Back to School Word Wall Cards -

Back to School Word Wall Cards

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These FREE Back to School Word Wall Cards are a handy literacy tool for helping your preschoolers learn the school vocabulary and how to write it. They are also a valuable tool to complement your lesson plan.

This pack includes five pages, each with three cards, for a total of fifteen cards. The back-to-school words in English are entirely black, and underneath, you will find the Spanish word in red. You can download the cards at the end of this post.

Importance of a Word Wall

A word wall is a vital literacy tool that helps your children learn the alphabet, letter sounds and names, and words related to the theme you use that week or month. It is also a required component in many preschool programs.

Your preschoolers can use all these cards to develop skills such as:

Language development – talking about the pictures in the cards.

One-to-one correspondence – matching magnetic, foam, or wooden letters with the letters on the words or the animals’ names with the pictures.

Pre-writing/fine Motor Development – copying the words with magnetic, foam, or wooden letters, crayons, markers, or pencils, and tracing them with dry-erase markers.

Phonological Awareness – sounding out the beginning letter or the syllables in the words.

Pre-reading – when they observe the picture and say its name (word).

How to Prepare the Back to School Word Wall Cards

These cards do not require a lot of materials to keep the budget under control, and you probably have all or most of them already. You will need:

Back to School Word Wall Cards (found at the end of this post).
printer
white cardstock
scissors
laminator machine
laminator pouches

Print out the pages with the cards using white cardstock. Then, cut out and laminate each card to protect it and extend its lifespan. Remember, you will need one set for the word wall and one set for each center where you want to place them.

Where to Place the Back to School Word Wall Cards

Display these cards where children can see them on the word wall and in other areas. That way, you and your children can use them as a large and small group activity. Some ideas and areas I can give you are:

Word Wall – take one set and place the cards on your word wall under the same alphabet letter of the beginning letter of each word. That way, your students will recognize the correct letters.

Writing Area—Invite your preschoolers to practice their pre-writing skills by matching the words with magnetic, foam, or wooden letters, tracing them with dry-erase markers, and copying them with crayons, markers, or pencils.

Library – Encourage the children to look for exact words in books or find other words that start with the same letters.

Remember to introduce the word you want to use first, holding up the correct picture, telling the students what it is. Never ask your children to say the name of the animal before you tell them first, because if that child uses the wrong word, that is the word that will get imprinted in the minds of the other children. It will be more challenging to correct the mistake than to learn the right word from the beginning.

Back to School-related Stories

These are some of my favorite Back to School stories. You can find them at your local library, a used bookstore, or on Amazon. For your convenience, I added my affiliate links to each of the titles. You must click on your favorites, which will bring you to the Amazon website in seconds.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is one of my favorite books. This sweet book tells the story of a little raccoon named Chester, who is afraid to go to school. His mother kisses the middle of his hand to let him know that her love will always be with him, no matter where he is.

How to Catch a Class Pet by Alice Walstead is a silly story that features an approachable school theme that kids will relate to, along with cute animal characters and clever rhymes that blend STEAM concepts with humor and chaos to encourage reading, learning, and imagination.

Llama Llama Back to School by Anna Dewdney. Using her famous character, the author tells the story of this little llama who is anxious about his first day back at school, but maybe, with some help from his friends and Mama Llama, going back to school will be fun after all!

The Little Book of Book to School by Zach Bush will help children face a new school year feeling confident and ready, using fun text and engaging illustrations.

Our Class Is a Family by Shannon Olsen is a book that will help build and strengthen the class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where it’s safe to be themselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s essential to be a friend to others.

The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing. The simple rhyming text and sweet illustrations of this book will soothe any child’s fears about the first day of school.

Pin It For Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin this to one of your Pinterest boards.

Remember to grab your free Back to School Word Wall Cards! Click on the link below to download them immediately and start using them daily in your classroom.

I hope you and your preschoolers enjoy this printable and that it becomes a fun and valuable resource for all of you.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,