Word Walls (Secondary)

 

 

What:             18”X24” Poster Board in different colors, a different color for each

unit. On each poster board, list the unit vocabulary. (I type my

words in 72 font and print on white paper, then I cut them out and

paste them onto the poster board. Hang these in your room, up

high where everyone can see them. Leave them up all year.

 

 

What to do:   This activity just takes a couple of minutes. They have 5 clues in which to “guess what’s inside your head”. They number their papers from 1-5.

                        The 1st clue is always “It’s on the [specify color] word wall.”

                        The 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th clues have to do with word analysis clues that pertain to the word (e.g., phonics, roots, syllables, compounds, prefixes/suffixes, even the part of speech)

                        The 5^th clue is always “It fits into this sentence: __________.”

 

                        So, if the word is Pangaea, it might sound like this:

Guess what’s inside my head.

Clue #1: It’s on the red word wall.

Clue #2: It has 3 syllables.

Clue #3: It contains a soft g sound.

Clue #4: Its first syllable means “all” in the Greek language.

Clue #5: It fits in this sentence: A supercontinent from the

late Paleozoic Era is known as ____________.

 

This is a way to reinforce vocabulary AND give them practice with their word analysis skills. It’s fun and doesn’t take much time. You can go back and play with words from previous units to review, the present unit to reinforce current vocabulary, or future units to “implant” the vocabulary that’s to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                Donna Topping

                                                                                                Millersville University

                                                                                                2006