1. Interactive Word Walls: They’re Up, Now What? Using Interactive Word Walls as an Instructional Tool January 13, 2011

2. Classroom Environment  Influences literacy development  Print-rich environments foster literacy  A variety of artifacts are present

3. Word Wall Uses  Elementary: display basic words, word families, showcase interesting words  Middle and High School Language arts: may display challenging words Math: to display mathematical symbols Social Studies: to categorize important historical terms

4. Uses cont’d  Instructional potential for enhancing vocabulary learning  Powerful tools for supporting specific word learning objectives of middle school curricula

5. Study Findings  43.1% used the term word wall  12% could not identify the word wall  Almost 60% had a general understanding that word walls were for learning new vocabulary  50%could not explain how the word wall helped them learn new words  16% thought word wall was only helpful when they already new the word meanings

6. Effective Vocabulary Instruction  Falls on a continuum  Need for multiple exposures  Students need to understand how and why some words are used and some are not.  Associative learning  Active Engagement  Student Choice

7. Ineffective Vocabulary Practices  Research has shown the ineffectiveness of the following vocabulary instructional practices: Define words and then write sentences Using dictionary definitions as primary instructional tools

8. Word Wall Activity  Students can help to select the vocabulary  Introduce the words  Make Connections With the Vocabulary  Apply the Word to Real Situations  Present Words to the Class

9. Next Steps  Students need to do more than the superficial definitional level of word meaning  Students need opportunities to engage in higher levels of cognitive processing

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