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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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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Plain Red - Word Wall Template
A set of plain red-themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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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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British Colonisation of Australia - Word Wall
An Australian Colonisation themed word wall to use in the classroom.
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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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Ancient Rome - Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of 20 Ancient Rome themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Pastel Flags - Word Wall Template
A set of pastel flag themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Blank Lined Paper for Word Walls
Blank lined paper for identifying content specific vocabulary.
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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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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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Colonial Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
36 vocabulary cards to use in the classroom when learning about Colonial Australia.
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Nervous System Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of word wall cards with nervous system vocabulary.
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History of Planet Earth - Word Wall Display
Introduce your students to Earth's history with a printable vocabulary word wall.
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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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Cartesian Planes and Graphing – Vocabulary Cards
Introduce cartesian planes to your students with this set of 18 vocabulary cards.
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Technology Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a technology related vocabulary word wall for your classroom or computer lab with a printable and editable set of 72 Technology vocab cards.
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Muscular System Word Wall Vocabulary
Learn about the vocabulary related to the human muscular system with a printable science word wall.
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Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Build academic vocabulary with a printable Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary word wall.
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Australia and Its Neighbours - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
Sixty-three mapping vocabulary cards for Geography.
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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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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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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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Onomatopoeia Examples - Word Wall Display
Display a fun onomatopoeia word wall in your classroom with printable cards containing 45 onomatopoeia examples.
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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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Save Planet Earth - Science Word Wall Vocabulary
Print and display Earth Day-related terms in your classroom to improve vocabulary and discussion about Earth Day.
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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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Insect-Themed Flashcards and Writing Prompts
Inspire young entomologists to read and write about insects with minibeast writing prompts and word wall cards.
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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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Circulatory and Cardiovascular System Word Wall
A set of Circulatory and Cardiovascular System themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Fairy Tale Scene - Word Wall Template
A set of Fairy Tale Scene Word Wall themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Word Wall Display Banner
A classroom display banner to use on your 'Word Wall' display board.
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Learning Detectives - Word Wall Template
A set of learning detective themed vocabulary word wall cards.