What is a word bank?

Word banks are quite simply lists of words to support children with their writing. These will vary according to the age of the child and the task given.

In Year 1, a teacher might ask a child to re-write Little Red Riding Hood. To help them with their spellings, they might give them a bank of words at the bottom of the page, such as: 'wolf', 'grandmother', 'forest' and 'basket'.
 

As children move into Key Stage 2, they are expected to start using powerful verbs and adverbs. Some writing tasks include word banks to support children in being creative with their writing.

Word banks can be a good way of helping children to improve their writing by increasing their vocabulary; word banks offer some extra support.

Some teachers encourage children to make word banks on the wall, so that a list of adjectives, powerful verbs or adverbs become part of the display for children to see every day. Often they encourage children to add to these lists with words they have thought of or come across. This way the display becomes a collaborative effort where rich and interesting vocabulary can be shared.