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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Roaring Twenties Word Wall
Build academic vocabulary skills or supplement your Great Gatsby vocabulary instruction with an illustrated Roaring 20s 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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Memorial Day Writing Center
Help your young students understand the meaning of Memorial Day with a vocabulary lesson and Memorial Day writing prompts.
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WWII Word Wall - World War 2 Words
Build academic vocabulary skills with an illustrated World War 2 vocabulary word wall.
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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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Economics Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of vocabulary word wall cards to use for a unit on economics.
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50 States and Capitals Word Wall Cards
Display the 50 states and capitals with 50 states map and word wall display.
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Hanukkah Word Wall Vocabulary
Celebrate the festival of lights with 28 Hanukkah-related vocabulary cards for your word wall.
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Viking Words - Vocabulary Word Wall
Print a set of viking words to review academic vocabulary in the classroom.
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Lunar New Year for Kids - Vocabulary Word Wall
Print a set of 60 Lunar New Year-related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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World Geography – Vocabulary Word Wall
Content-specific vocabulary cards for a word wall based on the World Geography resources.
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Financial Literacy for Kids - Finance Word Wall
Introduce your students to the world of financial literacy with an illustrated personal finance word wall for kids.
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Groundhog Day Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a set of 48 Groundhog day vocabulary cards to use on your February Bulletin Board display.
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Ancient Egypt Word Wall Vocabulary
Download a printable set of 36 Ancient Egypt themed vocabulary word wall cards for your classroom.
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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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Geometry Vocabulary - Word Wall
Use a word wall to review geometric math terms.
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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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Circulatory and Cardiovascular System Word Wall
A set of Circulatory and Cardiovascular System themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Cardiovascular System Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a classroom word wall about the cardiovascular system with printable vocabulary word cards.
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Independence Day - Word Wall
Teach your students about the Fourth of July and inspire them to read and write with an illustrated Fourth of July Word Wall.
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Red Ribbon Week - Write the Room Activity
Use these Red Ribbon Week Writing prompts with your students during literacy centers.
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Describing Rocks and Minerals Chart Pack
Use a Describing Rocks and Minerals Chart to help your students identify and describe the properties of rocks and minerals.
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Mixtures & Solutions – Vocabulary Cards
Reinforce science vocabulary in your classroom with this set of word wall cards that focus on mixtures and solutions.
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Compound Words with Pictures - Combining Word Cards
Combine words to make compound words and boost vocabulary skills with a printable combining words word wall.
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Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behavior vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
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Hibernation Word Wall - Illustrated
Discover the world of hibernation-related vocabulary with an illustrated hibernating animals word wall display.
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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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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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Desert Word Wall Vocabulary
Spark discussion and build academic vocabulary with a desert related vocabulary word wall.
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Gravity Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Immerse your students in gravity vocabulary with this set of 15 illustrated vocabulary cards perfect for a word wall display.
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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.