November 2026

5 Ways to Use a Word Wall: so it's more than decoration

A lot of secondary teachers I've worked with put up a word wall in August and never touch it again. By October it's wallpaper. That's a shame, because vocabulary is usually what trips students up on a reading or a test, not the big ideas. Here's how to make the wall part of the lesson instead of part of the room.

1. Add words as you teach them.

Don't post the whole unit on day one. Put each word up the day it comes up in the lesson. Students notice what's new, and the wall grows with the unit.

2. Point to it during class.

When a student uses a word wall term in discussion or writing, tap the card. It takes two seconds and tells everyone the words matter.

3. Use it for warm-ups.

Pick two words off the wall and have students use both in one sentence about yesterday's lesson. It's a quick bell ringer and a review at the same time.

4. Play "Which word am I?"

Read a definition or a clue and let teams race to find the card. Five minutes on a Friday covers the whole unit.

5. Take it digital.

Post the word wall slides in Google Classroom so absent students and kids who need a second look can study from home.

If you'd rather not build the cards yourself, my word wall collection has ready-to-print and digital sets for social studies, science, and ELA units.

Happy Planning,
Learned Lessons

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More Resources from Learned Lessons Teaching Materials
✔ Guided Notes & PowerPoints
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✔ Digital Google Classroom Resources

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