Digital Math Word Walls for the Virtual Classroom

Over the years, I have written a lot about math word walls and how strongly I feel about them. When I was in the classroom, they were an extension of my teaching, gave my students the tools they needed to work with a greater sense of independence and allowed me to make visual connections to other parts our math curriculum while teaching. I always find myself gushing about math word walls because I know how well they worked for my students.

Clicking on a digital math word wall

Aaaand enter Curve Ball Covid. Now everyone is home, without their math word walls and yeah, unbelievably hard. So I immediately began thinking about how to make a digital math word wall to work in the beautiful virtual bitmoji classrooms you have been making. No virtual classroom? No problem. These digital math word walls can also stand alone as math vocabulary support. You all have been so creative with your virtual classrooms to reach students distance learning and keeping them connected to their curriculum, to each other and to school, I wanted to create a word wall that could work there or alone. So after lots of thought, I figured out a way to make a digital math word wall that can be connected to a virtual classroom (or not) and keep students connected to their math vocabulary.

In this post are the digital math word walls I have built in Google Sides. Don't use Google? Not a problem! You can use them in Microsoft Teams or on any other learning platform. They are all ready to go and completely interactive. If you want, you can add to the white boards in each "room", but you don't need to. I built these for you so that you can just download and go. 

All of the digital math word walls are updates to their existing printable math word walls, so if you have any of my math word walls already, you can get the digital versions for free by re-downloading the files (directions farther down in post). The digital links will be on page 2. This way you have access to the math word walls both in print and digital to help with distance learning or if schools adopt a blended or hybrid model.

I also want to show you how you can add a word wall image into your virtual classroom that you can seamlessly link to your digital word wall and how to share with students. 

Algebra Word Wall

The first one I updated was this Algebra Word Wall. It now has a link to this virtual algebra word wall included in the file. When you click on one of the images, a larger image comes up. This is how all of these new virtual math word walls work:

You can type math notes onto the virtual white board or even add extra posters. Or you can add YouTube video links, your own video links, really anything that you can think of to support students learning the curriculum. This algebra word wall is included in my Algebra Activities Bundle w/ digital updates.

Geometry Word Wall

I wanted to make the digital versions visually appealing to students (read: it is entirely too easy to become completely obsessed with making your virtual classroom perfect) so that they'd be spaces students want to visit, if even just in cyberspace. Here is a screenshot of the digital update to the Geometry Word Wall:

Here I add an extra reference to the quadrilaterals page of the digital Geometry Word Wall to help students with classifying. The possibilities are really endless when it comes to virtual classrooms. It's so easy to get completely carried away.

To date, I have made math word walls for grades 2 through 8, Algebra, Geometry and Algebra 2, the Unit Circle, Area and 3-D Shapes. They are all not available in print color, print black & white and digital.

Algebra 2 Word Wall

The printable version of this Algebra 2 Word Wall was the first full math word wall I had made and it was the last to get its digital update, complete with all new photos. I had never actually photographed the 11 parent graph anchor charts, like these for for exponential functions, so those I took all new for the digital word wall. 

8th Grade Math Word Wall

Here is the home wall of the 8th grade math word wall. Clicking the images here will bring up larger versions of those images where there are also white boards. On the white boards you can type additional information or let students add what they'd like to add as a study guide.

7th Grade Math Word Wall

All new photos for this 7th grade math word wall. Like all of the digital updates, this one clicks from its home wall to enlarged versions of the images.

6th Grade Math Word Wall

I added videos of the virtual math word walls onto my YouTube channel to show how they work. Here is a little bit about the 6th Grade Math's digital word wall: watch video

5th Grade Math Word Wall

I took all new photos for most of the references used in the digital versions, including those in this 5th grade math word wall. I wanted the digital versions to let students feel like they are in a real-life classroom. Could I have snipped and built the digital versions that way? Sure. But I was really going for that real-life feel, especially for kids distance learning.

4th Grade Math Word Wall

This 4th grade math word wall includes references for fractions, angles and measurement.

3rd Grade Math Word Wall

Here is the home slide of the digital 3rd grade math word wall.

And its printable version in the same file. The printable word walls are in both color and black and white. All three versions come in the same file so that you can choose to print or send a digital word wall to your students. This way you have what you need when you need it.

2nd Grade Math Word Wall

I just finished the printable version of this 2nd grade math word wall this year with the help of some pretty awesome second grade teachers. Now it also has a digital version (above). The printable version is below.

