Useful Word searches that have already been created
How to Create a Word Search Puzzle in Excel – Tutorial However, these days I generally prefer to just use Excel to keep my word lists in and then use one of the automatic word search generators. It takes longer but I have more freedom to do what I want with it.
I used to use this method quite a lot myself. Talking of Excel here is a video of using Excel to create a Word Search Puzzle. I find it useful to create my wordlist in Excel first so I can reuse them in different puzzle makers, or choose different numbers when I have a long list.
How to make a free Word Search using Discovery Puzzlemaker Here is a video talking you through the process. The sheet to input your material looks like this Puzzle Maker You should be able to click on solution and get a worked example but that doesn’t seem to work for me. However, don’t forget I only chose forward words in the last example. I used the same list of capitals as in the last example, but you can see it looks much harder.
Here I have chosen forward words only but you could have backwards words only or a mixture. I suspect that it is not just the atozteacherstuff word search that has this problem. Note the advice about checking it for inappropriate words. Here is another very straightforward example The thing I really like about this one is that it gives you a smart set of worksheets and the solution – here’s my example However, if you want more freedom to choose you need to look at some of the other word search makers. There are 3 levels to choose from, basic, intermediate and advanced and each one shows you the options you can have.
Just choose the level and then fill in your words. I’ll start with the one which is probably my favourite – it is from Super teacher worksheets. A useful way for your child to exercise their brain.To expand your child’s vocabulary generally.Familiarising your child with specific vocabulary.Familiarising your child with words for spelling.Why would this be useful?Īlthough you don’t want to spend all your time creating and solving word searches, they do have their place. There are a number of different types on the internet. The best thing about word searches is that kids actually enjoy doing them! They don’t need to know how much they’re learning in the process.A really useful tool, if you have a child who likes word searches, is a free word search maker aka a word search generator. This forces kids to pay close attention and be able to differentiate between the actual word and the misleading one. Combinations of letters in the puzzle will be similar to those in one of the clue words, but not identical. Very often, these types of word puzzles present red herrings. No matter what technique they use, kids almost always develop their own unique strategy which is a great exercise in reasoning. Some kids study the list of words first then go line by line horizontally, then vertically, to find as many words as possible. They may start with looking at the edges to find words that are easier to spot. In order to complete the puzzle, children will often develop their own strategies to find words quickly. Not only do they draw inferences from the theme, they also learn to look for unique letter combinations. Reading AbilityĮven though word searches don’t tell a story exactly, they do provide children with plenty of opportunities to look for and identify context clues, a key reading skill. Used in conjunction with crossword puzzles, which introduce definitions, these can be valuable vocabulary-building tools. Vocabularyīecause word searches are often themed, as this fall word search is, it’s easier for kids to identify and remember new words and their meanings. Here are just a few of the skills word searches help to improve: Spellingīecause word searches require children to look closely at words and then find the corresponding letters in the puzzle, kids naturally gain familiarity with those words. These simple seek-and-find puzzles provide several mental benefits to kids. There’s a reason word searches are such popular educational tools for teachers of almost any subject. Whether you just want a simple activity to keep kids occupied as you prepare Thanksgiving dinner or you want to entertain kids on the rare bad weather autumn day, this free printable word search is a great choice.