Empowering Learning Through Effective Word Walls

1. Building Powerful Word Walls in Every PAISD Classroom Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and School Leadership August 21, 2007 District-Wide Professional Development Johnny E. Brown, Ph.D. Superintendent

2. Training Outline • Purpose and Desired Outcomes of Training • Why Word Walls? • Elements of a Powerful Word Wall • Importance of Word Walls • Strategies for Engaging Students in Building the Word Wall • How to Teach Students to Provide On-Going Maintenance of the Word Wall • Sharing Ideas for Building Powerful Word Walls • Campus-Wide Word Wall Implementation Activities • District-Wide Monitoring Expectations

3. Purpose and Desired Outcomes of Training This training is designed to assist teachers in all content areas to: • appreciate • build • use • maintain Word Walls

4. What is a Word Wall? A word wall is • a systematically organized collection of words • displayed in large letters on a wall or other large display place in the classroom • a tool to use, not just display • designed to promote group learning • to be shared by a classroom of students

5. Why Word Walls? • Words -- the most important tools of a reader or a writer • Words -- absolutely essential in our classrooms • Words -- must be in full view so that • teachers and students can work through texts together • so that students can see them and use them in their writing

6. Importance of Word Walls • Word Walls promote vocabulary growth and lead to improvement in literacy. • Word Walls serve many purposes: • Provide meaningful building of vocabulary with emphasis on student engagement and higher level thinking skills • Build vocabulary thereby improving reading comprehension and writing styles

7. Importance of Word Walls • Provide students with high-frequency words that will be encountered in particular units of study • Reinforce understanding of subject-specific vocabulary with a focus on students internalizing key concepts • Help students to improve spelling and spelling patterns

8. Importance of Word Walls • Provide visual clues for students • Encourage increased student independence when reading and writing Regardless of the grade level or the subject area, word walls are an extremely effective teaching and learning tool.

9. Elements of Effective Word Walls • Build over time with shared student-teacher responsibility • Words added with caution—at least five words per week • Simple and uncluttered as possible • Practical and used on a daily basis • Space efficient -- easily seen • Hands-on

10. Types of Word Walls • Personal • Content or Thematic • High Frequency • Current Events • Genre • Common patterns, phonograms, phases

11. Strategies for Engaging Students in Building the Word Wall • Use students’ ideas and suggestions in determining words to be used • Use word walls daily • Vary activities for using words on the word wall

12. Word Wall Activities • Erasing Relay • Mind Reader • Hot Seat • Word Wall Bingo • Mystery Words • Visiting Words • Word Pictures/Word Relationships • Word Origins and Root Words

13. How to Teach Students to Provide On-Going Maintenance of the Word Wall Students may • Serve as weekly Word Wall Monitors to assess condition of the wall • Easy to read and use • Words in good condition or in need of repair • Suggest words to be added to the wall • Develop ideas for Word Wall activities

14. Sharing Ideas for Building Powerful Word Walls Word Walls should be used in every content area and every grade level. For example…..

15. Elementary Word Walls

16. Grade 2

24. Urbanization

25. Migration

26. 13th Amendment

28. Middle School Word Walls

32. Hazardous Environmental Conditions

37. Primary Sources

38. Secondary Sources

39. Renewable Resources

40. Bill of Rights

41. French and Indian War

42. High School Word Walls

46. 1492

47. 1939-1945

48. Cold War

49. Albert Einstein

50. Cultural Change