Begin a word wall

If you have always wanted to have a word wall in your classroom, but were not sure how to begin, we can help. Word walls or displays are a great way to encourage vocabulary development and reinforce language skills. Whether you have an entire wall or a simple pocket chart to devote to it, a word wall can work in any classroom. Try the tricks below to get you started this school year!

Word Wall Basics

Cumulative vs. Work in Progress

Contrary to what some may believe, word walls are not cumulative displays of words learned throughout the year. Instead, they are a place to store new vocabulary from current lessons. Take key vocabulary words from stories being read, history lessons being taught and science experiments being conducted and place them on the word wall. As the lessons and stories change, so too should the words on display. Do not feel locked into having the same words displayed all year long, as that is not the true purpose of a class word wall.

Upon Mastery

Once words have been mastered, they can be transferred to a either a cumulative vocabulary board or placed in a file box word bank. Students should also have a record of the words that were displayed, either in a word journal or in their own file box word bank. Some teachers then use the past words for games of Bingo or other brain teasers. You can also pull words and use them as creative story starters for morning writing.

Materials Needed

Word walls can be as simple or as complex as you make them. For the simplest word wall, use a sentence strip pocket chart where you can cut the words to size, slip them into the pockets and display it at the front of the class. If you have more wall space for displays, place the letters of the alphabet in a row and display the current word wall words below the corresponding letters. If there is no board space or wall space available, hang a clothesline across the room and clothespin the words to the line. Write the words on brightly colored sentence strips or on large, pre-made shapes. Make sure that the words are so clearly written that students can see them from across the room.

Do you use a word wall in your classroom?  What do you find to be the most effective way to introduce new vocabulary to your students?

Share your ideas below or on the Really Good Teachers Forums! We’d love to hear how you do it!

In our schoolroom we have two 4′ by 3′ magnetic dry erase boards I got for a bargain at a local office supply store. I use one as our circle time center. The other I decided to turn into a word wall. Our homeschool focus this year (pre-K and kindergarten) is on math and literacy and a word wall fits in beautifully with that focus. I’m going to discuss the creation of the word wall, how I plan to introduce new words each week, and short activities I plan to do with the word wall on a daily basis.

Creation of the Word Wall

I took the same letters I used when making my phonics/handwriting alphabet border and used them to create the alphabet headings for the word wall. It puts a handwriting reference in yet another place in the classroom and brings that reference physically down to their level. Then I laminated them, cut them out, and slapped some magnets on the backs. I’ve found the most economical way to magnetize things for use on a magnetic dry erase board is to buy inexpensive magnetic vent covers (like these, except you can get them for around $5 at a local hardware store) and just cut squares to size out of the vent covers and attach them to your words (or calendars, or decorations) with double sided tape. I also wanted to separate out the digraphs so I made separate headers for those. Our reading program (All About Reading) treats them as separate phonograms, and we do a lot of speech therapy in this house, so it makes sense for us to separate those out.

I also made a starter set of words. I printed colored rectangles in 6 different colors because I’ve read that it is helpful for visual discrimination and sight word recognition to have each word under a heading placed on a different color background. (Hmm, in retrospect I could have saved a lot of color ink by just cutting the rectangle backgrounds out of six different colors of cardstock.) I printed the words on white paper. I then cut the words out taking the time to cut around the shapes of the words. I stuck them on the background with a tiny bit of double sided tape just to hold them in place as I ran them through the laminator. I made sure that all words that would end up under the same header (all the G words, for example) were attached to differently colored backgrounds.) Once they were laminated, I cut them out and attached magnets. I did not attach all of them to the word wall yet though.

Introduction of Word Wall Words

I am going to introduce no more than 4-6 new word wall words each week. We will learn and interact with the new words of the week during circle time. Each of the words for the week has a differently colored background. I also try to choose words that we can make into a sentence. During circle time we will look at each word and Clap and Snap the word. To clap and snap a word, say the word followed by a clap, spell the letters each followed by a snap, and then say the word again followed by a snap. So «and» would be: «and» (clap) a (snap) n (snap) d (snap) «and» (clap). Then we will build a sentence using a lap-size magnetic dry erase board. The entire process should take no more than 5 minutes each morning during circle time. At the end of the week the words will be moved over to the word wall and we’ll begin a new set the following week.

