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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Rock Cycle Vocabulary Word Wall
Promote daily rock cycle vocabulary review with a printable rock cycle vocabulary word wall.
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STEM Word Wall Cards
Use our free printable STEM word wall to display essential STEM and STEAM-related vocabulary words.
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Light Vocabulary Word Wall Cards
Print out and use our Light Vocabulary Word Wall to introduce new vocabulary for your light energy unit.
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Describing Matter – Word Wall (Illustrated)
Help your students learn to describe matter using physical properties with an illustrated matter 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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Water Cycle Vocabulary Cards With Definitions
Learn the vocabulary and definitions associated with the water cycle.
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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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Civil War Word Wall
Build academic vocabulary skills with an illustrated Civil War vocabulary word wall.
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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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"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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Cardiovascular System Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a classroom word wall about the cardiovascular system with printable vocabulary word cards.
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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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Transportation Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a fun transportation word wall with a set of printable word and picture cards featuring different modes of transport.
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Muscular System Word Wall Vocabulary
Learn about the vocabulary related to the human muscular system 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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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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Sound Word Wall Vocabulary
Build academic vocabulary with a set of 28 sound vocabulary cards.
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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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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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Thermal Energy Word Wall Vocabulary
Explore heat energy vocabulary with this set of thermal energy vocabulary cards.
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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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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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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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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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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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Informative Writing Word Wall
Display key vocabulary related to informative writing with a set of 48 word wall cards.
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Texas History - Native American Tribes Word Wall Cards
Teach your Texas social studies standards with a pack of illustrated vocabulary cards about the Native American tribes in Texas.
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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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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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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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Understanding Angles – Vocabulary Cards
Promote math vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on angles.