Word Walls: Tools for Becoming Better Readers and Writers

1
Word Walls Tools for Becoming Better Readers
and Writers

• By
• Maria P. Valdez
• Clear Creek I.S.D.
• McWhirter PDLS
• July 15, 2004

2
Research

• Words are the writers primal tools.
• Ralph Fletcher, What a Writer Needs, 1993
• Words are the building blocks of reading and
  writing.
• Patricia M.Cunningham Richard L. Allington,
  Classrooms that Work, 1999

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Research

• One of the long, most clearly articulated line
  of research in literacy education describes the
  strong connection between the readers vocabulary
  knowledge and their ability to understand what
  they read.
• Camille Blachowicz Peter Fisher, Teaching
  Vocabulary in All Classrooms, 1996
• Words are absolutely essential in our classrooms.
  As teachers and students work through texts
  together in shared and guided reading, when
  students encounter familiar words but unfamiliar
  spellings, and when we build concept-related
  words or topical categories, we need to have
  words in full view so that the students can see
  them and use them in their writing.
• Janet Allen, Word, Words, Words Teaching
  Vocabulary in Grades 4-12, 1999

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What is a Word Wall?

• A word wall is an organized collection of words
  written in large prints and displayed in an area
  of the classroom where it can be seen.
• Trisha Callella, Making Your Word Wall More
  Interactive, 2001
• A word wall is a place on which important words
  are posted as references for reading and writing.
• Regie Routman, Conversations Strategies for
  Teaching Learning, and Evaluating, 2000

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Why use Word Walls?

• Provides a visual that helps students remember
  connections between words.
• Serves as an important tool for helping students
  learn to read and spell new words.
• Fosters students independence.
• Promotes reading and writing.
• Holds students accountable for spelling specific
  words correctly at all times.
• Trisha Callella, Making Word Walls More
  Interactive, 2001

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How do I set up a Word Wall?

• Begin with a blank word wall.
• Write the words on cards in large print with
  black ink.
• Tape the words onto your word wall, dont staple
  them so that the students can manipulate them.
• Introduce approximately five words per week
  depending on your grade level and the difficulty
  level of the words. Carry over to the next week
  any words students are having trouble spelling.
• Trisha Callella, Making Your Word Wall More
  Interactive, 2001

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How can I teach a word?

• Look at the word and study it.
• Tell someone you know what you notice.
• Make a mental picture of it.
• Write it on a wipe board.
• Check it.
• If you forget a word, look up at the word wall.
• If you see the a student copying the word, remind
  him/her of the process.
• Lucy Calkins and Natalie Louis, Writing for
  Readers Teaching Skills and
• Strategies, 2003

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What are the types of Word Walls?

• High frequency words
• Phonograms (Word families)
• Contractions
• Antonyms
• Synonyms
• Homophones
• Theme Vocabulary
• Personal Word Walls
• Any other words that will help your students
  become better at reading and writing
• Irene C.Fountas Gay Su Pinnell, Voices on Word
  Matters, 1999

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What are some tips about Word Walls?

• Make them memorable.
• Make them useful.
• Make them practical.
• Make them hands-on.
• Make them space efficient.
• Make them your way.
• Make them interactive.
• Janiel Wagstaff, Teaching Reading and Writing
  with Word Walls, 1999

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How can we assess Word Walls?

• Matching each word with an icon or a symbol.
• Writing a definition or a sentence that makes
  sense.
• Writing a story using at least five words and
  underlining the words.
• Acting out the words and having other students
  guess it.
• Playing spelling bee teams.
• Joan P. Carroll Survival Words, 2001

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How do I adapt Word Walls to different kinds of
learners?

• For All Students
• Use Total Physical Response (TPR)
• A technique of learning through actions developed
  by James Asher. When people learn with their
  whole bodies, the ideas sticks!
• ESL Students
• Write words in English with their Spanish
  translation.
• Joan P. Carroll, Survival Words, 2001

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Differentiating

• Auditory Learners
• Have students record themselves on cassette tape,
  reading the words and their meanings or
  translations.
• Have students listen and repeat.
• Joan P. Carroll, Survival Words, 2001
• Irene C. Fountas Gay Su Pinnell, Guiding
  Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6, 2001

• Kinesthetic Learners
• Allow students to play games that use their
  entire body or allow movement.
• GT Learners
• Allow students to research historical origins of
  words and record interesting derivations in their
  notebooks.

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Differentiating

• Students with Developmental Lags
• Implement a behavior-modification system that
  rewards the students independent learning.
• Orton Method (Multisensory Input)
• Teacher writes the word in cursive, saying it
  aloud.
• The student says the word aloud.
• The student traces the word with a finger on a
  textured surface (sand, etc.) saying it aloud.
• Joan P. Carroll, Survival Words, 2001

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What are some activities I can try?

• Get Moving Activity
• Riddles, Riddles, Riddles
• Lets Get Creative
• Trisha Callella, Making Your Word Walls
  Interactive, 2001
• Wild Word Chant
• Kathleen Bahr and Lisa Hughes, 15 Minutes a Day
  to a Colossal Vocabulary, 2003

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Are we on the right track with Word Walls?

• YES!
• It is important for children to develop a
  repertoire of words they can spell and read
  without applying any word-solving strategies.
• Many high frequency or word wall words give
  writers the word-power to read and write other
  words.
• Lucy Calkins and Natalie Louis, Writing for
  Readers Teaching Skills and Strategies, 2003

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Bibliography

• Irene C. Fountas Gay Su Pinnell Voices on
  Word Matters
• Ralph Fletcher What a Writer Needs
• Patricia M.Cunningham Richard L. Allington
  Classrooms That Work
• Camille Blachowicz Peter Fisher Teaching
  Vocabulary in Grades 4-12
• Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane
  Templeton Francine Johnston Words Their
  Way-Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary and
  Spelling Instruction
• Regie Routman Conversations Strategies for
  Teaching, Learning and Evaluating

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Bibliography

• Andrea McCarrier, Gay Su Pinnell Irene C.
  Fountas Interactive Writing-How Language
  Literacy Come Together, K-2
• Irene C. Fountas Gay Su Pinnell Guiding
  Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6
• Lucy Calkins Natalie Louis Writing for
  Readers Teaching Skills and Strategies
• Cathryn Falwell Word Wizard
• Trisha Callella Making Your Word Walls More
  Interactive
• Kathleen Bahr and Lisa Hughes 15 Minutes a Day
  to a Colossal Vocabulary