There's a good discussion going on it K-3 about word walls. I'm going to teach 4th grade in the fall and I don't really see a use of a word wall. If the words are on the wall will they actually memorize them? What are your feelings? Should a have a wall or not? and should if so should I put up all the words at once or give a poor student the job of putting new words up
I am required to have a word wall and I teach 5th grade. Last year was the first year it was required and I made it my student's board. When students heard or saw a word that they did not recognize they would put it on our board, in their own handwriting (I covered a bulletin board with butcher paper, it was not the neatest board, but it belonged to the students--they would actually remind me that it was their job to put up the words if I started to do it). This worked very well. Because I teach all subject matter the board was not subject specific; however, as the year progressed and more words were added my students would point them out when we encountered them again, in any subject area. They also seemed to remember what the words meant. As far as assigned voc. or spelling words go, the students choose certain words for us to include. I dreaded doing this at first, but it turned out to be beneficial.
I put up a word wall in my grade 7/8 classroom! There are many uses for them. First of all, I use them for the "no excuse" words - that is, the words that are difficult to spell but that they use a lot (homonyms are particularly high on that list). They are on the wall, with "hints" as to which word to use where. My theory on it is that they'll only learn to use the correct term if they practice it correctly - and many of them need that extra reminder. I also use it for my "Nifty Thrifty Fifty" from Month by Month Phonics for the Upper Grades.
I also use it for words in the content areas. So I'll have math, geography and history terms up on my wall as well. I colour code the words by subject - so the frequently misspelled words are on one colour, nifty thrifty 50 on one, geo terms on one, history terms on one, etc.
For the content areas, I put short definitions beside the word on the card, so if a kid can't remember what the term means, or which term to use, they go up to the wall and use the definition.
For next year, I'm considering making my Word Wall a little more interactive, in that it'll be stuck up with velcro so the kids can take down the words to check stuff on the back or, for some of my special ed kids who have difficulty transferring words to paper, taking them to their seat. If I do that, then I'll put the definitions on the backs of the cards.
I play a lot of word wall games with my kids too. Their favourite is Be a Mind Reader. Basically, they're given clues and with each new clue they write down a new word (if anyone wants the full instructions, I'll post them). They LOVE this game, and it's a great way to fill those 5 minute dead spots.
Our Ministry set up shop in a school in our board for the past three years - and one of the things that they require in all rooms - K-12 - is a word wall.
When I taught 4th, I used a word wall but I used it differently than I do with 3rd grade. The emphasis in that grade was on writing, so I had "transition words" on my word wall. I didn't want them using the words "First, Next, and Last" for their transition words. That area had words like "To Begin with, After that, Finally, ..."). I also had another area with "Wow" words so they could replace overused words (like "said") with better words (like "shouted, mumbled, stated,....").
I put them up at the beginning of the year, and they stayed up all year. I don't like to add to the board throughout the year because I never tend to keep up with it!
I actually posted a reply to the K-3 Word Wall discussion. To put it simply, in my district doing a Word Wall is a non-negotiable part of instruction. All of the elementary school teachers need to have a word wall and make sure students are interacting with it on a daily basis. Students interact with the Word Wall through simple and short daily activities. I'm attaching two documents that give more information on word walls. You can view them and learn more about word walls.
I will also be teaching fourth grade in the fall. I plan on doing and using a word wall. I organize my word wall by Parts of Speech. The words I include in my word wall are usually Tier-2 words (as described by Beck & McKeown in Bringing Words to Life). If I happen to have Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in my class, I will also need to make sure I include some high-frequency words as needed. I hope this information helps. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post them. Take care!
Hi, I use a word wall with my 5th grade students. I'm including the parts of speech, literary words, the million dollar word list, and also words that are hard for 5th graders to understand on standardized tests (ex--describe, analize, compare, ect.). Hope this helps.
Ashley, what did you use to make your word wall? I planned on making a word wall with Million Dollar words as well and when I saw yours it was exactly how I envisioned mine. I am using neon colors like that in my room so it will coordinate well. What type of paper did you use and where did you get it? I haven't been able to find all those colors. I have only found the yellow, green, and orange colored paper. Also, how big is each word. It is hard to tell in the pic. Thanks in advance!
I'm pretty sure that I used the flashcards from the teacher store that were the size of index cards. For the white words, I just printed those on copy paper using the landscape view and cut them down to size. I will be back in my classroom again on Tuesday and I'll look at them again.
I'll try to remember to take another pic of the words. I've got them displayed a little differently since that pic was taken on my website. The way I have them now saves a lot more wall space than the way I have them on the website.
I have a word wall in my 7th grade classroom. I use it for teaching terms for each unit. They're all on flower cutouts, and I group them by unit . . . and the current unit is always in the middle. Sometimes words move units.
07-03-2007, 08:38 AM
Simple View
