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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Poetry Vocabulary Words – Word Wall
Display and discuss vocabulary related to poetry and figurative language with a set of 30 word wall cards.
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What Makes Australia Unique Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of Australian related vocabulary word wall cards.
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Early Explorers - History Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-two Early Explorer related vocabulary cards.
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Past and Present Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to teaching about the past and present.
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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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Plant v. Animal Cell Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students understand the different cell structures found in Plant v. Animal Cells with printable Plant and Animal Cell Vocabulary Cards.
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STEM Vocabulary Word Wall Cards
Use our free printable STEM vocabulary word wall to display essential STEM and STEAM-related vocabulary words.
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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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Kindness Vocabulary Word Wall
Learn vocabulary around the topic of kindness with this set of 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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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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Informative Writing Word Wall
Display key vocabulary related to informative writing with a set of 48 word wall 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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Lights, Camera, Action - Theatre Word Wall Vocabulary
Lights, camera, action word wall vocabulary cards to expand your students' theatre vocabulary.
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Food Technology Vocabulary Word Wall
A set of word cards to display food technology vocabulary.
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Exploring My Local Community - History Word Wall Vocabulary
20 vocabulary cards about exploring the local community.
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Impacts of Colonisation Word Wall
A Word Wall of the Impacts of Colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Describing Matter – Word Wall
Help your students learn to describe matter using physical properties with an illustrated matter word wall.
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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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Soil Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Immerse your students in subject-specific vocabulary related to soil types and their properties with this set of 16 illustrated vocabulary cards.
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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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Earth, Sun and Moon – Vocabulary Cards and Puzzles
Reinforce science vocabulary with this set of word wall cards and vocabulary puzzles covering the Earth, sun and moon.
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Night and Day Word Wall
A set of vocabulary words related to night and day.
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Fresh Fruits – Word Wall Template
A set of Fresh Fruits themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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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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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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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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Exploring Environments and Places - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
77 environments and places vocabulary cards.
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Exploring How People and Places Affect One Another - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
63 exploring the affects of people and places vocabulary cards.
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Properties of Materials Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-eight 'properties of materials' vocabulary cards.
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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.