InteractiveWordWall
Description
AWordWall isa systematically organizedcollectionofdisplayedwords.Bothstudentsandteacherscan suggestadditionstoWordWalls.Studentsareaskedtointeract withwordsontheWordWall onan ongoingbasis.Inthisway,thewordsbecomeanintegralpartofstudents’reading,writing,andspeaking vocabulary.
Purpose
Usebefore,during,andafterreadingto:
Buildvocabularyrelated toa particularinstructionalfocus
Helpstudentsdevelopanalyticalskillslike classificationanddeduction
Supportstudentsintheirwritingandothercomposingactivities
Buildsightwordreadingfluency
Providea visualreferencetooltohelpstudentsrememberimportantwordsrelated toa specific topicorfocus
Directions
1. Createa list fora wordwallthat will helpstudentsdeepentheirvocabularyandenhance readingcomprehension.
Examplesofwordwalllists:
Wordsconnectedtoanupcomingunitofstudy
Wordsconnectedtospecificinstructionalareas(e.g.,mathorderofoperations,historical terms,literarydevices)
Difficultwordsfoundintextbookchapter
Wordsconnectedtoa theme,book,orauthor
Related rootwordswithdifferentprefixesandaffixes
2. Refertothewordwallthroughoutthe unitofstudyaboutthecontentconceptit relates to,being surestudentsareactivelyinteractingwiththewordsonthewall.
Examplesofinteractive activities:
Sortthewordsintocategoriesandlabel them(list-group-labelorwordsort)
Use3–5wordsonthewalltowritea summarysentenceabouta mainconcept
Createananalyticgraphicorganizerthat relates thewordstooneanother
Writea narrativepiece—shortstory,poem,description—thatlinksseveralwordsonthe wordwalltogetherina meaningfulway
Createa wordgameusingthewordsonthewall—acrosswordpuzzle,wordsearch, pairedcompare/contrast
Extensions
Havestudentskeepa triple-entryjournalwithtermsonthewordwall.
Havestudentscreate slideshowsorvisualpresentationsaboutthewordsonthewall.
ThecontentforthiscomponentofCCSSO’sAdolescentLiteracyToolkitwasprovidedbyPublicConsultingGroup’sCenterforResource
Management,inpartnershipwiththeCouncilofChiefStateSchoolOfficers(August2007).ThecontentwasinformedbyfeedbackfromCCSSO
partnersandstateeducationofficialswhoparticipatein CCSSO’sSecondarySchoolRedesignProject.
CrossContentSample for Interactive Word Walls