The Tricky Word Wall

Abstract

A professional development day on ‘visible learning’ inspired me to create a new approach to teaching sight words, using 14 coloured hats, each introducing 12 sight words; I called it ‘the tricky word wall’. As I used this over a full term, students made amazing progress: Every single child had success, although I soon realised that success looks different for everyone. An above average student not only raced through increasingly advanced hats but also began to use the sight words in his writing. A recently arrived student with little English progressed far more slowly, but with each step a huge achievement and source of pride, celebrated by the whole class. Parents were very supportive, and from their feedback I learned that the children were talking about the tricky word wall at home, where they were desperate to practise their words so that they could move onto the next hat. Making a big deal out of every single child’s success made them all feel valued and special, and motivated them to try hard to learn their words. I had planned to compare my class to a neighbouring one, but when its teacher saw the success we were having she decided to introduce her own tricky word wall. It is exciting that my visible learning display encouraged these students to succeed, sparking their self-motivation and allowing them to take charge of their own learning.