Financial Literacy Word Wall

Consumer Math was one of my favorite math classes to teach because I felt like I was giving my seniors a sort of cheat sheet to navigating their financial lives. I updated the printable version of the Financial Literacy Word Wall to now also be digital.

Unit Circle Word Wall

And the Unit Circle is also now available in digital, print color and print black and white.

3-D Shapes Word Wall

This 3-D Shapes Word Wall includes Common Core and Texas formulas choices. I had no idea they were so different until a few years ago! 

Area Word Wall

And here is the interactive digital math word wall update for the area formulas.

Clicking on each image brings up a larger image with its formulas. 

Vertical Number Line and Integers

I added additional integers references to the digital version of this vertical number line. Clicking each brigs up a larger version.

Math Word Wall Bundle - print and digital

All print and digital math word walls can be found in this Math Word Walls Bundle. Each word wall is also available individually here. 

Virtual Math Posters

I put together a pack of virtual math posters to add to your virtual classroom, if you choose to use one. This "How to be a Math Person" poster, 

and this "I Know I Can" poster are included, along with word wall images that can be hung on your virtual classroom wall and linked to your digital math word wall.

You can use them as virtual classroom decor or link them to a video or a inspirational quote or even an assignment. The choice is yours! Download them free here.

Updating your printable word wall to digital
If you already own one of my math word walls in print, there is no work for you to do to update, other than re-downloading the math word wall file from TpT. The digital word walls are all built for you and ready to go in GOOGLE Slides.
If you already own one of my math word walls but don't yet have the digital version, please go to "My Purchases" on TpT and re-download the file. The digital link will be on page 2. You can also re-download from the math word wall listing on TpT. Clicking the link inside the file will prompt you to make a copy for your GOOGLE Drive. From there, you can download as a PowerPoint, as PDF or use it where it is in GOOGLE Slides. The word wall will be interactive in any of those formats.

Linking to your virtual classroom

You can seamlessly link from your digital math word wall back to your virtual classroom through hyperlinking an image. I made some special images that match the digital word walls. They are free here: virtual math classroom and math word wall images

If you are building a virtual classroom, this quick video tutorial shows you how to link your digital word wall inside your virtual classroom. EDIT: I changed the end of the URL to /preview instead of /present in this tutorial. They're basically the same, but to be consistent, I should have showed /present. There's a video further down that shows this.

Here you can see how my digital word wall is linked inside my virtual classroom. This virtual classroom template was made by my friend Amie at Glitter Meets Glue. She has written a whole virtual classroom tutorial post that covers everything about building bitmoji classrooms, if you are looking for more info.

Virtual math classroom and word wall images (free)

In the free virtual math classroom images download are written directions and video directions explaining how to link your digital math word wall to your virtual classroom and how to send it out to students. I have added more virtual classroom tutorials in this YouTube playlist.

Sharing with students
There are a few ways you can share your digital word wall with students. If you'd like to link it into your virtual classroom, the above directions are best. This way you are linking the digital word wall into the classroom and then just sharing the classroom with students.
If you'd like to know how to share your digital word wall with students and parents without linking it to a classroom, I put together a quick video here:

In the video I go over how to share the word walls so that you can edit but students cannot, and how to add text and images that hyperlink to videos. Super easy. You can then share this /present link or paste it into Google Classroom or any other learning platform you may use.

In Google Classroom you can post the word wall link as an announcement so that your class will see it when they enter your class.

Are you in Microsoft Teams? No problem! I made a video tutorial for moving Google Slides into Teams and also wrote the steps below:

1) Download the Google Slides as a PowerPoint. 2) Add the PowerPoint to your OneDrive. 3) Choose the PowerPoint and then click "share". 4) Click on 'Anyone with the link can edit" and uncheck "Allow editing". 5) Click Apply then "Copy link" 6) Copy this link and share with students.
Students will not be able to edit, but you still can! Back in your OneDrive, if you'd like to add anything to the PowerPoint word wall, your students will see your additions when they refresh! Cool!

You can see and download all of the math word walls seen in this post here:

See all math word walls

More digital math

I have also been working to update my printable math activities to include links to digital versions. It's been a lot of work, but happy work.

Solving Equations Mix-Match

I've also made some digital-only activities, like this digital escape room for simplifying integer expressions.

I wrote a post showing some of these updates and new digital math activities:

Interactive Digital Math Activities for Distance Learning

Just like the word walls, most of the math resources include both digital and printable versions so that you have what you need when you need it, no matter what school looks like. You can browse all of my digital math resources here:

See all digital math downloads