We recommend that in an average-sized classroom, you aim for a minimum of one word and a maximum of three words on display per student.

Why? First, you will run out of room on the display. Second, less is more. We want them to focus, embed, and be proud of the words they have rather than fill the space.

On the other hand, we need to ensure the boards are constantly growing and developing. So, ‘wow words’ should also have a ‘used by’ date.

You already know we add the child’s name to the word card to celebrate. We can achieve a few additional goals if we add the date the word was discovered.

• Track and monitor oral language.
• Revise, reflect and provide feedback.
• Add some teacher accountability with a date- are you listening and celebrating the words they are saying or encouraging them to discover more? Words probably need to be rotated about every 5-6 weeks.

If you have words still on the board from May and it is September… you probably need to turn up your listening ears.

Don’t forget that ‘wow words’ are related to mental age. Your board should have various levels as students build their vocabulary at different rates.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE WORDS ONCE YOU TAKE THEM OFF DISPLAY? 
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