Bulletin board ideas are plentiful, but there is a dangerous trend that needs to be understood. First, many communities have fire regulations on the amount of flammable material posted in a schoolroom or hall. Check with the fire marshal and see what the code states.

Secondly, placing student work on a bulletin board is of questionable and, perhaps, negative value. Posting good work indicates the standard a teacher wants emulated, which can curtail creativity. And, posting only the best student work can cause teacher's pet problems. Finally, posting good work serves no purpose other than to negatively position the work of other students. Thus it is important to use bulletin boards to enhance current learning of subject matter, to post news and school items and to give students -- all of them -- a place to express themselves. I strongly recommend you have students display (and they can change that display) what they feel is their best work if they wish. In that way, the student develops critical thinking skills and seeks to update the board with better work. It empowers the student.

Next, don't create bulletin boards for fellow teachers. I once had a principal who offered a monetary incentive to the teacher with the best-decorated room as judged by other teachers. The winning room was a fire trap, illegally decorated with hanging paper products -- every square inch was covered with colorful material. There was no theme, no reason, and nothing to benefit the children. A teacher decorated it for a teacher.

The best decorated rooms have an objective. I am not just talking about a theme, but a purpose for the decorations through the year. It could be subject matter, seasonal, personalities, current events, getting to know each other or a combination of these ideas.

Here is a listing of some of the better Internet resources that do not require registration or contain blatant ads.

BoardsGalore.com
Huge link site to all types of bulletin boards

Bulletin Board Ideas and Tips for the K-3 Teacher

Bulletin Board Ideas from Gigglepotz

Bulletin Board Resources @ Web English Teacher

Bulletin Boards across the World

Bulletin Boards for the Music Classroom

Business bulletin boards

CanTeach: A List of Bulletin Board Ideas

Interactive Bulletin Boards for Secondary School Mathematics

Kathy Schrock's Elementary Bulletin Board Ideas
Some interesting ones that include birthdays, homework, etc.

Kim's Korner Ideas for Bulletin Boards

KinderArt Bulletin Boards

School Bulletin Boards
Primary and Elementary ideas for classes, hall and walls

Teacher Tools Bulletin Boards
Teacher-shared boards on variety of subjects

The Teacher's Corner Bulletin Boards
Monthly, subject and theme boards

TeachingTips.com Bulletin Boards