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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Modality Word Wall With Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
- Free Plan
Time Connectives Word Wall
Help your students demonstrate the passage of time in their writing with 35 time connective word cards.
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Recount Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to recount writing.
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Narrative Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students when writing narrative text with this set of 30 word cards.
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Statistics Word Wall Vocabulary
A comprehensive selection of statistics vocabulary for use on a Mathematics Word Wall.
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Water Cycle Vocabulary Cards With Definitions
Learn the vocabulary and definitions associated with the water cycle.
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British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
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Weathering, Erosion and Deposition Vocabulary Posters
Display this set of science vocabulary posters in your classroom when teaching about weathering, erosion and deposition.
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Persuasive Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students enhance their persuasive writing skills with a set of 40 persuasive vocabulary word 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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States of Matter Word Wall Vocabulary
Review vocabulary related to matter with a printable illustrated States of Matter Word Wall.
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Properties of Materials Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-eight 'properties of materials' vocabulary cards.
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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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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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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 Rocks and Minerals Chart Pack
Use a Describing Rocks and Minerals Chart to help your students describe the properties of rocks and minerals.
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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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Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behaviour vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
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Greek and Latin Root Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Use word wall displays to build student vocabulary with daily exposure to Greek and Latin root words.
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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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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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Australian Federation - History Word Wall Vocabulary
90 Australian Federation related vocabulary cards.
- Free Plan
Scientific Method Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to vocabulary surrounding the Scientific Method 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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Kindness Vocabulary Word Wall
Learn vocabulary around the topic of kindness with this set of word wall cards.
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Music Word Wall Vocabulary
Build a comprehensive music vocabulary display with a set of 80 printable music vocabulary word cards.
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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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Understanding Angles – Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Promote maths vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on angles.
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Objects in the Sky – Vocabulary Cards and Writing Templates
Create a vocabulary and writing center with a word wall and writing templates that cover objects in the sky.
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Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle word wall.