The good ol' word search (or word find) is a common tool used by teachers in many kinds of English classes - but especially for children.
Probably the most common way (that I have seen) for teachers to generate word search puzzles for their learners is to jump onto a free puzzlemaker site (see an example here), punch in 10-20 words selected mostly at random (or according to what the teacher thinks the learners will find difficult) from a word list or reading passage to be covered in class, and - whalaaa! - their word search is ready to be printed, quickly photocopied and distributed in class.
I have some problems with not only the word searches generated in this fashion, but also the rationales behind making and using them this way. For a start, the resulting word searches look pretty bland. Although younger learners in particular love the challenge of a puzzle, using these quick-fix word searches can become pretty old pretty quickly. Secondly, these instant-format word searches always generate puzzles that use capital letters only. I've always found that a little strange, given learners will see more words in lower-case lettering than in upper-case. Finally, I have serious doubts this kind of puzzle is doing a whole lot to promote real vocabulary development or retention.
Allow me one quick digression to say that, on the whole, the teachers I've seen use these instant online puzzlemaker generators are also often the least organised or prepared for their classes, and are usually looking for something quick that will help keep their learners busy for a while so they can either avoid more involved activities in the classroom, or use that puzzle time to think of something to do next during the class time!
All things said, I think word searches and their application risk getting a bad reputation in classrooms - or, at best, a reputation as a nifty "time filler." This is a little unfortunate, because I've used word searches in ways that have proven very effective, involved, and interactive in my classrooms. I'll go over a few of these applications (with examples) below.
The image above shows a word search I've made and used for younger learners (front and back). In this case, I've focused on words from the vocabulary list for the Starters level of the Cambridge Young Learners of English tests. I'm quite a big fan of these tests in terms of their appropriacy for younger learners, and I think the vocabulary they highlight in the tests is a fair indication of common words that younger learners need to know.
You can download and use this file yourself if you like :-) => Download ER_Cambridge_Starters_Word_find_1A
First of all, I've put some effort into it and made it look attractive. The watermark behind the puzzle part comes out very lightly in black and white photocopied versions and doesn't intrude unduly on quick recognition of the words. I also had a blank template of this version around somewhere, and used it to make hand-written word searches as well.
Second, I've focused on featuring words in broad lexical sets. As you can see from the example, the front page invites the learners to find words all relating to the body and body parts. This is really important in vocabulary acquisition and retention, as learners find it easier to categorise and "sort" new words in their memories if they are established with conceptual connections and as details within one unified "broader picture." It also helps them to make good educated guesses about what new words could mean, given the topic or theme is obvious to them.
Next, the learners aren't just asked to find the words - they're asked to illustrate them. This may require some help from teacher and classmates, but generally my approach was to always use words they'd already been exposed to through other activities and content, and to encourage them to make guesses whenever they weren't sure. This struggle to remember or make guesses also strengthens noticing and retention with new vocabulary.
The back of the puzzle features yet more words for the learners to look for, again organised by thematic lexical sets (in the example above, animal words and clothing words are presented). I actually used to use this to have my word searches progress in series of recycling lexical set stages. In this example, the primary focus was first on finding body parts related words. The follow up words on the reverse side of the paper presented a good range of animal words (which were actually covered in a previous word search, and hence comprise a vocabulary review), and the last little "bonus words" section presents some clothing words - which will be the primary focus of the next word search (thus creating a sort of preview).
The provision of extra words here is also handy in other respects:
- It allows for mixed ability classrooms (which accounts for every class, actually!) - meaning that the key/focus words on the front page cater to all the learners, while students who get through them quickly have plenty to go on with on the following page;
- The extra words on the back make for a handy homework activity to finish, which in turn allows all students to attempt it according to their own pace and preferences;
- The "review" and "preview" words on the back of the paper encourages more retention as the learners need to flip back and forth from the words and the actual word search grid - they need to try and remember the spelling as they search for the words.
Just out of interest, this approach to word searches is also featured in many of the phonics materials I made for the Phonics Builder sets on English Raven.
Once students can handle or quickly finish this form of the word search (featuring these particular lexical sets), at some later stage I would give them a slightly different form of the same puzzle:
As you can see, this is the same puzzle, with the same lexical sets, but the words themselves have been removed from the "to find" lists. Students will need to remember the words in the sets to look for them in the word search, and/or use the search grid itself to find words to complete the lists. Again (and to retain the emphasis on word-image/concept connections), the learners are asked to illustrate the words they find.
To help the learners self-check their work later, the learners can also be given a listing key - like this:
If you like this version as well, you can download and use it here => Download ER_Cambridge_Starters_Word_find_1B
I tended to go even further with this sort of word search activity. For me, the next step was to give the learners a blank word search grid and make the word search on their own, featuring as many of the words as they could remember from the lexical sets covered in previous applications. I encouraged them to be neat and colourful, and make something that would be presentable to classmates (so they could swap and try to figure out each other's puzzles). This became a really fun and highly collaborative affair, with the learners essentially managing themselves. But most importantly (in terms of vocabulary learning) this was a great way to help them really internalize and remember key vocabulary. Going even further, students can be asked to identify word classes (like noun, verb, adjective) and put the words into contextual sentences of their own.
Goes a bit beyond the quick-fix online puzzle generator I mentioned at the start of the post, doesn't it? This approach sees and uses word searches as a valuable vocabulary learning and retention tool if they are designed and applied in the right ways.
If you're interested in these word searches, I have several more available on the English Raven website - featuring words from the Starters, Movers and Flyers levels of the Cambridge YLE tests.
I have also designed and used something I call "Super Word Finds", but I'll leave that concept and the samples for another day...
:-)
