Word Searches

Rating

JHS, Medium prep, Quiet

How to Play

Word searches are similar to crosswords but easier to prepare. If you want, there are even tools online that let you input a word list, fill in the spaces, check for accidental rudeness, and print out a grid. I've found that an NxN grid for about N words works, and that a dozen words or so can take up a reasonable amount of time. Like with crosswords, I have students work on word searches in pairs, and reward the groups that finish in time.

How to Use

This is relatively self-explanatory: it's essentially an exercise in spelling and word-shape recognition. If a simple word search is too boring, it's relatively easy to add some variation. Some suggestions: Read the words out loud (listening practice) instead of listing them on the sheet. Encode the words, either with a "letter scramble" (eg. writing "summer" as "emrsum"), by writing them in Japanese and having the students translate, or other problem-solving exercises.

Notes

Make sure you let students know all the directions the words can point, and also that they don't turn corners. Many students are unfamiliar with word searches and will need an explanation; you may want to have an example word for this purpose.

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