use it in September, but I was busy with sports days and things, and it’s not that fun to do the exact same thing as someone else, anyway.
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October 2013: Halloween |
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“Word of the Month” |
Spooky（スプーキー）気味が悪い “A spooky house” 幽霊屋敷（ゆうれいやしき） (we chose this over お化け屋敷obake-yashiki “haunted house” so it wouldn’t get confusing) |
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Comic |
Pusheen Halloween costumes |
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Border & Background |
Dollar store Halloween border (I’d bought it and brought it back with me from the States–Wal-Mart); background is new black garbage bags from the school office. To make the border for the Word of the Month section, I used the thin plastic “tough rope” (タフロープ…that’s what it’s called) that they had in the office. You should be able to find it at both middle and elementary schools, I think. |
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Decorations |
Little white ghosts (5) (I just made them by hand) |
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“America” |
(idea from ALT-JTE Connect)—“You went to America in October. It will be Halloween soon. What will you do on Halloween? Please put a check beneath the pictures.”Japanese translation (corrected by one of my teachers):
あなたは10月にアメリカに行きました。もうすぐハロウィーンです。ハロウィーンに何をしますか。写真の下にチェックしてね。 |
As you can see, I skipped the “famous birthdays” section and the free worksheets this time. I felt like the board was good enough as it is. The only thing I would change, probably, is to have big orange letters across the top that say “Happy Halloween,” but since it says that all around the border, I think that’s probably okay.
Actually, this bulletin board started at the elementary school. Elementary students pay a lot more attention than middle school students to what’s on the walls in the hallways (in my opinion, anyway). I wanted to make something they could enjoy, and the teacher I asked said I could put it up outside the fifth and sixth grade classrooms, so I made this display:
The elementary version had a cuter “Word of the Month” display (right) and a Halloween counter that I made with paper and rubber bands. I drew a pumpkin, too. I didn’t go with a quiz or survey, though, and just made the sign say “Things you can do on Halloween! ハロウィーンにできること！” The days on the counter were totally off when I came back to visit the board, so that’s evidence that students came and saw this board and changed the numbers on the counter, haha.
Song of the Day: Dubstep Piano on the Lake (=awesome)
素敵なライフ 
Loved your boards. They are very attractive, interesting & tasteful. The “Song of the Day” is awesome! Good job!! Hope these boards inspire the students to ask questions & use their English.
Thank you! I’m glad you liked the song :) I hope the boards inspire them to use English, too!