So why do I have to bother with wall displays?
I must confess that it always worries me a bit when I walk into a classroom and see no displays with children's work, especially if there is a Young Learner's lesson taking place in that self-same room.
Yet why should we display children´s work? I actually think this is closely connected with the issues of affect, motivation and a sense-of-achievement. Young children love being praised and by showing their work on the classroom wall you are effectively praising them. Have you ever seen a child's eyes light up as s/he walks into class and sees their work on the wall? They feel very proud of their achievement and it is something they can show to their care-takers, parents, older siblings and granparents.
If children feel proud of seeing their drawings and their first incursions into writing in English being displayed on the class walls, they will also feel inclreasingly motivated and their self-esteem will be positively affected. That classroom environment is going to take on another dimension. It's no longer just any old classroom, it's "their" classroom, a home from home, a comfort zone in which they will feel increasingly encouraged to participate in and explore the English language. It´s the room in which they feel happy enough to adventure into language learning.
So, why not have a go finding ways of displaying your learners´ work?
You might like to have a look at this site with hundreds of ideas and photos of classroom wall displays. Obviously, these are taken from a primary school context, but nonetheless, they give you some idea of what we can do:
http://www.teachingphotos.co.uk/index.php/home/photos?start=108weeblylink_new_window
Why not share your ideas for displays with us? Why not take a photo of your classroom display and share it with us? Send it to us via the contact box in the "About this blog" page and I´ll add it to the photo gallery below.
Valéria Benévolo França
Yet why should we display children´s work? I actually think this is closely connected with the issues of affect, motivation and a sense-of-achievement. Young children love being praised and by showing their work on the classroom wall you are effectively praising them. Have you ever seen a child's eyes light up as s/he walks into class and sees their work on the wall? They feel very proud of their achievement and it is something they can show to their care-takers, parents, older siblings and granparents.
If children feel proud of seeing their drawings and their first incursions into writing in English being displayed on the class walls, they will also feel inclreasingly motivated and their self-esteem will be positively affected. That classroom environment is going to take on another dimension. It's no longer just any old classroom, it's "their" classroom, a home from home, a comfort zone in which they will feel increasingly encouraged to participate in and explore the English language. It´s the room in which they feel happy enough to adventure into language learning.
So, why not have a go finding ways of displaying your learners´ work?
You might like to have a look at this site with hundreds of ideas and photos of classroom wall displays. Obviously, these are taken from a primary school context, but nonetheless, they give you some idea of what we can do:
http://www.teachingphotos.co.uk/index.php/home/photos?start=108weeblylink_new_window
Why not share your ideas for displays with us? Why not take a photo of your classroom display and share it with us? Send it to us via the contact box in the "About this blog" page and I´ll add it to the photo gallery below.
Valéria Benévolo França
