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
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your young students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated 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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Units of Measurement Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a pack of measurement vocabulary cards to help your students review academic vocabulary.
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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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Desert Word Wall Vocabulary
Spark discussion and build academic vocabulary with a desert related 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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Ocean Animals Word Wall Cards with Pictures
Introduce your students to the amazing animals in the sea with an illustrated ocean animal word wall.
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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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Adverb Vocabulary Cards
Display this word wall featuring a list of adverbs in your classroom to encourage your students to explore and use adverbs in their writing!
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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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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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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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Fractured Fairy Tales Word Wall Vocabulary
Seventy-two fractured fairy tale themed vocabulary cards.
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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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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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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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Rock Cycle Vocabulary Word Wall
Promote daily rock cycle vocabulary review with a printable rock cycle 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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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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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 Words - Vocabulary Display
Display a fun onomatopoeia word wall in your classroom with printable cards containing onomatopoeia examples.
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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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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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Strong Action Verbs Word Wall
Print a set of strong verbs word wall cards to help your students boost their writing skills!
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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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Financial Literacy Word Wall
Use this set of financial literacy vocabulary cards when teaching about income, budgets, taxes, methods of payment, and financial records.
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Dinosaur Words - Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Use a dinosaur vocabulary word wall display to introduce your students to the world of dinosaurs.
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New Years - Word Wall Cards
Welcome the New Year with this set of 36 vocabulary cards to cut and post on your classroom word wall.
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"Ow" Words - Illustrated Cards
Help students practice reading words with the vowel team “OW” with a set of 24 illustrated word cards.
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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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Dinosaurs - Vocabulary Cards and Writing Prompts for Second Grade
Inspire young paleontologists to read and write about dinosaurs with a dinosaur-themed writing center and word wall.