Interactive Word Walls: More Than Just Reading The Writing On The Walls

By Author: Alex Armas
Total Articles: 74
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As educators, we know that environment influences learning and, in particular, that classroom environments influence literacy development (Wolfersberger, Reutzel, Sudweeks, & Fawson, 2004). Studies provide evidence of the importance of print-rich environments in primary and elementary classrooms (Neuman, 2004; Neuman & Celano, 2001), and other research-based studies connect print-rich environments to student achievement (McGill-Franzen, Allington, Yokoi, & Brooks, 1999). These classrooms contain a variety of artifacts associated with print-rich environments—artifacts such as books, computers, charts, labels, reference resources, bulletin boards, posters, displays of student work, and word walls.

Middle-level and secondary students also deserve print-rich classroom environments. Methodology textbooks for literacy learning in the upper grades typically discuss the importance of classroom libraries (Readence, Bean, & Baldwin, 2004; Vacca & Vacca, 2005) and offer guidelines for organizing for instruction (Cecil & Gipe, 2003). From our own experiences in middle and secondary Replica Omega ...
... classrooms, we have observed some of the artifacts mentioned above, especially books, computers, posters, reference texts, bulletin boards, and word walls. However, while the presence of these artifacts of literacy learning is important, what teachers and students do with them is even more important. Cambourne (2000) argued that the artifacts are only valuable when students are actively engaged in meaningful tasks with the artifacts.

With Cambourne's message in mind, we wondered about one particular artifact—the word wall. Elementary teachers use word walls for different purposes, such as to display basic words, to show related words such as word families (e.g., words that end in ack), and to showcase interesting words related to a current topic of study. Obviously, this instructional tool is valued highly in these grades. Word walls are also used in the higher grades in a variety of ways. Language arts teachers may display words that are challenging to spell. Mathematics teachers may use word walls to illustrate mathematical symbols, and social studies teachers may categorize important historical terms for students to remember. Given the usefulness of this instructional tool for supporting word learning, we wondered about middle school students' perceptions of word walls and the ways in which word walls could effectively support vocabulary learning of older students.

The goals for vocabulary acquisition in older learners involve broadening and deepening word knowledge as well as helping students develop and maintain an awareness, interest, and motivation for learning new words—that is, promoting word consciousness (Scott & Nagy, 2004). The use of interactive word walls holds instructional potential for enhancing vocabulary learning as students engage Breitling Replica Watches in activities centered around the word wall—activities in which students explore, evaluate, reflect, and apply word meanings in meaningful contexts. As visible and concrete tools to facilitate discussions and expand students' use of targeted words (Brabham & Villaume, 2001), word walls are potentially powerful tools for supporting specific word learning objectives of middle-level and secondary curricula—Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes, inflectional endings to words, domain- and topic-specific words found in content areas, and words associated with particular themes.

What did they know about this literacy tool Would they value its use or think that it belonged only in primary classrooms To find answers, we interviewed students individually. We then designed a series of interactive, instructional lessons around a word wall to support vocabulary learning in a reading class. We begin by reporting on the study and the initial findings about students' perceptions of word walls and then describe the vocabulary instructional intervention. We conclude with a description of how students' perceptions of word walls changed, of student achievement results, and of what we learned about using word walls as focal points for interactive vocabulary instruction.