Word walls are not meant to be a passive display in the classroom. Teachers need to use the word wall and have students interact with it in order for it to be the best learning tool possible. Having all students interact with the word wall frequently enough to learn each word requires integrating a number of word wall activities into the daily lesson plans.
Making a word wall interactive will enable the words to become teachers, and the students to be focused on literacy. Word walls that are used on a daily basis will be used independently by students and will improve reading and writing skills. Here are a few activities that can help a teacher integrate the words into the daily routine.
Word Wall Activity: Mind Reader
Mind Reader, also called Mystery Word is a great way to engage the entire class at once. The students should have a piece of paper and a pencil and the teacher should give a number of clues for each word. Given these clues, the students should be able to figure out a specific word from the word wall and write it down on their paper. This is similar to Write the Word, but can focus more on vocabulary and meaning.
Word Wall Game: Twenty Questions
Twenty Questions, or Hot Seat, is a great game that encourages students to use critical thinking skills to come up with thoughtful questions in order to narrow down a large list of words to one secret word. Turn this game on its side by putting students in small groups and having them take turns picking the word.
Word Wall Usage: Line Up If...
This game can be used for any subject, but when used with the word wall, it will have students focused on literacy and excited about reading. The teacher should give one clue at a time and the first student who figures out the word is allowed to line up. Clues can be simple or complicated depending on the ability level of the students.
Word Wall Written Activity: Write the Word
The teacher gives clues and the students have to write the correct word down. This is a similar game to Mind Reader, but can be focused more on structure and phonics than vocabulary an meaning. Additionally, there may be more than one answer to each question, making it possible for students to apply literacy skills on more than one level.
Word Wall Game: Charades
Charades is a great acting out game that can get all students involved in literacy learning. Have students take turns choosing and acting out a word from the word wall for the rest of the class to guess. This is a great game to use as a time filler or as a reward for good behavior.
Word Wall Chants: Chanting and Cheering
Have students practice reading the words aloud in a rhythmic fashion. This can be done as "call and response" where the teacher calls a word out and the students repeat it or by just reading through the word wall in a chanting fashion. This brings sound and rhythm into the learning process.
Word Wall Exercise: Photo Search
Provide students with a variety of photos and have them match a word wall word to each picture. This is a great way to integrate visual learning styles into the lesson. To bring a more tactile learning style into the lesson, have students write each word on a strip of paper and paste the word under the picture. This way they are manipulating the words.
Interactive Word Wall: Scrabble
Create a laminated scrabble set with the letters of each word wall word. If words are organized by letter, this is a great way to improve alphabetizing skills while allowing students an opportunity to manipulate the letters in the word. This is also a great way to reinforce prefixes, suffixes and word chunks.
When creating a word wall, it is important for a teacher to keep in mind the interactive goal. Creating the word wall in such a way that encourages student participation and provides numerous opportunities for games and lessons will make this portion of the classroom decoration an excellent educational tool.
For more information on word walls including a list of all the types of word walls, read the Basics of a Word Wall.
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Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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