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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Christmas Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a Christmas Vocabulary display with a set of 60 Christmas terms for a word wall.
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Narrative Writing Word Wall
Review terms related to narrative texts and narrative writing with a set of 33 narrative vocabulary word wall cards.
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Biography Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to biography writing.
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Exploring My Local Community - History Word Wall Vocabulary
20 vocabulary cards about exploring the local community.
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Coding Word Wall Definitions
A set of definition word wall cards to display in your classroom when learning about computer coding.
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Greek and Latin Roots – Illustrated Word Wall
Use word wall displays to build student vocabulary with daily exposure to Greek and Latin root words.
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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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Australian Habitats Word Wall - Write The Room Activity
Explore and write about Australian habitats with a printable Habitats Word Wall and Write the Room Activity pack.
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Mixtures & Solutions – Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of word wall cards that focus on mixtures and solutions.
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Scientific Method Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to vocabulary surrounding the Scientific Method with a printable science word wall.
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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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Natural Disaster Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created resource to explore natural disaster vocabulary with your primary school students.
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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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Friction Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Immerse your students in friction vocabulary with this set of 15 illustrated vocabulary cards perfect for a word wall display.
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Energy and Electricity Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of word wall cards that focus on forms of energy and electricity.
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Halloween Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Print a variety of Halloween-related vocabulary cards for a word wall display during the month of October.
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Anzac Day Word Wall Vocabulary
Display and discuss Anzac Day words with an Anzac Day word wall.
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Informative Writing Word Wall
Display key vocabulary related to informative writing with a set of 48 word wall cards.
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Night and Day Word Wall
A set of vocabulary words related to night and day.
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Economics Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of vocabulary word wall cards to use for a unit on economics.
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Early Explorers Word Wall
A vocabulary word wall to display and use in the classroom when learning about early explorers up to the late eighteenth century.
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States of Matter Word Wall Vocabulary
Review vocabulary related to matter with a printable illustrated States of Matter Word Wall.
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Exploring Environments and Places - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
77 environments and places vocabulary cards.
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Exploring Australia's Connection with Other Countries - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
37 exploring Australia's connection vocabulary word wall cards.
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Water in the World - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
Seventy-four water in the world vocabulary cards.
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Learning Areas - Word Wall - Economics and Business
A set of Economics and Business-themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Money Word Wall Vocabulary
A comprehensive set of word wall vocabulary cards related to money.
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Coding Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of vocabulary word wall cards and a poster about computer coding, to display in your classroom.
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Seasonal Changes Words and Definitions Display
Display this easy-to-read seasons word set in your classroom as you investigate seasonal changes with your young students.
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Animal Flash Cards - Word Wall Display
Read, write and show your students animals around the world with an animal flash cards word wall display for your classroom.
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Colonial Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
36 vocabulary cards to use in the classroom when learning about Colonial Australia.
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Respiratory System Vocabulary Word Wall
Print a set of word wall cards with respiratory system vocabulary to introduce your students to content specific vocabulary.