Winning ways with Word Walls.Word Walls are organized collections of frequently used words, written in large bold letters and displayed in the classroom. Teachers and students use them as reference points for teaching, studying, and completing assignments. Originally, Word Walls were used exclusively to teach word recognition skills through a focus on word families. However, classroom observations and interviews with teachers reveal many innovations in the ways this teaching tool is being used. This column presents ideas for using Word Walls to promote learning among students from primary through middle school. In general, teachers create and use Word Walls in their classrooms to foster the development of reading, writing, and spelling skills. Word Walls can help students recognize and spell frequently used words correctly, and see patterns and relationships between words and categories of words. Word walls promote independent work habits by providing a readily available reference as students complete their reading and writing activities. Creating Word Walls Several commercial kits with pre-printed words are available from school supply companies. However, many teachers prefer to customize their walls by selecting words that are frequently used or of particular interest to their students. These words are typically printed individually on card stock, using black ink and a large font. Some teachers use a word processor, while others print them by hand. The word cards can be displayed any place that is easily accessible to students. Many teachers use Velcro or magnetic tape to affix affix v. 1) to attach something to real estate in a permanent way, including planting trees and shrubs, constructing a building, or adding to existing improvements. the words to the display area. This enables them to move the words around when conducting word-study lessons. Students also can remove a word, copy it, and return it easily. Using Word Walls Each teacher can adapt the world wall to fit his or her own purpose and style. Often, the use of the wall evolves over the course of the school year, and students can take an active part in its development and maintenance. The teachers I spoke with shared certain guidelines for creating and using Word Walls: * Display the words in alphabetical order or in word families--whichever is most appropriate to your students' needs * Add only about five words each week * As you add new words, eliminate old ones by moving them into a word basket or word bank * Use the Word Wall daily as a part of lessons, as a reference, and as a focus of word games * Expect students to correctly spell the displayed words * Observe when students use the word wall independently, and reinforce their actions * Over the course of several days, select activities that provide multi-sensory experiences. Specific Ideas for Utilizing Word Walls Begin the year by creating a Word Wall that shows all of the students' names. Create the word cards by using both the written name and a picture of the student. Add word cards with the names and pictures of school personnel, classroom pets, guests, and volunteers. Students will learn to call everyone in their community by their proper names, while learning how to use the Word Wall as a reference. Play age- and skill-appropriate games to reinforce both the use of the Word Wall and word-related skills. With kindergartners, for example, reinforce their understanding of beginning sounds and alphabetical order by playing guessing games with the words on the wall. Build the wall collaboratively with students. Have students nominate words that they think should be a part of the wall. Also, give students the responsibility for creating and illustrating the word cards. Make the Word Wall a teaching-learning tool, not just a display, by using it throughout the day to teach, re-teach, or review concepts about words and word families. Otherwise, it just adds to the clutter of the room. Demonstrate to students how to use the tool as a reference for their reading and writing activities. When appropriate, refer students to the wall before answering their questions. Frequently remove words from the wall that students should have mastered. Set the expectation that words on the wall become a part of the students' repertoire. Transfer the words from the wall to a class word bank or to a word file accessible on the computer, to promote independent study skills. Have students create their own personal dictionaries for use at their desk. They can use a card file or Rolodex file. Again, students should weed out their files frequently so that they see their vocabulary grow. Create a Word Wall Center, or add activities to your existing language arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. center that focus on the Word Wall. In the center provide materials for tracing or writing, art materials Techniques and materials related to art: Traditional techniques:
