Easy Retro Game Display for Back to School!

With this back-to-school display board idea, you get a first-day-of-school activity too! Students complete their very own piece of the game screen. This is a great activity on the first day of school as an icebreaker that also fills up the classroom walls. By the first parent event, you’ll have some unique classroom decor that will spark nostalgia in parents and make your grade-level team jealous!

Once each student has completed their segment, display them together on a bulletin board, window, or door—a simple yet effective classroom decoration that the students will be eager to show off.

Thanks to K-6 teacher Kristen, who created this ‘all about me’ classroom display with her students. As she said, “The kids love creating it and it brings a splash of colour to our classroom!”

More Ideas for Retro Classroom Decorations Inspired by Video Games

Level up your classroom decor with these creative, retro, classroom-themed, video game-inspired ideas! Whether you’re transforming your space into a pixel-perfect playground or creating a world where learning feels like an epic adventure, these tips will bring energy and excitement to your students.  Ready to hit start? Scroll down for endless ways to turn your classroom into the ultimate retro gamer’s paradise!

• Level-Up Incentive Board – Create an incentive board where students can “level up” by completing tasks or good behaviour. Use a blank background and add blocks as they achieve goals.
• Block Border Displays – Frame notice boards or posters with game block borders. Cut out colourful blocks to create a retro, geometric border design.
• Power-Up Supply Station – Decorate your supply area with game blocks and label it the “Power-Up Zone.” Use pixelated labels for pencils, scissors, glue, and other materials.
• High Score Leaderboard—Set up a “High Score” board for academic achievements or classroom challenges. Use a retro-style font and display student names alongside game blocks.

Prepare This Back-to-School Retro Classroom Display for Video Game Themed Classrooms

This resource was designed in black and white for easy printing. You may print on coloured paper or, alternatively, stick with white paper and have students colour it themselves.

Display your grade, score (number of students in the class), and the teacher’s name for everyone to see.

More First-Day-of-School Activities

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more first-day-of-school activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:

teaching resource

Count and Graph – In the Classroom

Practise collecting, sorting, and organising data to create a graph with this 2-page worksheet.

teaching resource

Goal Setting Firework Template

Prompt students to set various personal and academic goals at the start of the new year with our fireworks-themed goal-setting template.

teaching resource

Meet The Teacher Template (Letter) - Editable Version

Use these back-to-school templates to create a letter for your new students and their families introducing yourself.