Daily Word Wall Games and Activities

During each day we will play a short word wall game as a fun transition from one activity to another (probably in between writing journals and math). We will choose from the following list (these were chosen because they will work well in a small-group, homeschool environment but most would work in a classroom as well):

1. Find and Erase — Write 5-10 word wall words on lap-size dry erase boards with dry erase markers (you can use plastic plates or a piece of blank laminated paper for this purpose too). Say a word at random and have the children find that word on their board and erase it. Continue until all the words are gone. If your children are writing, they can write the words themselves. Otherwise, write the words for them.
2. Tall Towers — When you make your word wall cards, write a number between 1 and 3 in a corner on the back of each card. When you begin this activity choose 6-12 word wall cards at random from the board and use them as a mini card deck. Also grab blocks, snap cubes, legos, duplos, or anything other manipulative children can build towers with. Shuffle the cards. Have the children take turns pulling a card and reading the word on the front. If successful they turn the card over and add that many bricks (blocks, cubes, etc.) to their tower. If not, they return the card to the deck. Continue in this manner until all the cards are gone. Sit back and admire the «tall towers». Then have the children return the words to their proper places on the word wall.
3. Word Wall, Beach Ball — Stand or sit in a circle. Teacher holds a beach ball (or any ball, or bean bag…). The teacher tosses the ball to a child and asks the child to tell the color of the word «_____» (name a word off the wall at random). The child must find the word on the wall and name the color. Then the child throws the ball to another child and asks that child to tell the color of a new word. And so on…
4. Word Wall Hot Potato — Play hot potato with a bean bag or small ball. When the music stops, ask the child to tell you a _____ word (choose a color from the word wall). The child reads a word with that color background and then play continues.
5. Word Wall Bingo — Give each child a blank Bingo card with 6 spaces (laminated so they can reuse it) and a dry erase marker and have them write a word wall word in each space. When they are done, have them gather those words from the word wall. Shuffle the cards. As you read each word the child looks to see if they have that word on their card and if they do they can mark it out with their marker. The first child to mark out all their words wins. Then the children can return the cards to their proper spaces on the word wall.
6. Word Wall Tic Tac Toe — Make and laminate blank tic-tac-toe grids large enough for your kids to write word wall words in the spaces. At the beginning of the game have them write word wall words of their choice in each space. When they are done, have them gather those words from the word wall. Shuffle the cards. As you read each word tell them if it is an 0 or an X word. If they have the word they put an O or X over the word with their dry erase marker. The first person to get a tic-tac-toe wins. Then the children can return the cards to their proper spaces on the word wall.
7. Word Wall Order Up — Each child chooses 4-7 words from the word wall and returns to their desk. They put the words in alphabetical order. Once checked by the teacher, they return the words to their proper places on the wall.
8. Word Wall Mystery Word — Each child chooses 1-4 words from the word wall (depending on the total number of children you have and how many words you want in the guessing pool). Have them bring those words to you. These words will make up the guessing pool. Choose a word from the pool and give the students hints (The mystery word is one syllable, the mystery word has four letters, the mystery word rhymes with pan, the mystery words ends with an «e», the mystery word has two letters that are the same…). Take your time and let the children physically remove letters that do not meet the clue’s criteria from the pool if necessary until only one remains. Then they’ve found the mystery word. At the end of the activity have the children return the cards to the wall.
9. Word Wall Rhymes — You say a word that rhymes with one or more words on the wall and the children find the words that rhyme.
10. Word Wall Fill in the Blank — Have the children choose 1-3 words from the word wall to form a guessing pool. Bring the words back to the table. You make up a sentence with one of the words from the guessing pool and say it out loud omitting the target word. The children must figure out which of the word wall words makes sense in your sentence. At the end of the activity have the children return the cards to the wall.
11. Word Wall Build a Sentence — Pre-choose several word wall words that can be combined in several ways to make grammatical sentences anywhere from 2-6 words in length. You say a sentence and the children work to build your sentence using the word wall cards. At the end of the activity have the children return the cards to the wall.
12. Word Wall Sorts — Have each child choose 5-10 words from the wall. You give them a criteria and have them sort their words by that criteria (words that rhyme, words that begin with the same letter, words that end with the same letter, words that have the same number of syllables, words that share a vowel, etc.). When finished, they return their words to the wall.
13. Guess which word is hiding? — Build a sentence out of word wall cards and then hide a key word with a sticky note. Invite the children to guess the missing word and write their guesses down. Then remove the sticky note and see if anyone guessed correctly. Repeat with a new sentence.
14. Build, Mix, Fix — For this activity you will need a set of letter tiles (or just letters printed on cardstock and cut out) for each child. The child sits at their desk with the letter tiles and you call out a word wall word. They build the letters with the tiles and you check for accuracy. Then they mix up the letters. Next they fix the mixed up letters. Repeat for a new word.
15. Word Wall Word Search — Create and print a simple blank word search form with a grid at the top and a blank box at the bottom. Have the children write 5 word wall words of their choice in the box at the bottom and then transfer them into the grid at the top. Next they fill in the remaining spaces with random letters. Then trade papers and do the word search.

