My Wonderful Word Wall and Debbie Diller

Are you all getting ready? School is so close! I know some of you have already started the school year and I hope things are going smoothly for you! I worked some more in my room today and finally got my word wall up! I thought I'd give you a little peak! 

When I first began teaching kindergarten two years ago, I wasn't sure about how to set up a word wall exactly. I mean, it seems easy enough right? Per usual, I over analyzed and did some research! I'm so thankful I did! I stumbled upon the outstanding Debbie Diller, both through my own research and some resources my district. I truly fell in love with her! When she came to do a presentation in our area, I had to go! She is a wonderful resource for teachers and I recommend these books to anyone wanting more information! 

One of the things she talked about was how to set up your word wall. Through her many years of experience with working with young students, she has come up with a few word wall requirements: 

Letters with pictures of items that begin with that letter to help students with letter sound connections 
Vowels should be distinguished in some way 
Clear cut separation between letters 

I really took these requirements to heart and worked them into my classroom word wall. I had some alphabet dollar store border laying around so I cut the letters apart to use for the word wall letters. I then used colored tape to separate each letter into a box for clear distinction. To mark the vowels, I put a star beside them. Finally, I put magnets on the back of my word wall words. This allows students to really use the word wall how they need to. We make it a big deal each week when we add the new words for the week to the wall, and, since they are magnets, the students get to do it!

The purpose of the word wall is to support your students in their reading and writing in the classroom. It should be a functional part of the classroom. Cute? Sure. Functional. DEFINITELY!

I hope you like this little peak into my room!  I'll be posting more soon!

XOXO,

Racheal