Creative ideas for using posters in the classroom
Kelso’s Choice fans have long known that posting banners and posters in places where kids see them regularly help them resolve conflict and make more peaceful classrooms and schools. In particular, our sturdy, giant outdoor banners used in playgrounds, a space where children spend lots of unstructured time together, are often reported as a great help, as well as in cafeterias, hallways, and, of course, inside classrooms. But Kelso counselors are very creative, and have uncovered lots of other fun and interesting ways to reinforce Kelso’s Choices by using Kelso posters in unexpected and clever ways. Here are some of our favorites:
Create a classroom talent show. Cut out the wheel from the Kelso’s Choice poster, then paste it on a large poster board announcing a class talent show… about Kelso’s Choices! Have children act out a choice in action or make up a song or dance about the choice: a conflict that leads to making a deal, or walking away, etc. Then have the whole class discuss, cheer, and talk about what they would have done in the situation.
Start a school “good choices” club. Invite kids to come together once a week to talk about their challenges and wins. Cut out the Kelso’s Choice wheel from a poster, then give the kids tokens to place on the choice they used most often during the week. Talk about why that choice is effective and brainstorm ways kids can use it in situations they’re facing.
100 Days of School with Kelso’s Choice. Cut out the center wheel from a Kelso’s Choice poster and paste onto a brightly-colored poster board. Draw lines from the lines separating the choices out to the edge of the poster board. For the first 100 days of school, have kids go up and place a dot sticker on a choice’s area every time they use it. During your 100 Days of School celebration, turn the poster around to face the wall and have kids guess how many dots are on each choice. (You can also do this with jars. Have kids put a bean or some other small counter on a jar labeled with each choice). There are lots of opportunities for prizes: each child who gets the closest guess on each choice, the “runner up,” the one who puts the most dots on the poster (or beans in the jar)… the sky is the limit. Turn it into a teachable moment by asking kids to volunteer an example of how they used a choice and how it helped.
Outfit your class mascot. Cut out the wheel from a small Kelso’s Choice poster and make two small holes on it to run a length of yarn through. Hang it on a class mascot to reinforce good choices in a fun way.
Build mobiles. Buy a pack of small Kelso’s Choice posters, have kids cut the circle out, and then draw shapes out of construction paper or poster board. (You can make these themed: leaves for fall, snowmen for winter, etc.). Then have kids write an example of when you can use each choice, and hang it from the wheel. Create a classroom full of fun, fluttery good choices!
Kelso’s Choice puzzle. Cut up a Kelso’s Choice poster into each of its nine choices. Glue the pieces onto poster board or foam board, then cut each choice into at least three “squiggly,” puzzle-like shapes (you can cut poster board with a good scissors, but you’ll need a box cutter to cut foam board). Jumble them all up and invite kids to put the wheel back together during quiet play. A fun way to reinforce the choices. Once they’ve put it together, have them refer to an intact poster to see if they put the choices in the same order they’re in on the poster. Talk about it. Should certain choices be clustered together in a new way? How would kids put the poster together if they were the ones to design it? The “slices” are all the same size, so kids can arrange them any way they like.
Put it on a giant foam hat. Be the most visible person at an assembly or on special occasions with a wheel fastened to a giant foam hat. Make your own instant fun!
Thinking more about each choice. Cut up a Kelso’s Choice poster into its individual choices. Glue each choice onto a piece of poster board, then invite kids to draw a picture of each choice in action, or write a short story about a time they used a choice (or an occasion in which they would use it). Display in the hallway. Also works with Individual Choice Kelso’s Mini-Poster Set: This idea can also be adapted to your character education curriculum by using the Individual Character Trail Poster Set:
Dress like Kelso! Put on green footie pajamas or a green onesie, cut a wheel out, and put it around your neck. Voila! Instant Kelso! Kids absolutely love this for Halloween, assemblies and any time you want to inject a little fun into your lessons.
Have other ideas of creative uses for Kelso’s Choice posters? Write us at customerservice (at) kelsoschoice (dot) com!
See all available posters and banners: click here.
