I am always on the lookout for good ideas on how to decorate my Spanish classroom. It’s such a priviledge to have dedicated space like bulletin boards and classroom doors to decorate for my high school Spanish class. We shouldn’t waste that precisous space with decorations that won’t help our students learn.
I used to be a "Floater", one of those teachers that traveled with a cart from room to room. I taught in history rooms, math rooms, and even music rooms (those were my favorite - let's face it, music rooms are just fun!)
But nothing beats getting to decorate your own classroom. So if you are lucky enough to have your own classroom to decorate, read more below about some good things to keep in mind!
How I decorate my classroom has evolved over the years. In the beginning, I had tons of conjugation charts mixed in with cultural items (my favorite is still the Huipil I have hanging in my room). I still have my authentic cultural items, but now I decorate with more Spanish high-frequency vocabulary and verbs on the walls instead of endless verb conjugations.
Questions words are still really important to me. Every Spanish classroom should have a highly visible set of Question Word Posters on the walls. You can read our previous blog post about Spanish question words here!
It’s important to teach the Spanish question words!
We designed Spanish Question Word posters that work for any level. See the full set at our TPT store!
So what elements make for great Spanish or Bilingual Classroom Decor?
Spanish teachers are always looking for great ideas to decorate their classrooms, but sometimes we make the mistake of hanging too many decorations. Too many Spanish verb conjugations and grammar rule charts can be overwhelming.
I was guilty of this too! As a new Spanish teacher, I had tons of conjugation charts mixed in with cultural items (my favorite was the Huipil which I still I have hanging in my room).
Now I know that too many things can overwhelm students - a simple classroom design with high frequency vocabulary and Spanish authentic cultural objects is more helpful to learning Spanish.
These are the things you should be looking for in when considering what to hang on your class walls, door or bulletin board.
The words have to be CLEARLY visible from anywhere in the room. They should have bright, big fonts that your students can see from anywhere in the classroom.
The pictures and graphics should be fun and enticing! Extra points if they include authentic culture and a diverse set of characters.
Posters should be easy to understand. In other words, your students should be able to see the Spanish vocabulary in context. This can be achieved through related graphics that help students read Spanish in context.
Posters should be age and level appropriate. What is great for elementary students may not be the best fit for middle school Spanish or high school Spanish classroom decorations.
Subject Pronouns are high frequency vocabulary!
Spanish subject Pronoun Posters
These posters have a diverse set of positive role models for your Spanish or Bilingual classroom. See them all at the link below.
Spanish high frequency verb Posters
These animal Spanish poster sets feature the high frequency verbs commonly known as the Spanish super seven and sweet sixteen verbs, plus additional verbs that you can use in storytelling. The sets feature fun sloths, llamas and ocean animals.