Project-Based Learning: Posters

I’ve been telling you forever about the difference project-based learning has made in our homeschool.  It’s made such a difference, I even included an entire chapter on the subject in Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners!

Using Posters for Project-Based Learning @CindyWest (Our Journey Westward)

I’ve given you project ideas in the past, but I thought it was high time to dive a little deeper with some project specifics.  Today, I’ll be sharing tons of ideas for poster projects that can be used for all ages, all ability levels and all subjects.  Enjoy!

Project-Based Learning Poster Ideas

Project-Based Learning with Posters @Cindy West (Our Journey Westward)

I keep a stash of poster board at all times – white and colored – because poster comes in handy for so many projects.  In the first picture above, my children were asked to design their dream yard after a lengthy Jr. Master Gardener class.  The purpose of the project was to demonstrate an understanding about plants that need shade vs. sun, plants that grow well together, colors that looks good together and plant heights that complement each other and the yard/house structures.  Of course, art was an easily integrated subject.

In the 2nd picture, a poster board was folded to stand like a display board.  After researching an historical time period, maps, mini-biographies, and notebooking pages on various topics were glued on the board.  These notes and illustrations were used during an oral presentation about the topic.  This was completed in middle school.

Poster Project Ideas for Project-Based Learning @Cindy West (Our Journey Westward)

In the 1st photo above, another time period had been studied.  My son had to learn more about a people group from the time period and write a paragraph about various topics like the food they ate, clothes they wore, religion they followed, etc.  This was completed in upper elementary school.

In the 2nd photo, my upper elementary son had been learning about the rain forest.  His job was to draw a diagram demonstrating that he understood each layer of the rain forest, including plants and animals living in each.

Poster Project Ideas are Endless

Here are several ideas.  Share suggestions or links to your additional ideas in the comments!

Poster People  – draw a life size bust of the person you’re studying, cut a face hole and arm holes, wear the poster as you tell about the person

Poster Report – similar to the report boards shown above

Maps/Charts/Diagrams – giant maps, charts and diagrams to be used during a presentation

Advertisements – billboards, store signs, magazine ads, etc.

Visual to List Speaking Points – almost like a Power Point demonstration, but notes on poster display instead

Picture Board – can be similar to the visual list above, but in pictures

Mural – large artwork

Game Board – develop a game to go with a study, the poster becomes the game board

Giant Collage – fill up the poster with as many pictures as you can relating to a subject

Giant Cartoon Board – divide the board into 8-12 blocks and write a cartoon-style story relating to the subject

Reference Chart – make a chart noting things you need to remember (ie, write all the spelling rules you struggle with and post it somewhere in sight as your rule reminder)

Poster Project Ideas Around the Web

Amy from Milk and Cookies has a series of posts about learning with poster board that you won’t want to miss!

ArtSkills.com is a great place for poster project ideas.  Scroll down toward the bottom of their sidebar and you’ll find a link to a FREE Poster Idea Book.  It’s 99 pages and a fabulous resource!  They also have a couple of Pinterest boards that give fantastic examples of using posters as projects: For Your Classroom and For the Kids.

Jump right into poster projects.  Your children will have a blast!

Be sure to join me tomorrow as we discuss Project-Based Learning with Paper.  Yep, plain old paper!

Learn More About Project-Based Learning

Enjoy this Homeschool Masterclass to get a nice overview of project-based learning, its benefits, and lots of practical ideas for using it successfully in your homeschool!

4 Comments

  1. Love these ideas. We are big fans of poster board. We made ‘sandwhich boards’ when we read Homer Price out of poster board and then used poster board to create campaign posters for our ‘caramel apple election event’ last fall!(http://www.heatherhaupt.com/2012/11/06/citizenship-101-getting-taste-of/)
    Thanks for the inspiration! I hadn’t thought to keep both white and colored poster board on hand. that will save last minute runs to the grocery store for sure!

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