Word Wall Activities and Games
Clap and Shout
Words are put up on the word wall cheerleader style.
Example: (teacher) “Our first word for this week is they. Give me a t.”
(students) “T”
(teacher) “Give me an h.”
(students) “H”
(teacher) “Give me an e.”
(students) “E”
(teacher) “Give me a y.”
(students) “Y”
(teacher) “What does that spell?”
(students) “They”
Mind Reader
After there are a sufficient amount of words on the word wall (around 2030), there are enough to play a fun game that will give students practice. In
mind reader, the teacher thinks of a word on the word wall and then gives
the students five clues which narrow down the word to one word.
Everyone should be able to get the final word with the last clue, but did
anyone “read your mind” and get the word on an earlier clue? The teacher
asks students to number their paper from one to five and then gives the
clues one at a time. Leave enough time in between for each student to
locate a word on the wall and write it down. For example:
Clue #1 – The teacher says “It’s one of the words on the word wall.”
(Sometimes a student will guess the word you are thinking of right off
the bat.) Have the students write down a word they think is the word
you are thinking of on line number one.
Clue #2 – The teacher says “It has seven letters.” If the students have
a seven letter word on number one, they write the same word down
again or they can choose another seven letter word if there is one. If
not, they need to find another word that has seven letters and write it
on line two.
Clue #3 – The teacher says “It has two syllables.” The students now
have to locate a word that fits this clue and clue number 2 and write it
on line three.
Clue #4 – The teacher says “It begins with a b” The students then
narrow the word even further and should have a very good idea of
the word that is in your mind. The students write their guess on line
four.
Clue #5 – The teacher says “It makes sense in this sentence: “I ate an
apple ____________ I was hungry.” By this time, everyone should be
able to guess the word, but someone may have known it earlier.
After every clue, you may call on a student who has their hand raised to
check if they know the word. If they are on their toes, this could give other
students in the class a possible hint!
Tic-Tac-Toe
Each student gets a piece of paper and makes a large square with 9 boxes.
The students write down one word of their choice from the word wall in
each box. After everyone has completed the square, the teacher calls out a
word and the student puts an “x” over the word the teacher called out if
they have it. This goes on until someone has three in a row (like tic-tactoe). The student raises their hand and calls out the words that make their
tic-tac-toe (you can have the student or the class spell each word after the
student calls it out). If they are the winner, congratulate them on a job well
done.
The Wheel / Hangman
The teacher draws blanks on the board to represent letters of a word on the
word wall. Have students draw the same number of blanks on their paper.
Ask students to guess a letter. If the letter guessed is correct, write it in the
correct space on the board and let the same student ask again. That student
continues to ask for a letter until he asks for a letter that is not in the word.
Then go on to the next student. The first person to spell the entire word
correctly is the winner and becomes “the teacher” for the next word.
Remind students to be looking at the word wall as the letters are guessed so
that they may locate the correct word as quick as possible.
Writing Clues / Riddles
You can use writing clues to practice words on the wall. Have students
number their paper from 1-10 (less if you would like). Start with number
one and call out a clue for each word. Some suggestions may be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Number 1 is a three letter number word. (one)
Number 2 is the opposite of old. (new)
Number 3 starts with some and rhymes with ring. (something)
Write the six-letter contraction that starts with d. (doesn’t)
Try to create original clues that connect to prior word discussions when
possible. After you are finished with clues, ask students to guess each of the
words.
On the Back
Students use a piece of scratch paper to write a teacher chosen word from
the word wall. Remember to choose words that have a rhyming pattern.
Then, the teacher instructs the students to take the beginning consonant off
of the word. The students then use the rest of the word to make new
words. For example, the teacher chose the word right. The students would
write down the word and then take off the “r”. Now they would make
new words with what was left. So, they may come up with bright, sight,
tight, etc. The teacher may also use the beginning of words as well. For
example: want, wanted, wanting.
Knock Out
The class plays 4 rounds and the best of the 4 is the winner. The students
divide a white board into 4 boxes. The teacher instructs the students to
choose a certain color of word from the word wall and write it down on
their paper. Then, the teacher asks around the room for everyone to share
one at a time. If a student has the word that is called out, they are knocked
out. If that student is the only one with that word, then they get a point.
In order to provide some repetition, the student called on can say the word
and then the class would repeat it and spell it.
Cheers / Chants
Cheers and chants can be used anytime for students to practice spelling the
words in fun and innovative ways. Here are a bunch of examples:
Ketchup – Shake our hand like we’re trying to get ketchup out of a bottle.
Disco – (Hand up for consonants, hand down for vowels) Pretend to be John Travolta
Throw the Stars – Throw one hand at a time toward the ceiling for each letter.
Be the Letter – (Body Language) 0- For “S” we slither down to the floor while saying “ee-e-s-s-s”.
Mexican Hat Dance – alternate feet in front
Flapping and Nodding – Pretend you’re a bird and flap your wings and nod your head
for each letter.
Stomping – Just stomp your feet for each letter.
Army – march letters and salute on the word
Clapping Syllables – Just clap for each syllable
Explosion – (Volcano – whisper, normal, loud) They love to do this.
Marshmallow Clap – Almost clap but stop before your hands touch. Say each letter.
Hula – Hand son hips, swivel, hands in air to say word
Jumping Jacks – One letter for each movement
Toe Touches – Touch your toes for each letter.
Batter Up – We get into the batting position and swing on each letter as we say it
Slow – We hold the sound of the letter for a few seconds like sit
…s…………i……….t……….
Motorcycle – We just hang on the “handle bars” and pretend that we are doing
wheelies.
Dribble and Shoot – Dribble the letters and shoot the word.
Cowboy – Straddle chair and lasso
Push Ups, Stomach Crunches, Bicep Curls
Blowing Kisses – Kiss for each letter and 2 hands kiss (extend both arms out and up) for
the word
Pass the Ball – sit in circle and pass the ball. Last person says the word and chooses the
next word.