![]() ![]() ![]() Practice matching the name cards to new friends.Īfter the kids leave that first Friday, I post their names to the wall.Notice how many names begin with the letter J.Sort the names by the number of beats, or syllables, they have.We put all the names in a pocket chart, including mine, and spend the first week studying the features in our names. It doesn’t take them long to realize the groups are Girl Names and Boy Names. On the first day of school, I put each child’s name card on their desk and challenge them to figure out why the cards are two different colors. This is where my color coding begins as I print the girls’ names on yellow card stock and the boys’ names on orange. I do like this idea (and I will do this), but I like to start with student names instead. Some teachers like to start by posting words the children learned in kindergarten. Only the letters of the alphabet line the top of the wall. The Beginning of the Yearĭuring the first week of school, the word wall is bare. Modeled after the work done by Pat Cunningham, it functions primarily from common sight words and words with highly predictable spelling patterns, or word families … key components of first grade word walls. ![]() I’ve changed very little each time because it has been so effective with my first graders. If I was making a commercial about it, I’d tell you that I’ve built essentially the same word wall for almost 20 years now. The colors we use are intentional and serve as cues for beginning readers. It’s very colorful, which may seem random, but it’s not. Because they participate in building it with me, they understand how and when to use it. Each year, my students actively use our word wall to become stronger, more independent readers and writers. I would stand in front of it channeling my inner Erin Brokovich and guard it from anyone who told me to take it down.Ī word wall is one of the most important literacy tools in a primary classroom. That being said, if I could only save one thing my classroom, it would be my word wall. Honestly, I wish they would just paint the walls I am allowed to use. I don’t know what your fire codes are, but in my district only a certain percentage of the walls can be covered in paper. Take some stuff down.” If only the fire marshal would come in August. “Andrea, there’s too much paper on your walls. To avoid costly fines, our head custodian would walk through every classroom a week ahead looking for violations and my little visit always came with the same speech. Because of this though, I used to sweat the fire marshal’s visit each year. In my experience, first grade word walls are a must-have. ![]()
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