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.
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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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Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle word wall.
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Natural Disasters – Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of free word wall cards that focus on natural disasters.
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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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Christmas Vocabulary Word Wall
Spread holiday cheer with 60 Christmas-themed vocabulary cards for your word wall.
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Sound Word Wall Vocabulary
Build academic vocabulary with a set of 28 sound vocabulary cards.
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Poetry Terms - Word Wall Display
Display and discuss terms related to poetry and figurative language with a set of 30 word wall cards.
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Printable Sound Wall for the Classroom
Print a complete Sound Wall designed to help you enhance your phonics program by displaying the phonemes your students are currently mastering.
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STEM Word Wall Vocabulary
Display important S.T.E.M. and S.T.E.A.M vocabulary words with a free printable STEM word wall.
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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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Learning Areas - Word Wall - Civics and Citizenship
A set of Civics and Citizenship-themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Winter Words - Vocabulary Word Wall
Bring a bit of chill to your classroom with a set of 45 vocabulary cards containing words related to winter.
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Properties of Materials Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-eight properties of materials vocabulary cards.
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Simple Machines Word Wall
Use this set of 28 printable vocabulary word wall cards to enhance your students vocabulary surrounding force, motion, and simple machines.
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Diwali Word Wall Vocabulary
Use these twenty-seven Diwali related vocabulary cards for a word wall display when learning about the Festival of Lights.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations – Word Wall Vocabulary
Build scientific vocabulary skills with a printable display of words relating to plant and animal adaptations.
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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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Magnets Word Wall Vocabulary
Expand your students' science vocabulary with printable Magnets word wall vocabulary cards.
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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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Onomatopoeia Words - Vocabulary Display
Display a fun onomatopoeia word wall in your classroom with printable cards containing onomatopoeia examples.
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Informative Writing Word Wall
Display key vocabulary related to informative writing with a set of 48 word wall cards.
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Narrative Writing Word Wall
A set of 44 vocabulary words related to narrative texts and narrative writing.
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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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Westward Expansion Visual Word Wall
Build vocabulary with a visual/picture word wall aligned with your Westward Expansion unit of study.
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Desert Word Wall Vocabulary
Spark discussion and build academic vocabulary with a desert related vocabulary word wall.
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Kwanzaa Vocabulary Word Wall
Celebrate Kwanzaa with holiday-related vocabulary cards for your word wall.
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Inventions Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a set of vocabulary word wall cards to introduce Invention and Innovation concepts to your students during your Inventions Unit!
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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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Prefix Word Wall - Words with Un, Re, Pre, Dis, In, and Mis
Build a vocabulary bulletin board of words with un-, re-, pre-, dis-, mis-, and in- with a printable prefix word wall display.
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Electricity Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created electricity resource to teach electricity-related vocabulary. Build a word wall with your students during your electricity lessons.
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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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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.