15 Classroom Decorations Every Teacher Used in the '70s

Classroom decorations in the 1970s went beyond wall decoration. They helped teachers plan lessons, celebrate seasons, promote good behavior, and welcome students. ABC strips, calendars, maps, handwriting charts, and clocks helped students learn while maintaining the room’s decor. Bulletin boards, tissue paper windows, plants, artwork, and storybook posters warmed up plain walls and hard floors. Portraits and patriotic displays reflected many schools’ values, while seasonal cutouts and decorated doors marked the months. These decorations made classrooms lively, colorful, and personal. They transformed ordinary materials into lasting memories and gave students visual landmarks that remained tied to school life for children who learned and grew inside them.

1. Alphabet Frieze Above the Chalkboard

Almost every elementary classroom had a colorful alphabet frieze that ran across the wall above the chalkboard. It was a decoration and a daily lesson for teachers. Each letter was typically paired with some simple drawing, like A for apple or B for ball. Reading, writing, and spelling were practiced with it in sight. During the decade, ready-made versions from publishers such as Ideal School Supply and Trend became staples in classrooms. The bright strip also softened the plain walls of the classroom. The display was visible every school day, and the letters were memorized over time without the children knowing it.

2. Monthly Calendar Bulletin Display

Teachers had big monthly calendars on display with upcoming events and important dates for all to see. Bright paper numbers filled each square, and colorful cutouts marked birthdays, holidays, field trips, and classroom celebrations. Most mornings began with updating the calendar together. The display taught dates, months, and seasons and simple math concepts while decorating an otherwise bare wall. Many classrooms decorated the calendar with flowers, leaves, or seasonal artwork that changed throughout the year. Students looked forward to their birthdays and counted down the days to special events, making this a pretty and meaningful decoration for each month.

3. Weather Chart Corner

One classroom often featured a happy weather chart with suns, clouds, raindrops, snowflakes, and rainbows in a corner. Every morning, a student would look at the weather and put the correct weather symbol on the chart. The display was used to teach science vocabulary and seasonal changes while promoting observation skills. The bare walls of the classroom seemed more welcoming with the bright illustrations giving it warmth. Students eagerly anticipated being the daily weather helper. The bright chart created an upbeat atmosphere even on gloomy days and reminded everyone to notice the changing world outside the classroom.

4. Themed Bulletin Boards

The classroom’s main decorative stage was often a large bulletin board. Teachers covered it with construction paper in bright colors, with scalloped borders and carefully cut letters. The theme would vary with the seasons, holidays, or what was being taught at the time. The autumn boards had paper leaves and the spring boards flowers and birds. Some teachers used felt figures or commercially printed cut-outs from companies like Dennison and Eureka. Students entering the room paused to admire the new displays. The board also displayed student projects, spelling words, and reading goals. The ever-changing appearance kept the classroom lively and provided each month a new excitement.

5. Colorful Geography Maps

A lot of teachers had one wall covered with maps of the United States, the world, or their home state. There were big pull-down maps, often hung up near the chalkboard, but flat paper maps stayed up all year. Colors divided states, countries, oceans, and mountain ranges. Geography lessons involved the teacher pointing with a wooden pointer at various places on a map and asking students to locate capitals or borders. The maps also made her dream of far-off towns and weird countries. The shapes and colours gave the room an academic air even when they were not being used for a lesson. They silently reminded students that the world was much more than the school yard.

6. Large Classroom Clocks

In a classroom, there was generally a clock hung high on the wall where every student could watch the hands creep toward recess or dismissal. There were lots of schools with plain round clocks: black numbers, white faces, metal frames. Teachers would often have handmade paper clocks nearby when children learned to tell time. The practice clocks had moving cardboard hands held in place by brass clips. The real clock ordered the room, and the paper one was a bright teaching decoration. Students compared both during the day. There were few things in the classroom that could attract any more attention, particularly in long afternoons when each minute seemed to crawl past slower than the last.

7. Tissue Paper Window Art

Teachers often put up tissue paper designs in windows, where sunlight shone through. Students inserted colored tissue into black construction-paper frames to create stained-glass effects. Butterflies, flowers, stars, and simple geometric patterns were common designs. Windows had paper pumpkins at Halloween, bells for Christmas, hearts for Valentine’s Day. The decorations spruced up classrooms without using up precious wall space. They also made ordinary student projects something dramatic and beautiful. On sunny mornings, colored light sometimes splashed across desks and floors. The effect made a normal school building feel warmer, more cheerful, and a little bit magical during an otherwise normal lesson.

