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 elementary 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 3rd-grade class!
New to this concept? Our expert ELA 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.
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 who are seated across the room.
- Keep contrast in mind to ensure readability — you might want to use a dark background with lighter text.
- Organization 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 organize 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're mounting words to the wall. Using sticky tack or similar mounting putty will make it easier for students to be able 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 customize 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
St. Patrick's Day Word Wall Vocabulary
Grow your students' vocabularies this St. Patrick's Day with a printable St. Paddy's vocabulary word wall.
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St. Patrick's Day Writing Prompts and Word Wall
Help your young students learn and write about St. Patrick’s Day with an illustrated word wall and writing prompts.
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Illustrated Landform Vocabulary Word Wall
Show your students examples of different landforms with a set of printable Landform word and picture 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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Fraction, Percentage and Decimal Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a set of fraction, percentage and decimal vocabulary for use on a math word wall.
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Weather & Weather Tools Vocabulary Cards
Promote science vocabulary development with this set of 15 weather and weather tools vocabulary cards.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.
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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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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.
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Persuasive Words – Modality Word Wall with Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
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Understanding Angles – Vocabulary Cards
Promote math vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on angles.
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On the Farm - Vocabulary and Writing Prompts
Inspire young farmers to read and write about the farm with farm-themed writing prompts and word wall cards.
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Women's History Month Word Wall
Celebrate important terms, events, and people in women’s history with this set of 37 vocabulary cards for your classroom word wall.
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Word Wall - Earth's History Vocabulary Cards
Introduce your students to Earth's history with a printable vocabulary word wall.
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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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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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Easter Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a fun Easter-themed write-the-room activity and boost vocabulary skills surrounding the Easter holiday with a printable Easter 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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Living and Non-Living Things - Word Wall Vocabulary
Discover the world of living and nonliving things, starting with a printable vocabulary word wall..
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Time Order Words - Transition Words Word Wall
Help your students demonstrate the passage of time in their writing with 35 time-order transition word 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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Night and Day Word Wall
Use this set of word wall cards when teaching concepts and vocabulary related to Earth's day and night cycle.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your young students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
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Cause of the Seasons – Word Wall Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of word wall cards that focus on what causes the change of seasons.
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Civil War Word Wall
Build academic vocabulary skills with an illustrated Civil War vocabulary word wall.
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Industrial Revolution Word Wall
Build academic vocabulary skills with an illustrated Industrial Revolution vocabulary word wall.
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Earth Day Vocabulary and Writing Pack
Help your young students learn and write about Earth Day with an illustrated word wall and writing prompts.
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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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Fairy Tales Word Wall Vocabulary
Build vocabulary and inspire fairy tale writing with sixty-eight fairy tale-themed vocabulary cards.
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Geometry Vocabulary - Word Wall
Use a word wall to review geometric math terms.
- Free Plan
Weather Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created weather resource to teach weather vocabulary. Build a word wall with your students during your weather lessons.
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Wet and Dry Environments Word Wall Vocabulary
48 wet and dry environment vocabulary word wall cards.