I printed out this list to hang on the wall near my word wall so that it would be easy to remember a wide variety of activities and to choose a new one each day. This is three weeks worth of daily word wall activities without repeats. You’re welcome to use the list as well. Simply click on the image to open to full size and then right click to save. Open the saved image on your computer and print.

Read More About Word Walls

I got most of my ideas from these two sources. They have even more word wall games and activities than the ones I chose to highlight above.

1. Kindergarten Lifestyle — Great explanation of interactive word walls, adorable free word wall printable, a few great game ideas.
2. Word Wall Activities — huge list of word wall games and activities. Dozens at least.

Description

The word wall teaching method creates a place in the classroom where learners display the meanings of essential ideas utilizing words and pictures. As learners encounter new vocabulary in the content, creating a word wall offers one way to help them comprehend and interpret ideas in the content. It is also an effective way for learners to keep track of new terms they’ve learned in a unit of study.

Vocabulary terms that you may add to your class word wall include: bystander, perpetrator, genocide, democracy, tolerance, nationalism, and prejudice.

Implementation

1. Prepare the Space: First, chose a space in the room for your word wall. Large sheets of poster paper or a whiteboard work well.
2. Build Your Word Wall: Before you begin reading content, watching a video, or studying new material, assign learners, possibly working in pairs, a term to define for the class word wall. You can also require learners to present an image or graphic that embodies the meaning of this word. Associating a picture with a name is one way to help learners remember descriptions.
3. Add to Your Word Wall: More terms can be placed on the word wall as needed. Learners can also update the descriptions on their word walls as they develop a deeper comprehension of key terms.

Modifications

1. Multiple Word Walls: You can post several class word walls at once, and they can be organized in several ways. For instance, it would be interesting to create a word wall of Nazi euphemisms, or bureaucratic language utilized by the Nazi government to avoid directly stating what was happening to Jews and other targeted groups. This is an excellent example of words taking on new meanings—extermination, for instance, had a definite connotation when utilized by the Nazis.

Do you use a Word Wall?  I think that a Word Wall is an essential part of a primary classroom and WELL worth the wall space that it takes up.  There has been a lot of debate in recent years about the merits of a Word Wall.  I feel strongly that it is a necessity, but I also feel strongly that it is only beneficial if you TEACH kids how to use it.

This is the first post in a multi-post series about how I set up my word wall, my daily routines and how I practice, practice, practice so my students learn these words.

Deciding on the Words

First off, you may wonder how I decide on my words.  Our school board does not dictate our literacy programs, so I don’t have a series I have to follow.  I use word lists from different resources: Dolch word lists and the PM benchmark texts to determine the order I introduce the words.  There are many resources out there that are helpful.  Check with staff at your school to determine if there is a specific list you need to use.  

I have a set of word wall cards that I have had for years.  The words are different colours and cut to show the shape of the word so that students can easily notice what I call «tall, tummy and dangly» letters.  Having different colors makes it easier to help your students locate the word on the word wall with just the cue of «look for the purple word under D for Dinosaur.»  Being able to prompt students with colour cues as well as animal clues for the particular letters is very helpful for many of your beginning grade 1 and kindergarten students.  

I am also intentional about my letter headers on the Word Wall.  I have taught Grade 1 for almost 20 years now, and it is only recently that I made a change on my Word Wall that has saved my teacher sanity.  At the beginning of the year a lot of, my students struggled to find a word because they did not have their letter/sound associations solidified.  The letter card didn’t provide any help when you said to look under D, because they didn’t necessary know what a D looked like. I decided to create my own header cards (and name tags and alphabet cards, too) with an animal on it so that the those kids could develop an association for the letter.  This has worked like a charm.  What was even better was their Name Tag had a miniature version of the Alphabet Posters which matched the Word Wall headers. 

When talking to my students, I can say «D like Dinosaur,» and they can find the word all by themselves no matter where they look in the classroom.  It has seriously been life changing having that picture clue and having all the related resources matching.  You can find these Header Cards and all the coordinating pieces by clicking on the image below, which will take you to my TPT Store.

Choosing your Location

There has been a lot of debate in the last few years about what a Word Wall should look like as well as should teachers even use valuable classroom space to have one.  Obviously, I am in the camp that says they are essential, but as educators, we need to decide what it will look like in our classrooms. 