Assess students' learning by observing their use of the Word Wall. Some assessment activities include having students read from the wall or giving assignments related to their skill development needs. Include these assignments and anecdotal records about students' spontaneous use of Word Walls in their language arts portfolio. Personal word banks drawn from the Word Wall show progress in word mastery. Word Wall Games and Activities Games can maximize the Word Wall's role as a teaching-learning tool. Here are some general game protocols: I Spy I spy is a guessing game usually played in families with young children, partly to assist in both observation and in alphabet familiarity. I spy is often played as a car game. Materials: Word Wall, paper, and pencils for students to write clues. Preparation: Have students select a word from the wall and create three clues--a category clue, a phonemic pho·ne·mic adj. 1. Of or relating to phonemes. 2. Of or relating to phonemics. 3. Serving to distinguish phonemes or distinctive features. clue, and a meaning clue--that will lead other students to discovering the word. For example: I spy a word from the ack family. (category clue) It begins with the same sound as bat. (phonemic clue) You can't see it smile even if you are looking right at it. (meaning clue) The word is back. Play: Ask one student to read his clues, one at a time. When another student correctly identifies the secret word, that student continues the game by reading his or her clues. Secret Word of the Day Materials: Word Wall; celebration materials, such as confetti, streamers Streamers is a play by David Rabe. The last in his Vietnam War trilogy that began with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones , bells, or whistles. Preparation: Select one word each morning to be the secret word, and write it down in your lesson plan book. Play: Encourage students to use the words on their Word Wall in daily conversation by choosing one word each day to be the secret word. Each day, when you first hear the word used correctly in general conversation, ring a bell, blow a whistle, or toss streamers. The winner might choose the secret word for the next day. Something's Missing Materials: Word Wall. Preparation: None. Play: Keep students' attention focused on the Word Wall by removing one or two words and hiding them somewhere in the room; this hiding place would be somehow related to the meaning of the missing word. When students discover that a word is missing, have class members work together to create clues that lead to the discovery of the hidden word. Something Is Wrong Here Materials: Word Wall. Preparation: None. Play: Another way to keep students interested in the word wall is to occasionally mix up the order in some way. For example, mix up the alphabetical order of the words or put some of the words in the wrong word families. Again, make a fuss when someone discovers that something is wrong. Other Ideas for Incorporating Word Walls Into Classroom Routines Family Involvement * In the initial classroom newsletter, introduce the Word Wall by discussing its purpose and function. Include a picture of students using the Word Wall. * Provide families with an initial copy of the Word Wall reproduced on copy paper. Update this list in each newsletter, or display it on a classroom Web site. * Encourage families to create a duplicate of the classroom Word Wall at home by using index cards and magnetic tape, and arranging the words on the refrigerator or other large surface. Family members should encourage students' independent use of the wall to complete homework assignments. * Families may want to create a Family Word Wall that includes names of relatives and words of special significance. This Word Wail could be used as a reference when students are writing letters, sending E-mails, or writing thank-you notes. * Family members could nominate words that have significant family or cultural meaning for the classroom Word Wall. Special Needs Adapt the Word Wall for students with special needs by: * Including the Braille form of the word on the wall, displayed at an appropriate height * Including appropriate vocabulary related to any student's disability * Using a white glue to trace words and give them a tactile feel * Making sure the words are displayed at a height that is accessible to students who use a wheelchair * Using a curtain to cover the Word Wall at various times to decrease the amount of visual stimulation, which may be distracting to some students. The benefits of reading aloud were discussed in the Fall 2003 Idea-Sparkers column. Here are some recommended books: Some Classic Read-Alouds PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN Picture Books Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) P. D. Eastman Philip Dey Eastman (November 25, 1909–January 7, 1986) was a screenwriter and children's author. Early life Philip Eastman was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on November 25, 1909, to Clarence Willis and Ann Hull (Dey) Eastman. , Are You My Mother? (1960) Marjory Flack, Ask Mr. Bear (1986) Don Freeman, Corduroy corduroy, a cut filling-pile fabric with lengthwise ridges, or wales, that may vary from fine (pinwale) to wide. Extra filling yarns float over a number of warp yarns that form either a plain-weave or twill-weave ground. (1968) Bill Martin, Jr./Eric Carle, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1983) Munro Leaf, The Story of Ferdinand (1936) Laura Joffe Numeroff, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985) Poetry Eloise Greenfield, Honey, I Love (1976) Jack Prelutsky Jack Prelutsky (born September 8 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American poet noted for his children's poems. He attended New York public schools, and later the High School of Music and Art and Hunter College. (Ed.), Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (1986) Nonfiction Loreen Leedy, Tracks in the Sand (1993) Gail Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
