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.
- Free Plan
Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Build academic vocabulary with a printable Animal Conservation word wall.
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Australian Habitats Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of Australian habitats related vocabulary word wall cards.
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British Colonisation of Australia - Word Wall
An Australian Colonisation themed word wall to use in the classroom.
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Australian Federation - History Word Wall Vocabulary
90 Australian Federation related 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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Coordinate Planes and Graphing – Vocabulary Cards
Promote maths vocabulary development with this set of 18 graphing and coordinate plane cards.
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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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States of Matter Word Wall
A set of states of matter related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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Australian Early Settler Word Wall Vocabulary
Vocabulary associated with Australian Early Settlers.
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British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
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Sound Word Wall Vocabulary
Build academic vocabulary with a set of 28 sound vocabulary cards.
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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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Prefix Words - Classroom Display
Build a classroom word wall and boost vocabulary skills with a printable prefix classroom display.
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Explanation Writing Word Wall
A set of 27 vocabulary words related to explanation writing.
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Exploring Environments and Places - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
77 environments and places vocabulary cards.
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Australian Gold Rush - Word Wall
An Australian Gold Rush themed word wall to use in the classroom.
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What Places Are Like - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
23 features of places vocabulary word wall cards.
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Nervous System Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of word wall cards with nervous system vocabulary.
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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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Past and Present Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to teaching about the past and present.
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Animal Flash Cards & Word Wall
Read, write and identify animals around the world with a printable animal word wall with pictures.
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Insect Word Wall - Insect Names and Pictures
Use a printable insect word wall to introduce your students to the creepiest, crawliest creatures on the planet.
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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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Bird Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to the features of birds and different bird species with bird related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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Bills and Laws in Australia – Word Wall
Learn vocabulary related to bills and laws in Australia with this set of 16 word wall cards.
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Weathering and Erosion Word Wall Vocabulary
Expand your students' science vocabulary with a weathering and erosion word wall.
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Groovy Flowers – Word Wall Template
Create a generic word wall with this groovy flowers inspired design.
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42 Action Vocabulary Words
42 action verb-related vocabulary word cards for use on a word wall.
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Farm Yard - Word Wall Template
A set of farm yard themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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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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Dinosaur Word Wall Vocabulary
Fifty-four dinosaur related vocabulary cards for a word wall.