HOT 2013 Paint Chip Card - Word Wall

I hope you are coming here from A Differentiated Kindergarten and found my guest post helpful! If you haven't seen my post on Marsha's blog, please hop over there first (I have a fantastic FREEBIE for in honor of Back-to-School)! :0)

If you know anything about me you know how important I believe teaching with a word wall is. ....having a word wall is simply NOT enough. It must be used each and every day in multiple ways with our students so they learn how to use this incredible resource independently.

I also believe it's WAY WAY important to back our word wall words with color - especially those easily confused words. Placing my word wall words on colored backgrounds really helps my kids internalize those words. It helps give kids a mental image of each word. 

My kinders are so good at this they can tell you what color a word wall word is without looking (and of course they are super proud of that ability). The reason they can tell you the color.....and the reason that is awesome is because they are seeing that word in their mind's eye. They not only remember that color, but the other features of that particular word. The color is a hook in their mind to hang that word --making kids less likely to forget it!

Now, on to the point of this post....... For years I've used construction paper and/or colored copy paper to back my words. The colors are good, but throughout the year, the colors begin to fade and just look yucky!! So, each year I am making new word wall word cards for my word wall. Well.... this just gets plain OLD!!!

I've seen tons of great ideas on Pinterest about how to use the paint chip cards for various things. This got me thinking..... Can I use paint chip cards to back my words????

So....I gave it a try..............AND ............IT works beautifully!!! Woo-hoo!! I love when something free works out the way I intend!!

I chose particularly bright cards (2-3 of each color). Any word that begins with the same letter must be a different color.... And, words that are easily confused must be backed with a different color ("am" and "me")......

I hope you like this tip! I love my word wall word cards....and perhaps even more importantly,  I don't have to re-make them each year....:0) They stay in great shape, bright as ever!

I also have a few word wall sets that may fit with your classroom theme. I also do any customizations you may need to make them fit your class PERFECTLY!!

                       (This has a programmable sheet at the end - you can make your own cards with this! :0)