Are all teachers, educators and parents aware of this great learning tool? How much do you know about them? Well I think that this is something worth blogging about so let's get a few ideas in here.
|Photo Courtesy Smithsroom|
What is a Word Wall?
My own way of explaining this would be that a word wall is a wall where word cards are placed for visual reference. Beth Lewis from k6educators describes it as a wall that teachers designate"...for displaying commonly used vocabulary and/or sight words in large print so that all students can read the words from their desks." According to Lewis the wall helps students to get familiar with the vocabulary and to reinforce it visually.
|Photo Courtesy Rainbows Within Reach|
Types of Word Walls
The type of word wall that you create depends on what you want your students or kids to focus on.
High Frequency Word Walls- This word wall includes the most common words in reading that our readers will encounter. When these words are placed on the word wall students will be able to develop automaticity and improve their spelling of them.
|Photo Courtesy Jolly Phonics Thailand|
Chunking Word Walls- The words placed on these walls will help kids to get familiar with words with some common spelling patterns. For example, words containing 'ai' can be lined up in a row or column for easy reference.
|Photo Courtesy Finally Firsties|
Content-Area Word Walls- All the words on this type of word wall would belong to a particular subject area or content. For example, here is a picture of a Science Word wall depicting topics under the Science perview.
|Photo Courtesy Pflugerville ISD|
|Photo Courtesy The Virtual Vine|
Interactive Word Walls- These are word walls that are not permanent or fixed. The word cards can be removed and replaced by students to demonstrate understanding of the contents of the wall. Any of the above types of word walls can be interactive.
For more information on the benefits of word walls click on the links below.
What is a Word Wall? What is its purpose?
10 Best Strategies For Creating your own word walls in the classroom
Construction of a Word Wall
If you are looking for a Spring-themed word wall you can check out my Spring Word Wall word cards at my TPT store.