You need to consider a few things:  Do I have a wall space that will work?  Will it be accessible to all my students?  Can they see it from their workspaces easily?  

I have always had a traditional Word Wall on a large wall space.  I like to ensure that there is lots of space for the words since I usually have close to 100 words on my wall by the end of the year.  This is what it would typically look like at the beginning of the year.  

When I talk about the Word Wall being accessible for all I mean a few things.  I like to ensure that students can see the Word Wall from any workspace in the classroom.  We have tables in our room, and they are all positioned in proximity to the Word Wall.  Students often come and stand in front of it to get a closer look, and I am always happy to take a word down for a student to use.  

I follow the same routine each week and my students get used to my established routines when it comes to adding words and the Word Wall.  I try my best to use the Word Wall for teaching every single day.  As we all know, things don’t always go as planned in the classroom and the best laid plans get set aside.  At the beginning of the year it is really important to carve out time everyday to use the Word Wall with your students so, if you are lacking time later in the year, they have a good understanding of how to use it.

A word wall is just a bulletin board unless you build it with your students and teach them how to use it. 

Check out my Word Wall Pinterest board which shows some of the other options you can use for setting up your word wall.  

Words should be added gradually — a general guideline is five words per week. Use the word wall daily to practice words, incorporating a variety of activities such as chanting, snapping, cheering, clapping, tracing, word guessing games as well as writing them.

What should be on a word wall?

Words should be added gradually — a general guideline is five words per week. Use the word wall daily to practice words, incorporating a variety of activities such as chanting, snapping, cheering, clapping, tracing, word guessing games as well as writing them.

How do you make a word wall?

1. Prepare the Space. Select a place in the room for your word wall. …
2. Build Your Word Wall. Before you begin reading a text, watching a video, or studying new material, assign students, possibly working in pairs, a term to define for the class word wall. …
3. Add to Your Word Wall.

What are word wall examples?

Typically word walls take up a large space in the classroom, and the words are listed alphabetically by letter. For example, the words friend, family and finish would all be under the letter F.

What is a word wall for high school?

A word wall is a group of words that are displayed on a wall, bulletin board, chalkboard, or whiteboard in a classroom. The words are printed in a large font so that they are easily visible from all student seating areas.

Do you put words on a sound wall?

You have likely heard about sound walls but what should you put on your sound wall? Do you include letters, words, and pictures? Making the switch from word wall to sound wall may seem like a big jump, but it doesn’t have to be. You can use your sound wall in a similar way that you used your word wall.

Are sound walls better than word walls?

Sound walls are based on the science of reading, and are an excellent way to explicitly teach the phonemes. They are highly effective, especially for struggling readers, and make a lot more sense than word walls.

Is Word Wall free?

Wordwall is a free online tool for creating learning activities. With this tool, teachers can enter the topic that they would like to cover in class into the Wordwall and receive a variety of ready-made, fully customisable activities such as quizzes, word games, maze chases and much more.

How do you make a word wall quiz?

1. Match up. Drag and drop each keyword next to its definition.
2. Quiz. A series of multiple choice questions. …
3. Random wheel. Spin the wheel to see which item comes up next.
4. Group sort. Drag and drop each item into its correct group.
5. Find the match. …
6. Missing word. …
7. Unjumble. …
8. Matching pairs.

What are sight words?

Sight words are the words that appear most frequently in our reading and writing. Often these words do not have a concrete image that accompanies them. They are high-frequency words that may not be able to be pictured, and as such, they simply must be memorised and understood.

How can I use the word better?

1. Develop a reading habit. Vocabulary building is easiest when you encounter words in context. …
2. Use the dictionary and thesaurus. …
3. Play word games. …
4. Use flashcards. …
5. Subscribe to “word of the day” feeds. …
6. Use mnemonics. …
7. Practice using new words in conversation.

What is a portable word wall?

It is Interactive! Students can use them to do read and write rainbow writing in which they read the word on the card and then write it 3 times using different writing tools (markers, crayons, pens). … Read all about the Engaging Portable Word Wall Sight Word Centers.

Are Word Walls effective in high school?

While there are many ways to scaffold literacy in ELA and other content area classes, word walls have been proven to work. They are especially helpful for English Learners and struggling readers, but they certainly don’t hurt students who are proficient. Word walls are most valuable when students take ownership.

What is a personal word wall?

Word Wall Folders are Portable Your students will now be able to take their word walls everywhere that they can write. If your words are on the wall, students have to interrupt their writing time to find a word that they want to use.

Word Walls: Interactive and Purposeful

We want kids to engage with the word wall. It shouldn’t just be decorative. Giving kids a reason to engage with word walls gives them a purpose for being in the room. Word walls aren’t just posters. They are learning tools and we have to USE them as such.

