The following set of worksheets contains a number of high frequency vocabulary words which are appropriate for your 1st grade students. In addition to being displayed on a wall or bulletin board, these cards may be combined with many of the other lessons on this site, allowing your students to practice counting the number of syllables, identifying each word as its correct part of speech, constructing simple sentences and stories using selected words, and more. First grade students can put these on a note card, as a daily reminder of the words. Another great activity is to have them write the words every day the second they get to your classroom.
Printable 1st Grade Word Wall Words
Scroll down to view and print the word walls that are designed for Grade 1 students.
Words Start with "a" through "c"
Words included in this word wall: after, as, again, ask, an, by, any, and could.
Him Through May
This set of terms on this wall set are: him, know, his, let, how, live, just, and may.
Of Through Some
These are terms that students will use frequently in all forms of communication. The terms include: of, over, old, put, once, round, open, and some.
Stop Through Were
There are 3 terms on this word wall that students often have some confusion with when they start the school year. Terms include: of, over, old, put, once, round, open, and some.
Things That Happens To Pets
All of these things happen to pets. The set includes the terms: stop, get, flop, let, want, met, cry, and pet.
Everything, But "by" has "t-o" in it.
This 1st grade word wall has very commonly used terms, such as: hot, too, got, not, pot, by, spot, and into.
Most Common Activities Words
These are very common terms that we use while describing, participating, or performing activities. The terms include: bring, read, make, front, catch, night, every, and there.
Number Words
This word wall is filled with words that represent numbers. Included on the first sheet are the terms: one, five, two, six, three, seven, four, and eight.
Color Words
The best way to display this in your classroom is to present it and then have a student color in each box, but not covering the word. We would have filled it with color for you, but this makes for such a better activity for you and your students.
Baby Animal Words
This is a mixture of terms that describe grouops of young animals and the things that they may do.
Me and Us Words
These are common terms that students would use to describe themselves or group that they may be part of.
Down the River
Packed with terms you would need to travel on water or at least be aware of, if you were about to.
The Words You Should Include on Your 1st Grade Word Wall
A word wall is one of the essential literacy tools in a classroom that displays words, numbers, and images to improve students' vocabulary. Each year, students use the classroom word wall to enhance their knowledge to start reading and writing independently. The 1st-grade students actively participate in building and updating the wall; hence, they fully understand how to use it.
Prior to creating this Word Wall section, I was reviewing the effectiveness of word walls within the classroom environment. I read a very recent study that tried to grasp the differences seen between differing learner abilities out of Akron, Ohio. This study simply concluded that there are benefits for all levels of learners, but only when the word walls are used actively with students. I then read a much older study on vocabulary depth and the use of word walls out of the University of California. Again, it displayed the need for instructor/student engagement with the word wall in order for it to be effective. But in the end, it is effective for teachers and ultimately students when it is used to bolster your instruction. We encourage you to build your word wall slowly. At the 1st grade level, we suggest you introduce on a few words per day and as students get the hang of it you can introduce many more words. Just do not setup it and leave it as a backdrop. Use it often and refer back to it often.
As the term progresses, the words become more challenging until the students can read and recognize all recommended words for the 1st Grade.
The 1st grade word wall introduces students to sight words and common everyday use words with predictable spelling patterns. As it is one of the most used tools in the class, making it appear colorful and catchy is essential. Select an accessible wall of your classroom and a dark-colored chart paper for cutouts, so the printed words stand out. Keep the formatting consistent for all note cards. When selecting the font color, size, and style, ensure the kids can read it without squinting or walking up to the wall. Bold sizes and font styles can be read from afar. You can also differentiate the words from different categories by using different colored note cards.
How Does a Word Wall Work in 1st Grade?
When students start the 1st Grade, they come to an empty wall with only the letters of the alphabet at the top. The teacher chooses a color for girls and another for boys and writes their names on the different colored squares. The students try to figure out why some names are on one colored paper while the others are on another. This is their first lesson in organization!
The first week is spent arranging the names in alphabetical order, comparing name lengths, counting boys and girls and the whole class, sorting the names according to syllables, pointing out the names of new friends, checking the shortest and longest names, and other fun stuff like that.
On the Monday of the second week, kids arrive to see their names posted on the word wall. Using this technique warrants instant attention from the kids because they have been used to seeing and recognizing their names, so their gazes automatically fall on the word wall.
In the next few months, you can introduce five new words every week; by the end of the school year, the kids will have learned more than 100 words!
1st Grade Word Wall Words
- The
- About
- Great
- Learn
- Of
- Many
- Where
- Should
- Some
- Through
- Four
- To
- Would
- Right
- High
- Is
- Look
- Too
- Every
- You
- Two
- Any
- Near
- Was
- More
- Want
- School
- On
- Could
- Also
- Father
- Are
- People
- Around
- Earth
- They
- Might
- Put
- Eye
- Water
- Does
- Light
- Have
- Been
- Another
- Thought
- From
- Who
- Large
- Head
- One
- Find
- Even
- Saw
- word
- long
- because
- don’t
- what
- come
- here
- along
- all
- only
- move
- carry
- were
- work
- kind
- something
- when
- know
- again
- always
- your
- year
- change
- both
- Said
- Give
- Off
- Often
- There
- Most
- Air
- Night
- Do
- Very
- Away
- Walk
- Heir
- Our
- Mother
- Other
- Good
- Answer
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Therefore
- However
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
- Christmas
- Halloween
- Hanukkah
These word walls are only a useful tool if they are regularly updated and incorporated into daily lessons. Using them as a wall décor helps no one. Even though it is recommended to introduce five new words every week, you and your students can continue to practice learning new and revising old word wall words. It is important to introduce word wall activities and games to increase awareness and develop independence among students.