I have written about word walls here before. And in fact, a few of my teacher resources have substantial sections on them. Why? Because they’re highly effective tools in our classrooms when used intentionally! And yet, I’m genuinely surprised by how many classrooms don’t have them.
When I ask students what is difficult about writing–no matter the grade level–someone always says “spelling.” We can’t afford to let spelling interfere with our students’ writing. We can’t afford to let the question “How do I spell…?” stop us from giving our students daily opportunities to write. (If they incessantly ask us this question, we haven’t yet empowered them to take risks and use their phonetic knowledge.) Word walls are a powerful tool that we can use to lessen the worry and increase confidence in our student writers.
Let’s be clear: it’s not just that the words are posted. It’s what we do to get them there. By adding words three at a time every week throughout the year, we have the opportunity to talk about the patterns in words, specific graphemes that represent sounds, the meaning of words, the differences between (and when to use) homophones, and on and on and on.
The intentional teaching surrounding the words that go on our word wall is what makes them effective. Then, once the words are on the wall, the students know they are there and can use this visual reference on a daily basis. When we refer to the word wall often, our students will remember to check it. My word wall, no matter the grade, was playfully called my “no-excuse-word-wall”. “Once it’s on the word wall, there’s no excuse for spelling it wrong!” And when you hold students accountable for those words on the word wall, they form good habits: checking the spelling if needed, or simply taking the time to look for those no-excuse-words in their writing.
Do I expect students to spell every word they write correctly? Not at all. They can use the strategies they’ve learned (i.e. those patterns we teach) to take risks when trying to spell unfamiliar words. But those word wall words, you bet I’ll ask them to correct the spelling of those.
If you haven’t used a word wall before, consider it for next year. A little bit of planning and ten minutes of instruction each week, will make your job considerably easier throughout the year, and even more importantly, provide students with an incredibly empowering tool.
Hi Karyn,
This is such a helpful post! I love the notion that such intentional teaching ultimately works to help children become more self-sufficient as Readers and Writers.
How do you see ‘sound walls’ fitting into this? ‘ – ie: how they might be also be intentionally incorporated in an EY classroom setting in a manner similar to word walls? Do you have any specific suggestions for how teachers might begin to set these up in their classrooms?
Any suggestions for how both types of ‘wall resources’ might be used in a Grades 3-5 (classroom) context?
Thanks again!
Marnie
Great question Marnie! In our EY classrooms, sound walls are also powerful tools, when used intentionally. As with a word wall, the sound wall should be built with students, in this case adding a few sounds (phonemes) each week. Typically sound walls are divided into two sections: consonants and vowels. With both, it is important to introduce the graphemes representing the phonemes and to group them intentionally on the wall. Many sound walls are organized into the articulatory gestures or manner of articulation (put simply, the position and movement of the mouth when creating a sound). Again, like with word walls, students will benefit from the same kind of intentional teaching when the phonemes and graphemes are posted. Talking about words with the focus phonemes, comparing phonemes and graphemes with others already posted, and then modelling how the sound wall is useful when decoding and encoding, will help our students become more proficient and independent!
Unfortunately, I have encountered many teachers who have either a sound wall or word wall (sometimes both), but don’t know how to use them effectively. If we aren’t continually adding to and referring to them, they likely become wallpaper to our students. I never want teachers to feel sheepish asking about implementation of these tools. The perception may be that they are ‘simple’ in nature, and yet, this isn’t the case. The 26 letters of the alphabet combine to make 44 sounds. And, as Denise Eide (2012) explains in Uncovering the Logic of English, “The 44 sounds can be spelled in 75 basic ways, 27 of which make more than one sound” (p. 16). Not so simple! The more we understand as teachers, the more we can explain to students.
To answer your last question, in grades 3 and above, I find a sound wall isn’t needed as long as teachers continue to talk about phonics when posting their word wall words. Posting three words in related groups each week, gives us the opportunity to be deliberate in what pattern or focus we are reviewing each week.