Have you noticed a bunch of black, yellow, and green bar graphs showing up on your social media or in your text messages lately? What is this tiny, colorful graph that is taking over the internet? That tiny graph is the result of a new, online craze called Wordle!
Wordle
In a blog post from the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA), Lori Gracey talks about the merits of using Wordle in the classroom, and the ability to make your own Wordle for your classroom’s needs. Lori writes in her blog post:
If the Wordle craze has captured you and your students’ attention, then here is a great tool with many classroom uses. Make Your Own Wordle allows you to create a Wordle and then get a link to share with your students. No registration or log in is required and it’s absolutely free.
If you aren’t familiar with how this internet craze is played, here are the simple rules.
~A five-letter word is selected.
~You then have six tries to guess what the word is.
~After each guess, the color of the tiles will change to show how close your guess was to the word.
~A hint from the Wordle experts: Type in starter words that knock out common letters. “Adieu” is packed with vowels. Others swear by “stare” and “tears.”
How can you use this in the classroom for learning?
~Use it as a warm-up either with a random word or a word from the day’s lesson.
~Have students create a wordle for their classmates.
~See if students can develop a mathematical formula for which letters and in what position are the best first plays.
Lori Gracey, TCEA
Looking for a low-tech way to use Wordle? All you need is chart paper, a laminator, and some dry erase markers.
In a tweet by @ChristinaNosek, she shows how teachers can create a template for a daily Wordle on chart paper, and use colored markers to have students respond.
Ooodle
Into math? Try the Ooodle, the online math version of Wordle. In Ooodle, students get 6 tries to solve a math equation. They can also build fluency and reasoning skills in other grids offered. Again, a low tech version can be created using chart paper.
Create Your Own Wordle
Finally, teachers can create their own Wordle at https://mywordle.strivemath.com/. You can create your Wordle and share the link with your class in Schoology for a fun, customizable word puzzle every day!
