Base your word wall choices on current topics of discussion. For example, if the children are studying snow or reading Ezra Jack Keat's classic "The Snowy Day," write simple words related to that topic such as "snow," "coat" and "boots." Include a simple illustration of the word.
Give the children sentence strips and allow them to help you write the words. Let them hang the strips up on the wall with tape. When children are involved in making materials for the classroom, their interest and understanding increases.
Make sentence strips for other places in the classroom in addition to the word wall. For example, if you've set up a hot cocoa stand in the dramatic play center in conjunction with a study about snow, let the children write labels such as "cup," "cocoa," "boots" or "spoon." Again, let the children help you make the labels.
Make portable word walls and store them in the writing center. Print the words that relate to your current theme on card stock and illustrate and laminate them. Place them in the writing center to use as prompts for journal entries and story writing.