A “Word Wall” is a tool that many teachers use to support students in the classroom. There are many different kinds of word walls ranging from the elementary classroom word wall that is full of high frequency sight words, to content area word walls (ex: math, science) in middle and even high school classrooms!

I would suggest using a “personal word wall” at home and in school to support spelling, vocabulary development and word choice in writing. I always liked to have my students keep a personal word wall in addition to the classroom word wall. What made it “personal” is that each one was different!

Students can keep their personal word wall in their writing folder and use it as a reference during the writing process, especially when editing and revising their work. They can use dictionaries, do word searches in books and/or ask for adult support when using new and challenging words in their writing. Every time they use a new word, they can keep track of it by entering it in their personal word wall. This tool encourages students to take more ownership over their vocabulary as well as more responsibility over their writing! This will be the case at home too! If your child is completing a writing assignment at home, they can use their word wall to remind them of interesting words, and to support their spelling. If they don’t know how to spell a word, they can ask for help, but once it is in their word wall, it becomes their responsibility!

Here is a simple personal word wall that you can use at home. Feel free to download and modify in any way that will support your child’s learning!

Download as a Microsoft Word Document