By Presto Plans
Are you looking forward to the fresh start a new school year brings? For many of us, that new beginning starts with setting up our classrooms. Even in middle and high school, a well-designed space can spark curiosity, support learning, and help students feel like they belong. Most importantly, classroom decor doesn't need to break the bank to be effective!
In this post, I'm sharing my practical and creative English classroom decor ideas for middle and high school students. Whether you're setting up a room from scratch or simply looking for a change as you begin a new school year, these budget-friendly suggestions support engagement, learning, and build a sense of community. Let's dive into some ways that you can bring fresh energy to your middle or high school ELA classroom this school year!
1. Add Humor to Spark Engagement
Classroom decor doesn't have to be serious to be effective—in fact, I find that a touch of humor can help to spark conversations and hook students into learning. A creative English is Weird display can be changed and updated throughout the year and can provide a fun springboard for other learning activities.
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Similarly, posters that encourage students to play with language by considering various grammar quirks are often a hit with middle and high school students. I find that these small touches can help to create a positive classroom culture and make students feel welcome.
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2. Visible Learning Supports
Some educational philosophies—including Reggio Emilia—refer to the classroom environment as a "third teacher." With this in mind, I like to consider how wall space and bulletin boards can be used to reinforce what students are learning. For example, a display that includes definitions and examples of various types of figurative language is a valuable reference point for students (and could help you avoid answering the same questions over and over again!).
Likewise, displays featuring anchor charts and essay outlines can help students develop more independence as they build their reading and writing skills. I love this type of display because it isn't seasonal or specific to a particular unit. Students can continue to refer to these visuals as needed throughout the year—and you don't need to worry about changing out your bulletin board when things get busy!
3. Create a Literacy-Focused Environment
One of my favourite English classroom decor ideas involves setting up an inviting classroom library. In my experience, even students who say they "don't like reading" can usually be won over with a bit of gentle persistence. An environment that encourages students to pick up a book can make a big difference—especially if you want to encourage a culture of reading.
There are many different ways to set up your classroom library, but here are some of the tips that work well for me:
- Display books on front-facing bookshelves (students really DO judge books by their covers!)
- Offer creative or flexible seating options
- Create a cozy atmosphere with soft lighting or a simple rug
- Rotate book displays to match student interests, current units, or monthly themes
If you're just starting to build your classroom library, don't panic! Some schools and districts have rotating book collections they lend out to classrooms, which are often themed around high-interest topics. Some teachers also have a lot of success on community buy-and-sell social media pages—many families are happy to donate gently-loved books to a classroom library!
4. Use Interactive Displays
I'll never forget the decor ideas I learned when setting up my very first classroom. One idea that stuck with me was the importance of making the walls work for the learning. When students interact with the decor, it becomes part of the educational experience. Interactive displays invite students to directly engage with the classroom environment, helping them take greater ownership of the space and fostering a strong sense of community.
Some of my most successful interactive displays include:
- Goal Board: At the beginning of the year, students post two goals—one personal, and one academic—to a classroom display board. Throughout the year, they periodically check in and reflect on their progress and set new goals for themselves.
- What Should I Write About?: This display is intended to bust writers' block! I like to include a variety of different prompts, including quotes, interesting visuals (photos, illustrations), comic strips, and more! Depending on your focus, you might want to provide several prompts related to one common theme, or you might prefer to keep things a bit more free-form!
- Weekly Writing Challenge: One of my favorite ways to help students build writing skills is with a structured Writing Challenge activity. Every couple of weeks, reveal a new writing prompt to the class, and spend some time (from 15 minutes up to an hour, depending on the task) writing. Over the year, students will practice a huge range of writing skills, including descriptive, persuasive, and informative writing, as well as poetry, narrative writing, and more!
- Vocabulary Word Wall: This flexible and interactive display helps students keep track of various vocabulary terms related to a specific unit of study, or words they encounter throughout the year. My favourite vocabulary word walls involve students displaying the word in a creative way (like stylizing the "W" in "wind" as a sailboat), including a definition and an example sentence.
5. Leave Space for Student Work
Displaying student work isn't just for elementary school classrooms. I believe that it is important to make room for students to see themselves reflected in the classroom. At the beginning of the school year, I like to dedicate a bulletin board or blank wall for displaying writing samples, creative projects, or even one-sentence responses to a prompt.
Leaving space open also gives you flexibility to change up your displays throughout the year, keeping things fresh for your students and for you! I find that displays featuring student work are an especially big hit during parent-teacher conferences or when multiple classes of students use the same space. They love to check out each others' work and see what other classes have been up to!
There you go! As the new school year gets underway, I hope these creative English classroom decor ideas help you set up a fabulous learning space for your middle and high school students (and for you, too!). Happy decorating!
Looking for more resources and ideas to start the school year off right in middle or high school ELA? Check out these great links from my friends here at the Secondary English Coffee Shop!