8. Houseplants on the Windowsill

Many classrooms had houseplants that were placed on windowsills, on shelves, or on metal plant stands. Hardy types such as spider plants, pothos, philodendrons and tradescantia survived under fluorescent lights and erratic watering. The teachers sometimes asked the students to water the plants or to dust their leaves. Decoration was a simple science lesson as cuttings often grew in glass jars until roots showed. The plants softened the hard lines of desks and chalkboards and cinder-block walls. Their trailing vines were colorful all year long. Just one healthy plant made the room feel calmer, friendlier, and more cared for than a totally bare classroom.

9. Seasonal Paper Cutouts

Seasonal paper cutouts decorated classroom doors, windows, and bulletin boards throughout the school year. In October, the teachers used pumpkins; in November, turkeys; in winter, snowmen; and in spring, flowers. Many of the decorations were purchased from school supply companies, and some were copied from patterns and cut by hand. Building paper, paste, and safety scissors made for merry displays for little outlay. Often, students would help put the pieces together during art time. Each new set was a countdown of months gone by and anticipation of holidays or vacations. Classrooms had their usual rhythms in familiar shapes, and the school year felt like a story told in shifting colors and symbols.

10. Storybook Character Posters

Reading corners were often decorated with posters of children’s books and storybook characters that children loved. Shelves or small rugs were adorned with Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Dr. Seuss characters. Teachers also showed book jackets, library posters, and handwritten recommendations. The decorations made the reading area feel separate from the rest of the classroom, almost like a little library. During silent reading times, students would come to the room and look through the posters to find familiar faces. The bright artwork promoted curiosity before even opening a book. The displays transformed reading from an assignment into a daily adventure, calling with familiar friends.

11. Portraits of National Leaders

Many schoolrooms contained portraits of national leaders, particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Their serious faces often hovered over the chalkboard near the American flag. Some rooms also contained portraits of the current president or important historical characters related to lessons. The teachers used the images to discuss government, history, and national holidays. The portraits lent a formality to the room, contrasting with the colorful artwork of the students. The children learned to recognize those faces long before they learned the facts of history. The display demonstrated a strong emphasis on citizenship, patriotism, and respect for the country’s past through the decade in many schools.

12. Cursive Handwriting Charts

Often a long strip of cursive handwriting samples stretched across the front or side wall. Every capital and small letter was carefully looped to show the students what their writing should look like. During penmanship lessons, they would point to the strip and compare their written work to the model. Companies like Zaner-Bloser and Palmer provided charts showing handwriting techniques that were widely taught. Even when no lesson had to do with them, the flowing letters looked decorative. The students saw the examples every day and slowly copied their curves and connections. The display came from an era when neat cursive was a vital classroom skill, a visible sign of care.

13. Decorated Classroom Doors

The classroom door was often decorated with a cheerful sign welcoming students with the teacher’s name and a seasonal theme. In September, the students were greeted by apples or schoolhouses or smiling pencils. Later, it changed depending on holidays, weather, or classroom projects. Teachers cut letters out of construction paper or used preprinted shapes from school supply catalogs. Some doors had the name of every student, making the entrance feel personal and inviting. Kids paused to find their names before heading inside. Before class, the decorated doorway set the tone. It meant that the room was a small community in which each student had a recognized place.

14. Displays of Student Artwork

In the 1970s, student artwork was one of the most important elements of classroom decoration. Teachers displayed paintings, crayon drawings, collages, and paper crafts on walls or from strings near the ceiling. The projects were held in place with clothespins, staples, and masking tape. Displays changed after each art lesson so that each child had a chance to see work presented with pride. The uneven shapes and the bold colors came alive with bought decorations, but the room did not. The artwork was noticed by parents during conferences and school programs. It was recognition for the students looking at a picture on the wall, and it made the classroom a shared gallery.

15. Motivational Classroom Posters

Motivational posters added friendly advice to otherwise drab classroom walls. Popular messages included reading, cooperating, doing one’s best, or being kind to others. Some posters showed smiling cartoon children, animals, rainbows, or big bubble letters. Teachers bought them at school-supply stores or made their own, out of poster board and felt-tip markers. The sayings sometimes hung for months and became familiar parts of the room. The messages were simple but reinforced classroom rules and positive behavior. Their bright designs echoed the decade’s cheerful visual style and aided teachers in creating an encouraging atmosphere without yet another spoken reminder.