Word Walls Build Vocabulary, Spelling, Writing Skills
from Education World®
A classroom word wall has many uses. A wide variety of activities and games can be used to help reinforce vocabulary words that appear on the wall.
Ask any teacher who has had success using a word wall to build vocabulary and spelling skills and you'll likely hear the same explanation as that provided by middle-school staff developer Melba Smithwick: The key to success with word walls, said Smithwick, is to refer to them often, so students get in the habit of using the wall throughout the day, in all their assignments.
Teacher Patricia Allen has seen her students benefit from the word wall that has a prominent spot in her kindergarten classroom, but she sees an added benefit for herself as well: "In all honesty," Allen told Education World, "I like the word wall because it offers a visual reminder to me to expose my students to words throughout the day, not just at writing time or other isolated occasions."
Smithwick and Allen are among thousands of teachers who agree that word walls can be a great source of fun and active learning. A classroom word wall can spark an unending variety of activities. Here we've highlighted just a few.
Five Word Wall Activities Provide Fun and Learning
- OOPS!
A fun game for grades pK-8 provides word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling practice.
- Erasing Relay
A fast-moving game for grades preK-8 provides practice in recognizing grade-appropriate vocabulary.
- Mind Reader
Students in grades preK-8 use clues to figure out the "mystery word."
- Hot Seat
A student in the "hot seat" asks questions to discern the secret word.
- Vocabulary Toss
Reinforce vocabulary for grades preK-8 with this game combining reading and basketball skills.
Additional Resources
While surfing the Net to put together this week's lessons, we came across a number of great teacher-created resources and activities we felt you should know about. Click each link below to view that resource.
Learning About World Walls
- What Is a Word Wall? Many purposes for a word wall.
- Word Knowledge: Word wall purposes, displays, use.
- Interactive Word Wall: Goals and guidelines.
- Word Building, Word Walls & More: Scroll down for a Word Wall FAQ.
Word Wall Activities
- Word Wall Activities: Activity ideas from Marion Dunkerley.
- Word Wall Activities: Monday-thru-Friday suggestions.
- Word Wall Cheers/Chants
- The Word Wall (Word file)
- Daily Activities for Word Walls
- Mrs. Alphabet: Word Wall Techniques
- Word Wall Activities from ReadingLady.com
- Word Wall Activities
More Word Wall Resources
- Word Wall Lists: Lists for grades K-3.
- 4-Blocks Goodies Page: Including word wall lists.
- Higher Order Thinking Skills With the Word Wall: Graphic organizer included.
- Donovan's Word Jar: A read-aloud book and follow-up activity.
- Classroom Snapshot: Word Walls: See how a sixth grade teacher uses a word wall.
- Teacher's Corner Lesson Plan: A fun word wall treatment for grades 4-up.
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