Post:
 Word Wall FAQ and answers from teachers!
This was a ring that was posted
on the
Four
Blocks Chatboard. It was helpful to
me.
1. How large of an area do
you use for your w.wall?
I have a long b board over a counter/sink
area and I have
devoted it entirely to the word wall. In the beginning of
the year when it looks a little bare, we decorate it
slightly
with seasonal cutouts like leaves, snowflakes, etc., but
currently it is all words! Glenda 1st TN
My area must be about the same size as above
mentioned.
At the beginning of the year, when it is so bare I post
first,
then last names. Later, these are taken down and posted
in
other ways in the room. Otherwise my WW would be too
small.
kathyb1stia
My Word Wall is above my chalkboard. It is 24
ft. long. REI
2.I remember reading that
they should be in ABC order, so
do you rearrange the words to keep all the "w"
words in abc
order when you add a new "w" word?
I do not alphabetize my words other than by
initial letter.
So, the newest w word would be at the bottom of all the
other
w words on the wall. This way, my kids who are using the
wall, don't have to keep searching for a word because
they
grow used to where they are. At the end of the year, one
of
our activities with the words has been to alphabetize the
word wall. We do this in different ways. Sometimes, I
pass
out all the words for 4 different letters to one table
and
let them do a letter as a table group. Sometimes divide
the
room in two and give all the words for one letter to one
half
of the room and all the words for a different letter to
the
other half then have them line themselves up
alphabetically,
with the words held up at chest level. We check the words
and when we agree they are right, the students bring them
to
me in order to put back on the wall. Other times it is a
alphabetizing "test" and I tell them to write
the "g" words
in alphabetical order on paper. I grade for alphabetizing
and spelling the word correctly. Glenda 1st TN
When I watched Pat Cunningham demonstrate
building a Word
Wall, she didn't put the words in ABC order. She stressed
having the letters of the alphabet alphabetically across
an
area...ie:in a straight line. She demonstrated putting
the 5
words for the week under the appropriate letter by the
first
letter. We "built" a word wall that represented
approximately
the first 6-7 weeks...and didn't rearrange words in ABC
order
at any time. I think what she was trying to convey in the
TGtoFB is that when the word wall words are added to the
wall
they are to be under the appropriate alphabet letter. REI
3.When you put the dolch
words up on your word wall, do
they stay up all year?
Yes, they stay up all year. Incidentally, I
use the second
grade list that comes recommended in the teacher's guide,
and
add a couple words that either haven't been mastered from
first, or my students are misspelling a lot in their
writing,
or are from our spelling curriculum using a word family
that
isn't addressed in the teachers guide..."head"
was one of
those words as head, read, and bread all appeared in our
spelling curriculum and I didn't see that pattern in the
TG.
Glenda 1st TN
I attended a first grade conference session
by Donna White
or Whyte I believe. She mentioned using a word wall, but
she would take the words down once they had been
"learned"
as a spelling word. She would place the words in a small
plastic pocket or sleeve under their letter of the
alphabet. If a child needed to check the spelling of the
word and they knew they had had it on the word wall, they
could check the "pocket". Thea2PA
I use the first grade list of words that are
recommended, but
sometimes we have to add a word or two throughout the
year.
Usually, the request comes from a student who is using
this word
several times in their writing. You could just put it in
their
personal dictionary.kathyb1stia
4.Do those of you who have
been using word walls for some
time in 4 blocks, feel this will work? or will it defeat
the 4 blocks word wall purpose???
5.How do you handle the
Word Wall during state testing,
when everything must be covered or taken down?
Never really thought to do that. But I guess
it didnt'
matter, because the kids had to turn their desks to face
the
front anyway for the test (Usually in a formation where
they
can see both ends of the room equally well) so no one
turned
and looked at the word wall to my knowledge. They must
not
have, or I would have wondered about covering it!
Glenda 1st TN
We don't have to take down or cover up the
word wall during anytesting.kathyb1stia
*We aren't required to take down or cover up
anything that
has been a "teaching tool" during state
testing. 4 Block Word
Walls fall into that categoryREI
|
Post: 
