Word Wall - No Tape Needed!

After using rolls and rolls of masking tape, and reattaching falling vocabulary words when the tape failed I designed a quick way to have word strips displayed for my current unit. I happen to have a large pillar in the middle of my classroom and this is where I constructed my word wall but you can locate it on a regular wall also.

You will need:

steel strong ties
low temperature hot glue gun
magnets
word strips
markers

To construct the word wall supports, use low temperature hot glue to glue steel strong ties vertically down the area on which you which to display your vocabulary. You can find strong ties in the deck building section of your local home improvement store. I recommend taking a magnet with you to the store just to make sure you don't get fooled some a similar aluminum product.

Test the low temperature glue on a small spot of your wall first to make sure you won't take the paint off. My pillar is painted cinder block and the glue can easily be peeled off without harming the paint, but it also holds strongly. Strong ties come in lots of widths and lengths so you can pick the ones that fit your space. I took a close up photo of the ones I used if you like the size.

These are words for my honors physics course. I used standard word strips, started with the vocabulary term, drew a picture related to the term, and then wrote a definition of the word in the context of our unit of study.

Use a few magnets and you can quickly change your terms to match your lesson! I laminated my vocabulary so I can use the word strips during my final exam review without having the strips get soiled while the students were handling them.