Word Wall and Scientific Discussions

Although the authors of this article explain their idea and provide one example of how to use a word wall to encourage correct understanding and use of a word wall I am not sure I fully unde... See More

Although the authors of this article explain their idea and provide one example of how to use a word wall to encourage correct understanding and use of a word wall I am not sure I fully understand how they employ this tool to benefit students. I would like to see several examples of before and after to fully appreciate their use of a word wall as shown in the article.

Using a word wall to help develop science vocab

The authors present a very good case for the use of word walls and very good examples of how to model for students ways to use the vocabulary found there. My problem with this article is tha... See More

The authors present a very good case for the use of word walls and very good examples of how to model for students ways to use the vocabulary found there. My problem with this article is that it really doesn't discuss what goes on the word wall other than words. Do you use illustrations? (some terms are modeled that way in Figure 1). Do you provide definitions? They state you can include processes as well as names of materials or tools. Do you classify these things (ie "nouns" or "verbs")? While I strongly agree with the authors that the use of word walls can enable students to better use science vocabulary and "talk" it would be nice if more information was provided or other articles that provided information on how to set these up for a science classroom, especially for a class with ELL or special needs students, to provide the most effective use of "the wall". Regardless, the strategies presented here can be modified for secondary as well as elementary classrooms, once you determine the way you will set your word wall up.