Here are 10 great ideas for using word walls in a middle school classroom.

1. Personal Word Wall

It’s great to watch students reference their personal word wall. I like to use foldable notes, like the one at the right. Folding notes make the word visible, but not the definition. Kids can then use the notes to quiz themselves. If you don’t use foldables, a worksheet with boxes is fine. Make the boxes large enough so students can add visuals if they learn better this way.

I call our word notes the “mini wo-wa.” The kids like when I make words up, and they are much more likely to use it if it has a silly name. It’s pretty common for me to hear a student suggest a classmate add a word to his “mini wo-wa.”

2. Include Definitions

Word walls work best when definitions are included. They become a huge dictionary that students can refer to when reading and writing. Many teachers think that the definitions don’t have to be included, but experts say they do.

Imagine this. You are eager to learn Greek, so you enroll in a beginner Geek class. In the classroom, Greek words are hanging on a bulletin board. Just the words. There aren’t any illustrations or familiar text to accompany them. The teacher is speaking Greek and expects you to participate, using those Greek words on the board.

The teacher asks for someone to share the name of their skýlos. You think you remember what a skylos is, but you’re not totally sure. Is it your dog? You think so, but you’re not positive. Is it your town? Street? Now you start to sweat, wondering if the teacher will call on you. Luckily, someone else shares that a  skýlos is a dog.

You would have been much more confident participating if you had been able to look over at your life-sized dictionary. And eventually, those definitions will sink in.

3. Refer to the Words

During instruction, use your best Vanna White arm-sweep and refer to the words frequently, so students begin to understand their relevance. Our friends will learn that the words aren’t chosen arbitrarily. Referring to the words also allows kids to make a visual connection between the word and its use.

4. Add Visuals

Assign kids to find or draw pictures that illustrate the word for homework and then add them to the word wall. This ensures that the kids are thinking about the words outside of class. The pictures also add an important visual quality.

5. Use a Concept Wheel

A “concept wheel” is another popular graphic organizer you can use to allow students to build meaning for themselves. Draw a circle on a piece of paper. Divide the circle into four parts. In the first part, “Biff” writes a word he would like to understand better. In the second part, Biff brainstorms a list of words he thinks of when he hears the word in the first box. In the third is the denotation, or formal definition of the word. In the fourth section, Biff paraphrases the definition. On the bottom, Biff writes a sentence in which the word is used correctly. Students learn best when they “construct” meaning of words on their own.

6. Become an Expert

Place students in groups of three or four and assign each student one or two words to become an expert on. You can Jigsaw the activity by allowing the experts to work with experts from other groups, if you’d like. Experts have to determine the best way to teach the rest of the group about the word. They can employ visuals, act it out, provide examples, or play a game. When the experts go back to their original group, they will teach their group all about the word.

7. Create Word Art

For our visual artists, encourage each student to choose a word and then create a visual representation of the meaning of the word. They might even create it using the letters of the word. For example, in the image above, the word “conflict” looks like it’s fighting, the word “impact” is crashing into a wall.

I have found this to be an excellent hands-on way to teach new words to older students. It gives them the spelling and the meaning of the word all at once and helps quicken the transition of the new words into long-term memory. The kids love doing hands-on artwork and seeing what others have created. Each word is created on a half sheet of regular copy paper and by the end of the school year, we have some cool art to add to our word wall.

8. Matchmaking (or as I call it, Wo-Wa Speed Dating)

Each student is given a word and an index card. They write everything they know about their word on the card, definitions, examples, everything. They then rotate, sharing the word card with a partner. Together, the two decided on a commonality or relationship between their words.

Impose a predetermined time limit, so students can move on, but before they do, randomly ask one group to share their findings with the class. If your friends are like mine, they are much more likely to stay on task if there is a chance they will have to be accountable for sharing their findings.

9. Write a Poem

Ask students to write a poem using as many word wall words as possible. Alternatively, task students with creating an extended metaphor poem about one of the words.

10. Word Ad

In this variation of Become an Expert, a group is assigned a word or two to teach the rest of the class. They should begin by brainstorming all possible uses of the word. Then they create a skit in which they “sell” the word to the class.

One of the best word ad skits I’ve seen took place during our study of nonfiction terminology. One group was tasked with creating a sales pitch for the word graphics. To start their presentation, the group read some instructions for assembling a swing set, and when they got to the part about requiring nails, brought out manicure supplies. The class quickly caught on the importance of including visual representations, especially when writing informational text, such as Feature Articles.