Chapter Books Carla Stevens, Anna, Grandpa, and the Big Storm (Historical fiction, 1985) PRIMARY Picture Books Tedd Arnold, No Jumping on the Bed (1987) Wanda Gag, Millions of Cats (1977) Wilhelmina Harper, The Gunniwolf (1988) Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (1963) Judith Viorst Judith Viorst (born February 2, 1931) is an American author, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher. She is perhaps best known for her children's literature, such as The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (about the death of a pet) and the Alexander , Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972) Vera B. Williams, A Chair for My Mother (1982) Poetry Jack Prelutsky (Ed.), The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (1983) INTERMEDIATE Picture Books Patricia C. & Fredrick L. McKissack, Christmas in the Big House (1994) Patricia Polacco, Pink and Say (1994) Poetry Shel Silverstein Noun 1. Shel Silverstein - United States poet and cartoonist remembered for his stories and poems for children (1932-1999) Shelby Silverstein, Silverstein , Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974) Judith Viorst, If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries (1981) Nonfiction Beatrice Lumpkin, Senefer: A Young Genius in Old Egypt (1992) Betsy Maestro, Coming to America: The Story of Immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. (1996) Marcia Sewall, Thunder From the Clear Sky (1995) Chapter Books Kenneth Grahame Noun 1. Kenneth Grahame - English writer (born in Scotland) of children's stories (1859-1932) Grahame , The Reluctant Dragon (Fantasy, 1938) Armstrong Sperry, Call It Courage (Contemporary fiction, 1940) Novels Carol Ryrie Brink Carol Ryrie Brink (1895-1981) was a United States author of children's fiction. Her novel Caddie Woodlawn won the 1936 Newbery Medal. Life Born Caroline Ryrie on December 28, 1895, in Moscow, Idaho, Brink was orphaned by age 8 and raised by her maternal , Caddie Woodlawn Caddie Woodlawn is a popular children's novel by Carol Ryrie Brink, and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman which won the Newbery Medal in 1936. It is about a girl named Caroline, nicknamed "Caddie", living in the area of Downsville, Wisconsin in the United States, and her (Historical fiction, 1935) Sid Fleischman, The Whipping Boy whipping boy surrogate sufferer for delinquent prince. [Eur. Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 942] See : Substitution (Historical fiction, 1986) Theodore Taylor Theodore Taylor is the name of:
Jack Prelutsky, The New Kid on the Block (1984) Nonfiction Faith McNulty, When I Lived With Bats (1998) Sophie Webb, My Season With Penguins: An Antarctic Journal (2000) Chapter Book William McCleery, Wolf Story (Contemporary fiction, 1988) Novel Carlo Collodi Carlo Collodi (November 24, 1826 – october 26, 1890) Biography He was born Carlo Lorenzini in Florence. During the Wars of Independence in 1848 and 1860 Collodi served as a volunteer with the Tuscan army. , The Adventures of Pinocchio (Fantasy, 1988) MIDDLE SCHOOL Picture Books Arna Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps (October 13, 1902 - June 4, 1973) was an American poet and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. Life and Career He was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, in a house at 1327 Third Street that has been recently restored and is now the Bontemps African & Langston Hughes Noun 1. Langston Hughes - United States writer (1902-1967) James Langston Hughes, Hughes , Popo and Fifina (2000) Jane Yolen, Encounter (1996) Poetry Ruth Gordon, Time Is the Longest Distance (1991) Nancy Larrick, I Heard a Scream in the Street: Poetry by Young People in the City (1970) Nonfiction William Loren Katz, Black Pioneers: An Untold Story (1999) Roland Smith, Sea Otter sea otter: see otter. sea otter or great sea otter Rare, completely marine otter (Enhydra lutris) of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Rescue: The Aftermath of an Oil Spill oil spill: see water pollution. (1999) Judith St. George, In the Line of Fire: Presidents' Lives at Stake (1999) Novels Lois Lowry Lois Lowry (born Lois Ann Hammersburg[2] on March 20, 1937) is an author of children's literature who has been awarded the Newbery Medal twice: first for Number the Stars in 1990, and again in 1994 for The Giver , The Giver (Fantasy, 1993) Walter Dean Myers, Darnell Rock Reporting (Contemporary fiction, 1996) Cynthia Rylant, I Had Seen Castles (Historical fiction, 1993) Gary Soto Gary Soto (born April 1952) is an American author and poet. Soto was born and raised in Fresno, California, to working-class Mexican-American parents. He had an older brother named Rick, and a younger sister named Debra. Soto lived in Fresno where he worked as a factory laborer. , Baseball in April and Other Stories (Historical fiction, 1990) Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a 1976 children's novel written by Mildred D. Taylor. It tells the story of a land-owning African American family living in a rural area of Mississippi during the 1930s, and how they subsequently cope with mounting white oppression and racism (Historical fiction, 