A bulletin board is one of the staples of any classroom. The way you decorate a bulletin board sets the mood for the rest of the classroom. Create an ocean scene on your bulletin board to reflect the ocean theme. Use backgrounds in two different shades of blue, one to represent the sky and one the water. The water background can contain bubbles or use a different texture, such as blue cellophane. Cut the backgrounds so there appear to be waves in the water. Place an area of brown on the bottom to represent sand. Sandpaper works well for this. Place a paper boat onto the water's surface. Under the water, attach paper fish that contain each student's name. For further embellishment, glue real shells onto the sand area.
Give students the impression that they have walked into an underwater world when they enter your classroom. Cut pieces of streamers in varying shades of blue and green. Thread the streamers onto pieces of fishing line that can stretch across the whole classroom. Position the streamers one to two feet apart. Hang the fishing line across the classroom. Aim fans or air-conditioning vents toward the upper portion of the classroom. The air flow will move the streamers and give the illusion of being underwater.
Your students can help you decorate your classroom to fit the underwater theme. Allow the students to make ocean-themed collages. Supply them with fine sand, fish-shaped crackers and candy, small shells and blue construction paper. Students use glue to create an underwater collage to hang around the classroom. Your students can also decorate fish and other sea creatures to hang from the ceiling. Fold paper plates in half and staple them closed. Let your students decorate the plates, add eyes and hang streamers from the bottom of the plates to create jelly fish. To make an octopus, fill a paper lunch bag with wads of paper and bunch the opening closed. Tie it off with string. Decorate the bags with markers, crayons and googly eyes. Staple streamers to hang from the bunched-up section of the bag to create octopus tentacles.
To further your ocean theme, bring in an aquarium for your students. Not only will an aquarium provide a live element to your ocean theme, it will also give your students a sense of responsibility. Assign each student a day or week in which they are responsible for feeding the fish. Choose aquarium filler for the bottom that looks more like sand. You should not use real sand as the particles are too small and can clog the filter and kill your fish. Use real shells and plants to decorate the bottom of the tank. If you have the means, choose a saltwater aquarium, though these take more work and cost more money. These fish can also die more easily, which can lead to brokenhearted children.