Inspiring quotes, hall of fame, and community project boards can make school hallways welcoming, encouraging, and most of all, colorful! What is on the walls of your school building says a lot about your school values and brings individuality to your student body.
Ways to Keep School Hallways Positive
While the title may sound redundant, this actually works! When school hallways are riddled with inspiring quotes, creative book advertisements, student work, and funny jokes, the school’s morale is lifted.
1. Post Inspiring Quotes
Posting inspiring quotes in your school hallways is a great way to remind students every day of their potential and that only the sky is the limit. Quotes can also be used as discussion openers in the class.
2. Create a Hall of Fame
No matter how old kids are, they love seeing their own work posted on a hallway wall. Putting all of their awesome works of art up in the school hallway shows your kids that you’re proud of them and the work that they put into their projects.
3. Community Projects Board
Have your students done something really great within their community? Creating a section in your school hallway of community service projects is a wonderful way to show the whole school how kind and caring your students are.
4. Hallway Painting (Mural)
Hallway murals are great projects to represent what your school is all about. There are tons of great ideas on the web for what you could put in your own hallway at school. One example would be creating a mural for each graduating class. Murals are a fun way to include everyone in an amazing work of art.
5. Flags From Around the World
Have representation for your students from all around the world by creating a section in your school hallway to display flags from everywhere! Not only will this make your hallways bright and colorful, but it will allow students from places other than the United States to have pride in where they are and where they are from.
6. Pictures of Staff
One of the best school hallway decoration ideas I have ever seen was one where kids had to “guess the teacher/staff.” This can range from graduation pictures to baby pictures, but kids absolutely LOVE getting to see their teachers in their younger forms!
7. School Hallway Book of the Week
Some of the most colorful and fun school hallways include book features of the week. You would be surprised at how many students will stop to see what book is featured and what it is all about. This is a great idea if you try to encourage your students to read more and look at their phones a little less.
8. Seasonal Sections
Even with all of the rules in public education surrounding the holidays, students absolutely love to see the markings of some of the most energetic times of the year. Everything from Christmas trees to jack-o-lanterns is fun and excited to see as students enter into the different seasons throughout the school year.
9. Make the Hallways Part of Your Class Project
Don’t just post class projects in the hallway; actually, let the hallways be part of the project! Have students use the hallway outside your door as a big and in-person book report or history mural. There are so many great ways to incorporate your hallway into your group and classwork.
10. Create a Wall of Pictures
Kids LOVE looking at pictures, and they LOVE seeing themselves in pictures. This is exactly why social media is so popular! This is a fun project for classes who want to show off everything they do in the classroom to a “look how much you’ve grown” wall.
11 . Have Lockers? Create Giant Books!
I know, I already mentioned a book of the week or month board, but if your school hallway is lined with ugly lockers, maybe this would be a great time to transform them into book spines. Doing this makes kids feel like they have entered into a whimsical land where they are the tiny ones in a land of giants.
12 . Inspiring Teachers Wall
One thing that gets overlooked in a school, surprisingly, is the teachers. There is stress, burnout, and negativity. However, having a wall where students can give a shout-out to the teachers who have inspired them the most gives a needed morale boost to those giving their all.
13 . Gentle Reminders
Sometimes, kids need a sign or a reminder to be kind or not run in the hallway and maybe even throw away the trash. There are many fun ways to make a sign that gives kids gentle reminders to do the right things, even when no one is looking at them.
14 . Announcements
While this may seem like a dull use of hallway space, it’s not! Both students and staff, when they enter the building, need to know what is going on. Having this type of announcements section keeps everyone in the know and makes for a less chaotic environment.
15 . Acts of Kindness Challenges
Present challenges to your student body to give out random acts of kindness. Promoting this kind of behavior in your school is a positive way to promote love and kindness daily.
