After reading Chapter Five and
reviewing the different reading strategies I am surprised by what I read! The
part that interested me most was developing sight vocabulary. Something that I
had not considered before, when it comes to children learning to read they're using
environmental print. This can be when children read signs, logos, and even food
labels. According to Orellana and Hernandex (1999), children as young as age
two can read familiar environments print.
The section of the chapter that I would like to focus on though is the word walls and using word walls to teach high-frequency meaningful words. As a student I always just thought of the word wall as a place we displayed all of the vocabulary words we were learning. After reading this section I noticed all the ways that word walls could be incorporated into the classroom daily. Prior to reading this chapter I always thought that word walls made the classroom look cluttered, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. After seeing all of the wonderful benefits of incorporating word walls into your classroom daily I cannot wait to use word walls in my own classroom.
In Interactive Word Walls by Janis Harmon she says on page 401 students use word walls for learning, and teachers use word walls as teaching devices. I felt like this summarized up what our textbook is trying to relay very well. She goes on to talk about how word walls are an effective tool within the classroom. Although, it is noted that you cannot simply just place the words onto the wall with your students and expect them to grasp the concept, but you must explain and discuss the word first. As Ms. Harmon said you should talk with your students about the words characteristics, such as their letter patters, their compunction, and even how to spell the word.
Word walls can also be used to help English Language learners with any words that they might be struggling to learn. This way the words can be repetitively practice and help them grasp the meaning. Please look at some of the different activities you can do within your class using the word wall. There are countless strategies to figure out words, but throughout this chapter as you take away the different methods that you would like to use in your classroom, the most important aspect is that you practice these strategies daily in your classroom!
Activities to incorporate word walls:
This link is to a PDF that has over a dozen different ways to use word walls in your classroom. Some are more games and others are activities. They are all clearly described for anyone to do in their classroom!
Looking for a way to get your students up and moving, but still want there to be an educational message? Well this link is an interactive game that your students will enjoy playing, but still practicing their vocabulary using the word wall.
This website explains how to play word wall bingo! This is a game that I can recall playing in grade school myself and really enjoyed so I thought I should share it as well. There are several other activities on this page, but word wall bingo is one that I would definitely recommend trying out in your classroom!
This link is to a PDF that has over a dozen different ways to use word walls in your classroom. Some are more games and others are activities. They are all clearly described for anyone to do in their classroom!
Looking for a way to get your students up and moving, but still want there to be an educational message? Well this link is an interactive game that your students will enjoy playing, but still practicing their vocabulary using the word wall.
This website explains how to play word wall bingo! This is a game that I can recall playing in grade school myself and really enjoyed so I thought I should share it as well. There are several other activities on this page, but word wall bingo is one that I would definitely recommend trying out in your classroom!
Thank you so much for including the different strategies, I loved looking through those! I also personally love the idea of using word walls. They serve as such a great learning tool, and one that can be added to throughout the entire school year! When children are writing and cannot remember how to spell a word their first thought is to ask their teacher, but if you explain to your students that the majority of their sight words and vocabulary words are posted on the word wall then they will know to look there first. As you mentioned, word walls are completely useless if you simply post new words week after week without introducing them and explaining them to your students. The only way they will serve a purpose in your classroom is if you actively engage your students with those words, which are where the activities you posted come in! Using word walls as a tool to help English Language learners is such a great idea! Maybe including pictures along with the words would be another tool to help those students as they learn the English language!
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued by the idea of environmental print,too. I knew that young children often notice their surrounding and can "read" logos early on in their lives, but I never thought about bringing that idea into the classroom. I view word walls as very important to child learning. If the word wall is used correctly, a child can simply look at the wall to spell the word rather than asking the teacher for help spelling the word. I also believe that word walls increase children's vocabulary. Once a teacher introduces the word and puts it on the word wall, the students are more likely to use that word when they are speaking. Word walls can definitely help ELL students, especially if there are pictures next to the words. There are several different ways word walls can be implemented in your classroom and for every grade. Thank you for the additional activities you included in the post!
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this chapter I also did not understand how beneficial word walls could be in a classroom. I think word walls can be beneficial but the teacher needs to know how to interact with it rather than just adding new words week after week and not addressing them with the students. I definitely want to have a word wall in my classroom and I also really enjoyed going through the activities that you included in your post. I remember as a student using the word wall in my classroom to help me spell different words because I really struggled in spelling in elementary school and often did not do my homework because of this. I also like that you mentioned how a word wall could help English Language Learners in the classroom. I think that a word wall could help any student with a learning disability or exceptionality because a word wall can be used for some many different activities. I think that on my word wall in my classroom I would not just place sight words on the wall but also large words that the students have heard several times in a book or adjectives that can be used in the place of simple one.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading your post I was glad that you brought up the idea of environmental print. It made me connect to when I was first starting to read. I remember riding in the car to and from places with my family and would read (or try to read) every sign in sight. This is such a great idea to add in the classroom because it will help to empower our students to feel confident with their reading knowledge not just inside but outside of the classroom too. Your focus on word walls was a great idea. Many teachers who I have had the opportunity to observe have word walls in their room. However, most of the time it just sits there until a student does not know how to spell a word. The teacher then refers the student to the word wall. This is where your activities that you posted can come in handy. Thank you so much for posting them. It gave me a new perspective on word walls that I have never thought of. As preservice teachers, we all have an idea of having our classroom be hands on and interactive. What a great way to make a classroom that much more fun. It will help the students not only become familiar with the words, but show them where to look for the words and challenge them to keep adding unfamiliar words.
ReplyDeleteI agree word walls can be kind of a clutter to the walls but they are very beneficial to the students. It's the same concept as labeling objects in the room for ELL students. Even though a word wall is not labeling objects it is a great way for students to pick up on words. Simply seeing the words every day allows students to recognize the words and become familiar with them. It's also like when teachers have a map on the wall. Even if the teacher don't do much with the map students still become familiar with where states are simply because they see it every day. Having a word wall in your classroom can be very beneficial especially when teachers incorporate using the words in and throughout the school day.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you incorporating different methods of using word walls through the link. I liked the funky cheers method. I think that young children would think it is funny and fun. I think that many of these methods would be very beneficial.