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 primary 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 year 3 class!
New to this concept? Our expert English 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.
One idea for a word wall is to add words throughout the school year as students learn new vocabulary.
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 seated across the room.
- Keep contrast in mind to ensure readability — you might want to use a dark background with lighter text.
- The organisation 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 organise 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 mount words to the wall. Using sticky tack or similar mounting putty will make it easier for students 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 customise 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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Night and Day Word Wall
A set of vocabulary words related to night and day.
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Australian Gold Rush – Word Wall 2
Thirty-one content-specific vocabulary cards for a word wall based on the Australian Gold Rush.
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Narrative Vocabulary Word Wall
A set of words to help your students when writing narrative texts.
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Early Explorers - History Word Wall Vocabulary
Forty-two Early Explorer related 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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Illustrated Ocean Animals Word Wall Cards
Introduce your students to the amazing animals in the sea with an illustrated ocean animal 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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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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42 Action Vocabulary Words
42 action verb-related vocabulary word cards for use on a word wall.
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Exploring Yesterday and Today – History Word Wall Vocabulary
27 exploring yesterday and today vocabulary cards.
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Past and Present Word Wall Vocabulary
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to teaching about the past and present.
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Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Build academic vocabulary with a printable Animal Conservation word wall.
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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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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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Electricity Word Wall Vocabulary
Use this teacher-created electricity resource to teach electricity-related vocabulary. Build a word wall with your students during your electricity lessons.
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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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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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Save Planet Earth - Science Word Wall Vocabulary
Print and display Earth Day-related terms in your classroom to improve vocabulary and discussion about Earth Day.
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Strong Verbs Word Wall
Print a set of strong verbs word wall cards to help your students boost their writing skills!
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Ocean-Themed Flashcards and Writing Prompts
Build vocabulary and writing skills with this ocean-themed writing activity.
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Poetry Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to poetry.
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Mathematics Word Wall with Diagrams
A set of 60 Mathematics-related vocabulary words with accompanying diagrams to explain key mathematical terms across three strands.
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Scientific Method Word Wall Vocabulary
Thirty-nine scientific method vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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Early Explorers Word Wall
A vocabulary word wall to display and use in the classroom when learning about early explorers up to the late eighteenth century.
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Light Word Wall Vocabulary
Sixty light related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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Australian Animals - Word Wall Template
A set of Australian animals-themed vocabulary word wall cards.
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Money Word Wall Vocabulary
A comprehensive set of word wall vocabulary cards related to money.
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British Colonies in Australia - History Word Wall Vocabulary
45 British Colonisation in Australia related vocabulary cards.
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Impacts of Colonisation Word Wall
A Word Wall of the Impacts of Colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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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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Weathering, Erosion and Deposition Vocabulary Posters
Display this set of science vocabulary posters in your classroom when teaching about weathering, erosion and deposition.