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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Word Wall - Earth's History Vocabulary Cards
Introduce your students to Earth's history with a printable vocabulary word wall.
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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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Inauguration Day Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to Inauguration Day with a set of 48 Inauguration word wall cards.
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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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Rock Cycle Vocabulary Word Wall
Promote daily rock cycle vocabulary review with a printable rock cycle vocabulary word wall.
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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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STEM Word Wall Cards
Use our free printable STEM word wall to display essential STEM and STEAM-related vocabulary words.
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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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Coordinate Planes and Graphing Vocabulary Card Set
Introduce coordinate planes to your students with this set of 18 vocabulary cards.
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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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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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Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle 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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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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Narrative Writing Word Wall
A set of 44 vocabulary words related to narrative texts and narrative writing.
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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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Wetland Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of wetland-related vocabulary word wall cards.
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Word Wall - Plant and Animal Cells
Help your students understand the different structures found in Plant vs Animal Cells with printable Plant and Animal Cell Vocabulary Cards.
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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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Music Word Wall Vocabulary
Build a comprehensive music vocabulary display with a set of 80 printable music vocabulary word cards.
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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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Water Cycle Vocabulary Cards With Definitions
Learn the vocabulary and definitions associated with the water cycle.
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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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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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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Environmental Word Wall
Help your young students learn about recycling and conservation with an illustrated word wall.
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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
Fifty-four dinosaur-related terms for a word wall.
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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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Natural Disasters Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created resource to explore natural disaster vocabulary with your elementary students.
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Greek and Latin Roots Word Wall - Grade 4-6
Build student vocabulary with daily exposure to Greek and Latin roots using word wall displays.
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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.