Inside: Posting Spanish high frequency words for the classroom using a Spanish word wall. How to post Spanish words in the classroom.
Author: Allison Wienhold
Originally posted on May 25, 2014 & most recently updated on March27, 2025.
Spanish High-Frequency Word Wall
After year one of teaching I knew that I somehow needed to find a way to reinforce the Spanish high-frequency words. Students were always struggling with remembering new vocabulary words in the Spanish language like but, if, and of.
I was inspired by a post from the Creative Language Class discussing the 100 words that makeup 50% of the conversation. I knew I needed to make these little words a priority, but the question was how?
While in graduate school I spent quite a bit of time subbing, mostly in elementary classes. I was impressed by how every little bit of classroom space was utilized in many elementary classes such as 1st grade or 2nd grade. Most early childhood classes with early readers had some kind of word wall.
A common feature in many was the “Word Wall” using sight word lists. I decided to use the 100 high-frequency word lists as the basis for my Spanish word wall, sorted by letter. Yes, the grade level I taught was higher. But my native English speakers were similar to first grade young readers in their new language.
You can download the basic 100 Word Wall here.
What is included in this Spanish Class Word Wall Posters & Flashcards
- ✅ 100 High-Frequency Words in Spanish in an editable Google Doc for any Spanish k-12 student
- ✅ Two versions – Spanish only version, as well as a version with English as well!
- ✅ 18 Google Doc pages of high-frequency words in Spanish
- ✅ Small words & minimal ink needed to print – a great way to save ink!
- ✅ Either version can be printed on 2 slides per page to save paper & space
* In the cover picture I used black ink, printed on colored paper, using Spanish only
How do you use Spanish Class Word Wall Posters & Flashcards?
You can use these as Spanish sight words, a literacy center, small groups, high frequency word lists, Spanish immersion or many or ways.
- ✅ There are many ways to use them to meet the needs of your class!
- ✅ Print, laminate, and hang in your classroom as a bulletin board all year
- ✅ Add magnets on the back to be able to switch out focus words on a whiteboard
- ✅ You could introduce 10 words each week to study for Spanish vocabulary words lesson plans & quiz at the end of the week. Or introduce a new word each day.
- ✅ You could print these on cardstock for each student to use as flashcards to study these important little words that make up a lot of Spanish conversation.
- ✅ Be creative & let me know how you use them as a part of your Spanish curriculum!
Reflecting on the Spanish Word Wall
While in theory, these seemed like a great idea, I failed at actually teaching and incorporating this word wall in my daily lessons. It took up the whole board all year, but did students get as much out of it as they could have? Probably not.
So today I took it down, and am trying to figure out how I can do better next year & the best way to to teach palabras de alta frecuencia.
- Number – Is 100 words too many at once? Should I add a certain number each week?
- Content – Are these even the words I should be focusing on?
- Phrases – Should phrases be emphasized instead of individual words?
- Organization – Should they be sorted by letter? If not, how?
Should I even have a Word wall? Or would there be a better use of this space? I would love feedback. 🙂
UPDATE – A Focus on High-Frequency Verbs for communication
- High-Frequency Verb Unit to Start Spanish 1
- How to use High Frequency Verb Units
- Super 7 Present Tense Spanish BUNDLE
