FREE Interactive Sight Word Wall for in Person or Distance Learning
Looking for a colorful word wall to brighten up your classroom? Then you are in luck because I have got another rainbow color FREEBIE that I think you are going to love! This resource is perfect for any elementary school teacher and includes these Freebies:
- Printable Rainbow Word Wall Letter Headers
- Printable + Editable Rainbow Sight Word Cards
- Printable Black & White Word Wall Letter Headers
- Printable + Editable Black & White Sight Word Cards
- Large Digital Word Wall for Distance Learning
- Small Digital Word Wall for Distance Learning
This post will take you through everything you will need to know about this FREEBIE and the benefits of having a word wall in your online or in person classroom. So if you’re ready, keep reading!
How to Effectively Use a Word Wall in Kindergarten and First Grade Classroom
If you teach little learners, it can feel overwhelming at times to keep track of all of the sight words they need to remember. That is why a word wall is super helpful! In my classroom I go through these steps when teaching my students their new words for the week:
- Sing a sight word song
- Say it, spell it, say it
- Unscramble magnet letters and put them in the correct order
- Put our sight word on our sight word wall
After putting new words on your word wall, make sure to consistently refer back to them so that your students become more comfortable utilizing this tool. You can do this during your morning meeting, while reviewing sight words, independent reading time, writing, etc.
No Wall Space in Your Classroom? Try Using an Interactive Word Wall
An interactive word wall uses a similar concept to the traditional word wall, but it is a HUGE SPACE SAVER and well… more interactive! Here are some benefits to switching to an interactive word wall:
- It takes up a fraction of the space… Words are bundled together by beginning letter sound and put on a ring instead of posted in a vertical line
- It will most likely get used more… Not only will students love flipping through the words on the ring, but you can also have them play games with the sight word cards!
- It is portable… No matter where a student is working in the classroom, they will have easy access to the word wall by taking the ring off and carrying it to their workspace.
Getting Your Word Wall Setup for Your in Person or Online Classroom
Whether your district is starting off the school year with distance learning, going hybrid, or will potentially switch to a virtual classroom platform you may be wondering how to keep some sense of structure and normalcy for your students. This is why I created a resource that can be used either digitally or in the physical classroom.
Materials for the Printable Version
If you are using this resource in your classroom, then you can print out either the color or black and white version (directions are below). Here is a list of materials that you may choose to use:
- Paper of your choice (white or color printer paper, white or color cardstock, etc.)
- Scissors and Tape
- Laminating sheets (optional)
I recommend that you laminate these headers and sight word cards. They will be more durable when using an interactive word wall and will give you the ability to reuse these pieces every year!
Going Digital for Distance Learning
If you are going digital I have included 2 templates to choose from. They are essentially the same thing, but one is longer than the other (but cannot be shown in “present” mode). Choose the template that makes sense for your online classroom.
To type in your sight words:
- Double click underneath the letter of the word you want to add.
- Type the word in.
- Click enter to add another word underneath.
TIP: If you use an interactive word wall in your classroom you can pull up this digital one on your projector. This way all of your students can reference all of their sight words during times like writer’s workshop or drop everything and read.
Easy Google Slides Instructions for these FREE Digital and Printable Word Wall Letters
If you are new here then you may not know that I am OBSESSED with Google Slides. You will find that all of the resources on this blog are made with Google Slides for a number of reasons…
1. You can create and edit resources on your Google Drive that automatically saves your work. Unlike most editable resources, this one SAVES the changes you make. This means if you edit the Google Slide to add a sight word on Monday, you can go back into this resource the next day and the sight word will still be there… YAY!
2. You can access all of my resources in your Google Slides so you never have to worry about losing or misplacing them.
3. Wherever you are (at home, in school, the library etc.) and whatever device (laptop, PC, Chromebook, Ipad, smartphone, etc.) you can access Google Slides.
4. You can organize all of your files by subject or month and add my resources to whichever folder you see fit.
If you are already familiar with Google Slides, then you can scroll to the bottom of this post and click the rainbow button labeled, “Click Here for FREEBIE,” to access this FREE Digital and Printable Word Wall. However, if you would like a quick step by step of how to use this resource, then keep reading!
Using Google Slides to Access this Free Digital and Printable Word Wall
After downloading this product you can make a copy for yourself. This is super helpful because you can pick and choose which slides you want in your presentation. For example, you can split this resource into two separate copies… one Google Slide with all of the Digital resources and the other Google Slide with all of the printable resources.
1. Click the rainbow button labeled, “Click Here for FREEBIE.”
2. Once the Google Slide opens in another tab, click on File → Make a Copy → Entire Presentation. Then, click the yellow button, “OK.”
3. Delete any slides that you do not want in the presentation you just made. You can do this by clicking on the slide to highlight it, then then right mouse click and hit Delete.
P.S. – Don’t worry, you have the original downloaded in your Google Drive already so if you accidentally delete a page you can always go back in the original and copy and paste it into the slide.
4. If you are using the printable word wall for your in person class, then go ahead and print the pages you want (make sure to select landscape in your printing settings). If you would like to use the digital version, then you are going to want to…
- Choose the digital template you would like to use
- Click on each textbox and insert your words as you teach them to your students.
5. Make sure your word wall is easily accessible when teaching
- Add it to other google slide presentations by copying and pasting the slide
- Leave the tab open so you can easily switch from your teaching slide to your clip chart
The Moment You’ve Been Waiting for… Click Below for this FREEBIE!
Click below to access this FREE and EDITABLE word wall. Read above in the section, “Using Google Slides to Access this Free Digital and Printable Word Wall” if you need help navigating this resource with Google Slides!
