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.
- Plus Plan
Modality Word Wall With Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
- Plus Plan
Understanding Angles – Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Promote maths vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on angles.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students enhance their persuasive writing skills with a set of 40 persuasive vocabulary word cards.
- Plus Plan
Recount Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to recount writing.
- Plus Plan
Australian Money Word Wall Vocabulary
Seventy-five money vocabulary cards.
- Plus Plan
British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
- Plus Plan
Describing Rocks and Soils Vocabulary Cards
Introduce your little learners to the academic vocabulary they need to describe rocks and minerals with a printable rocks vocabulary word wall.
- Plus Plan
Procedure Writing Word Wall
Display this set of 30 procedure writing words in your classroom when teaching your students how to write a procedure.
- Plus Plan
Statistics Word Wall Vocabulary
A comprehensive selection of statistics vocabulary for use on a Mathematics Word Wall.
- Free Plan
Informative Writing Word Wall
Display key vocabulary related to informative writing with a set of 48 word wall cards.
- Plus Plan
Mathematics Word Wall with Diagrams
A set of 60 Mathematics-related vocabulary words with accompanying diagrams to explain key mathematical terms across three strands.
- Free Plan
Describing Matter – Word Wall
Help your students learn to describe matter using physical properties with an illustrated matter word wall.
- Plus Plan
Water Cycle Vocabulary Cards With Definitions
Learn the vocabulary and definitions associated with the water cycle.
- Plus Plan
Units of Measurement Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a pack of measurement vocabulary cards to help your students review academic vocabulary.
- Plus Plan
Onomatopoeia Examples - Word Wall Display
Display a fun onomatopoeia word wall in your classroom with printable cards containing 45 onomatopoeia examples.
- Plus Plan
Exploring Environments and Places - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
77 environments and places vocabulary cards.
- Plus Plan
Australian Gold Rush - Word Wall
An Australian Gold Rush themed word wall to use in the classroom.
- Plus Plan
How People Use Places - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
40 places and their uses vocabulary word wall cards.
- Free Plan
Light Vocabulary Word Wall
Print out and use our Light Vocabulary Word Wall to introduce new vocabulary for your light energy unit.
- Plus Plan
Properties of Materials Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-eight 'properties of materials' vocabulary cards.
- Plus Plan
Cartesian Planes and Graphing – Vocabulary Cards
Introduce cartesian planes to your students with this set of 18 vocabulary cards.
- Free Plan
Transportation Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a fun transportation word wall with a set of printable word and picture cards featuring different modes of transport.
- Free Plan
Natural Disaster Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created resource to explore natural disaster vocabulary with your primary school students.
- Plus Plan
Year 3 Heat Energy Vocabulary Cards
Explore heat energy vocabulary with this set of thermal energy vocabulary cards.
- Free Plan
Time Connectives Word Wall
Help your students demonstrate the passage of time in their writing with 35 time connective word cards.
- Free Plan
Prefix Words Classroom Display
Build a classroom word wall and boost vocabulary skills with a printable prefix classroom display.
- Free Plan
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.
- Free Plan
Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle word wall.
- Plus Plan
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
- Plus Plan
Australian Gold Rush – Word Wall 2
Thirty-one content-specific vocabulary cards for a word wall based on the Australian Gold Rush.
- Plus Plan
First Fleet Word Wall
A vocabulary word wall to display and use in the classroom when learning about the First Fleet.
- Plus Plan
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.