Word Walls for Teachers
Are word walls a part of your strategy for boosting literacy skills in the classroom? Or maybe you're looking for word wall ideas and printables to add to your teacher toolkit?
The Teach Starter teacher team has carefully created and curated this collection of word walls for primary teachers to cover your needs — whether you're helping your kindergarten class stay on track with sight words or introducing new social studies vocabulary to your year 3 class!
New to this concept? Our expert English teachers have got you covered with a few quick tips to help you determine if a word wall is right for your classroom!
What Is a Word Wall?
A word wall is pretty much what the name implies — a classroom wall display with words in large print that can be read by students from across the room.
What goes on a word wall? Oh, the possibilities!
- Sight words
- Unit vocabulary
- Parts of speech
- Prepositions
- Content area words
- High-frequency words
- Word families
- Spelling words
- And more!
Used as an interactive tool, word walls tend to start out small and grow as you progress through a lesson or unit and students learn new sight words or vocabulary to be added to their word wall.
One idea for a word wall is to add words throughout the school year as students learn new vocabulary.
How to Make a Classroom Word Wall
If this all sounds good so far, let's talk about how to actually create a word wall. There are plenty of ideas out there, from using pictures alongside the words to printing your words on fun shapes, but here are some important tips our teacher team stands by:
- Make sure your words are printed in large text that can be easily read even by students seated across the room.
- Keep contrast in mind to ensure readability — you might want to use a dark background with lighter text.
- The organisation is key! Many word walls are set up in alphabetical order to make it easier for students to find the words they are looking for right when they need them, but you may want to organise unit vocabulary terms by how they connect to one another or group word families together.
- Choose a spot on your classroom wall that has space for additional words to be added.
- Keep your students' usage in mind when you mount words to the wall. Using sticky tack or similar mounting putty will make it easier for students to remove a word and take it back to their desks when necessary. You can also set up a word wall with wall hooks and place words on book rings (or looseleaf rings) so students can take them down to flip through!
Easy Word Wall Ideas
Looking for easy-peasy word wall ideas? Our team has got those for you, too, with word lists developed by teachers for teachers! Explore this collection of printable word walls that cover a variety of subjects and grade levels to save your precious planning time.
- Print and display the vocabulary cards that are provided.
- Use the customise option to add content words of your own.
- Use the blank cards at the end of the resource to add any specific words that your class finds during their learning experiences.
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Modality Word Wall With Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students enhance their persuasive writing skills with a set of 40 persuasive vocabulary word cards.
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British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
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Time Connectives Word Wall
Help your students demonstrate the passage of time in their writing with 35 time connective word cards.
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First Fleet Word Wall
A vocabulary word wall to display and use in the classroom when learning about the First Fleet.
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Recount Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to recount writing.
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Procedure Writing Word Wall
Display this set of 30 procedure writing words in your classroom when teaching your students how to write a procedure.
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Properties of Materials Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-eight 'properties of materials' vocabulary cards.
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Understanding Angles – Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Promote maths vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on angles.
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Water Cycle Vocabulary Cards With Definitions
Learn the vocabulary and definitions associated with the water cycle.
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Natural Disasters Vocabulary Display
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of illustrated and annotated natural disaster word wall cards.
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Cartesian Planes and Graphing – Vocabulary Cards
Introduce cartesian planes to your students with this set of 18 vocabulary cards.
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Features of Animals Write the Room Activity Pack (F-1)
Help your young students read and write about features of animals with a printable Animals and Characteristics Write the Room activity.
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Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behaviour vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
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Illustrated Ocean Animals Word Wall Cards
Introduce your students to the amazing animals in the sea with an illustrated ocean animal word wall.
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Diwali Word Wall Vocabulary
Use these twenty-seven Diwali-related vocabulary cards for a word wall display when learning about the Festival of Lights.
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Prefix Words Classroom Display
Build a classroom word wall and boost vocabulary skills with a printable prefix classroom display.
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Space - Word Wall Vocabulary
Use these space vocabulary words and space terms to unlock the solar system for your elementary students as they learn about space, the solar system, and the world far beyond your school.
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Fraction, Percentage and Decimal Word Wall Vocabulary
Print your own fraction, percentage and decimal vocabulary for use on a maths word wall.
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Ocean-Themed Flashcards and Writing Prompts
Build vocabulary and writing skills with this ocean-themed writing activity.
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Mathematics Word Wall with Diagrams
A set of 60 Mathematics-related vocabulary words with accompanying diagrams to explain key mathematical terms across three strands.
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Dinosaur Word Wall Vocabulary
Use a dinosaur vocabulary word wall display to introduce your students to the world of dinosaurs.
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Australian Federation - History Word Wall Vocabulary
90 Australian Federation related vocabulary cards.
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Earthquake Vocabulary Word Wall
Display and review Earth Science vocabulary with printable Earthquake Vocabulary Word Wall cards.
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Year 3 Heat Energy Vocabulary Cards
Explore heat energy vocabulary with this set of thermal energy vocabulary cards.
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Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle word wall.
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Strong Verbs Word Wall
Print a set of strong verbs word wall cards to help your students boost their writing skills!
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Moon Phases – Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary with a set of 15 vocabulary cards covering the different phases of the moon and related terms.
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Explanation Writing Word Wall
A set of 27 vocabulary words related to explanation writing.
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Colourful Insects - Word Wall Template
A set of Colourful Insects themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Australian Money Word Wall Vocabulary
Seventy-five money vocabulary cards.
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Statistics Word Wall Vocabulary
A comprehensive selection of statistics vocabulary for use on a Mathematics Word Wall.