1976) Some New Books Ideal for Read-Alouds PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN Eric Carle & Kazuo Iwamura, Where Are You Going? To See My Friend/Doko e iku no? Tomodaehi ni ai ni! (Picture book, 2003). George Shannon George Shannon (1785–1836), the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was born in Pennsylvania. He joined the Corps of Discovery on October 19 1803, as one of the "nine young men from Kentucky". During the trip, he got lost, twice. , Tippy-Toe Chick, Go (Picture book, 2003) Marla Frazee, Roller Coaster What a bad CD-R disc is often called. See CD-R and underrun. (Picture book, 2003) Thacher Hurd, Moo Cow Kaboom KABOOM Key Atomic Benefits Office of Mankind (Naked Gun 2 1/2) ! (Picture book, 2003) James Kaczman, A Bird and His Worm (Picture book, 2003) Maurie J. Manning, The Aunts Go Marching (Picture book, 2003) PRIMARY Judy Blume Judy Blume (born February 12, 1938) is a popular American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults. She was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.[1] Blume received a B.S. degree in Education in 1961 from New York University (NYU). , Double Fudge (Novel, Contemporary fiction, 2002) Susan Boase, Lucky Boy (Picture book, 2003) Barbara Park, Junie B., First Grader: Cheater Pants (Chapter book, 2003) Helen Recorvits, My Name Is Yoon (Picture book, 2003) Ned Shank shank (shangk) 1. leg (1). 2. crus ( 2). shank n. The part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. , The Sanyasin's First Day (Picture book, 1999) INTERMEDIATE Sid Fleischman, Disappearing Act (Novel, Contemporary fiction, 2003) Virginia Hamilton, Time Pieces: The Book of Times (Novel, Historical fiction, 2002) Robin Pulver, Punctuation Takes a Vacation (Picture book, 2003) Gerald Morris Gerald Morris is an American author. Morris is known for his series of stories for younger readers focusing around the Middle Ages and King Arthur. Collectivelly called "The Squire's Tales", the series includes The Squire's Tale, , The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (Fantasy, 2003) Michael Morpurgo Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo OBE (born 5 October 1943) is a British writer. Michael Morpurgo grew up in wartime London. When he attended The King's School Canterbury he was once described as being "rather stupid but great at rugby". , Kensuke's Kingdom Kensuke's Kingdom is a novel by Michael Morpurgo, published in 1982. Plot summary This novel tells about a young boy, who is travelling around the world with his parents on the 'Peggy Sue'. (Novel, Historical fiction, 2003) MIDDLE SCHOOL Karen Cushman Karen Cushman (born October 4, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of historical fiction. Her 1995 novel The Midwife's Apprentice won the Newbery Medal for children's literature, and her 1994 novel Catherine, Called Birdy won a Newbery Honor. , Rodzina (Novel, Historical fiction, 2003) Betsy Hearne, The Canine Connection: Stories About Dogs and People (Novel, Contemporary fiction, 2003) Lois Lowry, The Silent Boy (Novel, Historical fiction, 2003) Linda Sue Park, When My Name Was Keoko (Historical fiction, 2002) Jane Yolen, Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur King Arthur: see Arthurian legend. (Fantasy, 2003) Word Walls for the Primary Grades In the primary grades, Word Walls are most frequently used to display: * High-frequency words (sight words drawn from basal lists or commercial programs) * Spelling words * Seasonal or holiday-related words * Words from commonly used categories (colors, numbers, shapes) * Names of classmates Classmates can refer to either:
* Word rhyming families ("ack," "ight," "ame"). Word Walls for the Intermediate Grades In the intermediate grades, Word Walls are most frequently used to display: * Words related to current word study (verbs, adjectives, nouns, compound words, contractions, homonyms) * Frequently misspelled words * Word s related to the current theme * Science words * Math words * Unusually difficult but interesting words. Word Walls for Middle School In middle school, Word Walls are most frequently used to display: * Vocabulary that is critical to the subject matter * Foreign vocabulary * Character names and settings from literature * Words or names related to pop culture of current events. Word Wall Bingo Materials: Worksheets with grids containing 6 or 9 spaces; a jar or basket; slips of paper containing each of the Word Wall words; beans or other markers. Preparation: Create a master grid with a specified number of spaces. For primary grades, Six Spaces would be plenty. For intermediate and middle school, the grids could contain as many as nine spaces. Copy the grid for each student and keep multiple copies handy so the game can be played spontaneously. Write each Word Wall word on a slip of paper, fold it over, and place it in the jar or basket. Play: Students create their own bingo card Bingo cards are used to play various bingo games, including U.S. style bingo and UK style Housie. Cards are usually made of cardboard or non-reusable paper, but more and more bingo halls are beginning to use computerized cards. by choosing words from the wall and writing one word in each space. When all the students are ready, choose a word from the word jar and call it out. Continue until someone has a bingo. |
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