Use fabric or bulletin board paper to create an outdoor scene of grass and sky. Draw or create a clothesline that stretches from one side of the board to the other. You could use cardboard and thin rope to give a 3-D effect. Have students draw and cut out one item of clothing (pants, shirt, dress, skirt, sock, etc.) on construction paper or poster board. Place a picture of the student and his name on the item of clothing he created. Attach the paper clothing to the clothesline using paperclips, a stapler or clothespins. The caption on the board can read, "We're next in line for the fifth grade!"
Use fabric or bulletin board paper to create a beach scene as your background. Try to incorporate as many "real" items as possible. For example, use sandpaper to represent the sand and cotton to portray the clouds. Make the board come alive by adding plastic shovels, goggles and other beach items. Give the students a handout with a large beach ball depicted on it. Allow the students to color and cut out the beach balls. Once completed, on a separate sheet of lined paper, have the students write down their favorite fourth-grade memory. Attach the memory page to the beach ball. Staple the balls to the bulletin board, or for a more creative look, use straight pins to attach them. With this method, you can pull the balls out to the heads of the pins, giving the board a 3-D look. The caption on the board can read, "Fourth grade was a ball!"
Use black fabric or bulletin board paper for the background and sprinkle it with silver foil stars. On a piece of poster board, draw and decorate a space shuttle in launch position, fire exploding from the bottom. (If you are not artistic, you can find a space shuttle cutout at a school supply store.) Place the shuttle in the center of the board or to either side. Have the students cut out large, silver stars. The stars can feature their pictures, names, favorite fourth-grade memory or anything else you can think of. Place the stars in a random pattern on the bulletin board. The caption can read, "Blasting off into the fifth grade!"
Use red poster board or construction paper to make "bricks." Use the bricks to create a school on the bulletin board. The bigger the school, the more bricks you will need. Have each student write a piece of advice to the future fourth-graders -- either directly on a brick with a marker or on lined paper and attached to the brick with tape, glue or staples. You can portray your school as complete or as a work in progress (with bricks on the ground, trowels nearby, etc.) The caption can read, "Building a better fourth grade!"
Cover the board with a bright colored paper or fabric. Create or buy tennis shoe cutouts to use as the border. Decorate the board with various racing items, such as jerseys, racing shorts, racing socks, sweatbands, black and white checkered flags, a course map and gold medals. The more items you can find, the better the board will be. The caption can read, "We have fought a good fight. We have finished our course. We have kept the faith."