Free Wall Display to Boost Engagement

by Michelle Haines

Looking for a simple yet effective way to get your students excited about Phonics Hero? We’ve got you covered. Our free Phonics Hero wall display kit is perfect for boosting student engagement, reinforcing learning and creating a positive classroom environment. And since we’ve already done all the thinking and designing for you, you can have your display up and ready in no time.

The idea is simple: each child gets their own Phonics Hero shield with their name on it, which is stuck to the wall around the superhero they are currently trying to rescue. As they progress through the levels, they move their shield from one superhero to the next, proudly showing off their achievements.

You’ll find that this gets children excited and regularly asking to play Phonics Hero (both in school and at home!) so they can move their shield up the levels.

Customised to Suit Your Classroom’s Unique Needs

• Got a smaller board? No problem! Swap in and out the parts of the design that work best for your space. We’ve also got the images available to print on A3 or A4 paper – whatever suits your needs.

• You can choose from a variety of headers:
  • Part 1: Can you rescue the superheroes?
  • Part 2: Can you rescue the baddies?
  • Can you defeat Dr. Lazybones?
  • What level will you reach?
• The resources are available in all three sequences: Playing with Sounds, Letters and Sounds and NSW.
• Phonemes and tricky words are available in four fonts:
  1. Sassoon Primary Infant
  2. NSW Foundation Font
  3. VIC Modern Cursive Print
  4. QLD Beginners Print

Top tip! Only display the levels that suit your students – it’s not necessary to print level 26 for children just starting their phonics journey, so focus on the ones that are within reach!

Reinforce Learning

You can also display the target phonemes and tricky words you’re currently focusing on in class. This gives students a handy point of reference during independent work. When you move on to the next set of sounds or words, keep your display up to date by swapping out the old ones.

Design Tips

• For your point of reference, the board in our pictures is approximately 2 metres wide and the images are the A4 versions. The board was far bigger than we planned for, so on a board that size I would recommend you use the A3 versions.
• Get your students involved by having them design their own shields. It adds to the excitement and saves you from cutting out and writing names on 25+ shields!
• Laminating the items will keep the resources in great condition for use all year long.
• Use Blu-Tack/drawing pins instead of staples – this makes it much easier for children to move their shields up independently.
• Don’t worry about placing the level images perfectly diagonal across the wall – or diagonal at all! Learning isn’t linear; it’s a journey. So whatever fits your space will work!

Celebrate the Milestones!

Be ready to celebrate when a child proudly tells you they’ve reached a new level – it should feel special every time.

And don’t forget, we also have certificates you can use alongside this to make those moments even more memorable.

Important: When a child completes a level, make sure to celebrate their achievement, but don’t let them move their shield up on the wall display until you’ve checked their progress report. If they move ahead too quickly and you later realise they need to repeat a level, having to move their shield back down can be really de-motivating, so it’s always best to double-check their progress first. If you think this might be an issue, you could also set a schedule to help pace their progress and stop them from racing ahead.

We’d Love to See Your Displays!

Once you’ve set up your Phonics Hero display, we’d love to see it in action! Snap a photo and share it with us at info@phonicshero.com or tag us on social media. It’s always inspiring to see how creative classrooms can be!

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations on how we could improve the resources? We’d love to hear from you at info@phonicshero.com.

Author: Michelle Haines

Michelle helps schools make the Phonics Hero magic happen! Having worked with schools for over 6 years – and being married to a Primary School Teacher – Michelle really understands the intricacies of how schools get things done. As the Phonics Hero Lead Account Manager, she works with teachers, getting them started and guiding them through how to get the best from the platform.