Word walls. They are amazing and I think every classroom should have one. However, I completely understand that they aren’t the easiest thing to put together. They take up so much space and what happens if you run out of room? I’ve always had portable word walls in my classroom because honestly, I can’t wrap my head around doing it any other way. If you aren’t using a portable word wall, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?! You NEED one. Your tiny humans NEED one. It will change your life. Here’s why:
1.) THEY SAVE WALL SPACE
Let’s be honest, as teachers, we will n.e.v.e.r. have enough wall space for everything we want our tiny humans to be exposed to. I LOVE my portable word wall because it saves that sacred wall space in my classroom. In my old classroom, my word wall cards hung from a long bulletin board strip under my whiteboard. I have a much more narrow whiteboard in my current classroom so while our word wall is still under the whiteboard, it’s in two rows. The space it takes up is less than 2” x 3” and it’s low to the ground so all of my tiny humans can access it easily.
2.) THEY’RE PORTABLE
You’re probably thinking, “Well, DUH…of course a portable word wall is portable.” But you need a portable word wall BECAUSE IT’S PORTABLE. I remember word walls in my classroom when I was a kid and they were great but they always stressed me out because in order to use the wall to correctly spell the word, I’d have to pick up my work, take it over to the word wall, write the word, then go back. With a portable word wall, tiny humans can leave their assignment right at their workspace, grab the set of cards that they need, then get right back to work. Since they can take the ring to their workspace, you don’t have to worry about having multiple tiny humans crowding around the word wall.
3.) YOU’LL NEVER RUN OUT OF SPACE
I personally put as many words on my word wall as I can at the beginning of the year because there is a very good chance that one of my tiny humans will want to use a word in their writing before I have the opportunity to teach it. With that being said, there are still words that pop up throughout the year that I will want to add to our word wall. With a portable word wall, I can add words to the rings whenever I need or want to and I don’t have to worry about running out of space. The stack of words on each ring gets thicker as the year goes on but it still takes up the same amount of space on the wall.
4.) THEY’RE VISION FRIENDLY
Think about a word wall that hangs on a bulletin board. It’s great to have all of those words visible for tiny humans to view whenever they need it but what happens when you run out of space under a letter? Obviously the most logical solution when trying to fit a lot of something into a small space is to make whatever you’re trying to fit smaller, right? It makes total sense but not when you have friends with vision problems. Having a portable word wall allows tiny humans to not only view all of the words in a larger font size but they can bring the word to their space where they can see it clearer.
Are you ready to hop on the portable word wall train? I’ve done *most* of the work for you with my Editable Word Wall Cards. This resource includes over 1500 cards, two options for letter headers, and one editable card template so you can add your own words!
Do you already have a portable word wall? I’d love to know what your favorite thing is about having one in your classroom!
I bought these and am excited to use them! Is it ok for me just to laminate them on normal printed by paper or do they need to be put into cardstock?
Thanks so much!
Hey Sally,
Mine are just printed on regular printer paper then laminated. I’ve used both the school laminator with thinner film as well as my personal Scotch laminator with the thicker pouches and they’ve both held up really well. I’m going on year six with my portable word wall and I haven’t had to replace any cards!
Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Chelsea