Rules of Display, originally uploaded by LindaH.

 Update: Competition now closed.

The book is available to buy from our bookshop and the price has been reduced to under £15.

Prize Draw
The author of the book kindly sent me a copy to review after several people bought it from the Classroom Displays Blog Bookstore. If anyone would like a free copy leave a comment and I’ll pick one at random on June 1st.
Lynn wrote:

Display is a mandatory aspect of teaching and yet most primary teachers have very little proper training on the subject. That’s what inspired me to write “The Rules of Display”!

The intention of the book is to provide basic guidelines rather than to be a source of inspiration for specific displays. It provides a good starting point for novices to display making with sections on Starting Points, Colour, Titles, Frames, and even covers Health and Safety.
Here’s a quote from Chapter 7 , Evaluating Your Learning Environment, which consists of a useful checklist that sums up the tone of the book:

Have you asked the children for their opinion of what is displayed? As in all aspects of learning and teaching, the children should be made aware of why you are doing what you are doing! Share your intentions with the children and give them a voice in the displays. Older children can be taught the main principles of colour selection and arrangement, and make their own classroom displays.

So far so good but, sadly, there is a but. The second half of the book consists of 40 pages of “Photocopiable Resources” . These are really not that useful in this age of computers and clip art and more than a little annoying if you have paid nearly £20 for a book.
Still I like the first half.
Some teachers I showed it to were not impressed. They felt that it was too general and not linked to the curriculum enough. This is hardly surprising as it is written from a Scots perspective and there isn’t a National Curriculum in quite the same way there. (Personally I see that as a plus!) I think there’s quite a lot of food for thought in the book as well as practical advice and it’s a good starting point for students or teaching assistants.

Remember if you want to be in the draw leave a comment on this post
or you can buy the book from the Classroom Displays Blog Bookstore

Tags: