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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Christmas Vocabulary Word Wall
Spread holiday cheer with 60 Christmas-themed vocabulary cards for your word wall.
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Technology Word Wall Vocabulary
Create a technology related vocabulary word wall for your classroom or computer lab with a printable and editable set of 72 Technology vocab cards.
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Pastel Flags - Word Wall Template
A set of pastel flag themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Exploring How People and Places Affect One Another - Word Wall Cards
63 exploring the affects of people and places vocabulary cards.
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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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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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Black History Word Wall Cards
Use this set of 42 Black History Month vocabulary words to expand your students’ language skills and knowledge of history.
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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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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your young students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
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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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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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States of Matter Word Wall Vocabulary
Review vocabulary related to matter with a printable illustrated States of Matter Word Wall.
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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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Describing Rocks and Soils Vocabulary Cards
Introduce your little learners to the academic vocabulary they need to describe rocks and minerals with a printable rocks 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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Thermal Energy Word Wall Vocabulary
Explore heat energy vocabulary with this set of thermal energy 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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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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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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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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Inauguration Day Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to Inauguration Day with a set of 48 Inauguration word wall cards.
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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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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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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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Weather & Weather Tools Vocabulary Cards
Promote science vocabulary development with this set of 15 weather and weather tools vocabulary cards.
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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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Mathematics Word Wall
A set of Mathematics related vocabulary to immerse students in mathematical 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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All About Insects - Vocabulary and Writing Activity
Inspire young entomologists to read and write about insects with bug-themed writing prompts and word wall cards.
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R-Controlled Vowel Posters
Supplement your phonics curriculum with an R-controlled vowel poster display.
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Procedural Writing Word Wall
Display this set of 30 procedural writing words in your classroom when teaching your students how to write a procedure.