Creating bulletin boards for the school hallway can be a real challenge. Not only must they look impressive, but they also have to show students are learning important skills. Take the hassle away with these geometry bulletin boards.
This post features four geometry bulletin board ideas with mini lessons to go along with creating them. Each board features a picture book. I hope your students enjoy creating these fun, yet educational projects!
Geometry Bulletin Boards – Teaching Idea #1
Oh Geome-tree
The Carpenters Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel
Lesson Details
Before reading the story, ask students what they know about Habitat for Humanity. Explain that it is a global organization that works with families to build homes. Prompt students to make a connection between building homes and the need to know geometry.
The story begins in 1931 during the Great Depression. Henry’s father has the idea to cut down trees and take them an hour away to New York City to sell to people celebrating Christmas. The Rockefeller workers take the tallest tree and decorate it. The next day, they come to Henry’s house with wood to build his family a new home. The home is finished in the spring, and Henry plants a pinecone as a thank you. The tree that grew from Henry’s pinecone later became the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
Project
Have students create geometric ornaments for the Christmas tree bulletin board.
Geometry Bulletin Boards – Teaching Idea #2
A Cloak for the Dream by Aileen Friedman
This story is about a tailor and his three sons. The tailor is hired to make three outfits and three cloaks for the archduke. Since he doesn’t have time to do all the work himself, the tailor asks each of his sons to create one cloak. The cloaks are created using different geometric patterns.
Project
A follow-up to this book is to have students design a patterned cloth that can be turned into a cloak. This photo shows my students designing a star pattern using a square center and triangles. Some skills that can be taught include:
- Depending on the pattern, students can identify shapes and their properties. Have students work with more advanced shapes such as rhombi, trapezoids, hexagons, and so on.
- When patterns incorporate triangles, many triangle properties can be discussed.
Geometry Bulletin Boards – Teaching Idea #3
Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert
Grandfather Tang and his granddaughter Little Soo play with tangram puzzles. Soon, Grandfather tells Little Soo a story about many animals, including foxes, dogs, rabbits, turtles, and more.
Project
Have students create each animal from the story using tangram puzzles. Some skills that can be taught include:
- identifying shapes
- spatial relationships
- flip and rotation
- congruent shapes
I recommend using plastic, wooden, or laminated cardstock pieces when students are learning about tangrams. Have each student create a different animal from construction paper tangrams for a bulletin board. Have students glue the animal shapes onto a contrasting piece of construction paper. These look great displayed on a bulletin board.
This link takes you to a tangram pattern. The pdf includes two sizes. I recommend using the small size. The pictures above were placed on an 8 by 8-inch piece of construction paper using the smaller tangram puzzle pattern.
Get your patterns here.
Geometry Bulletin Boards – Teaching Idea #4
Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry by Cindy Neuschwander
Twins Matt and Bibi go to Egypt with their parents to explore the pyramids. The story is full of descriptions of three-dimensional shapes as Matt and Bibi go through the pyramid looking for the pharaoh.
Project
This project was super simple to create, yet an effective learning tool. Students created the 3-D figures by assembling mini marshmallows and toothpicks. Next, students glued the completed figures onto construction paper. We pinned these to a bulletin board. The finished project looked amazing.
For young students stick with simple shapes with a minimum number of sides. If older students have not completed this project in early grades, you might wish to begin with simple shapes with them as well. Once students have mastered creating simple 3D shapes, have them create more detailed shapes. Start with hexagonal pyramids and prisms. Then move to shapes with more sides including octahedral pyramids and prisms up to icosahedrons.
Provide students with a chart of information and let them discover how to create the shapes. For example:
Icosahedron
5 triangles meet at each vertex
20 faces
12 vertices
30 edges
By incorporating these geometry bulletin board ideas and projects into your classroom, you not only create visually appealing displays but also provide students with engaging and educational experiences. Each bulletin board project, paired with a relevant picture book, offers a unique opportunity for students to explore geometric concepts in a hands-on and creative way.
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