Reviewing vocabulary can be enjoyable for people of all ages by using a range of word puzzles. Puzzle generation tools make it easy for parents, teachers or other students to create word games using information already gathered during the teaching process. Listed below will be some websites to help produce original and personalized vocabulary puzzles.
Word Search Puzzles
An easy printable puzzle is the word search puzzle. Students of all ages can find words hidden among a jumble of letters. Even pre-readers can often match up words, although for some it will be frustrating, others will enjoy the challenge. This type of puzzle will not review a student's understanding of the word's definition, but it will reinforce spelling and familiarity with the word.
Some free online printable word search generators include:
- EdCreate – which has options such as how many columns and rows to choose from and the directions the words can be placed
- AtoZTeacherStuff – creates custom worksheets including forming the puzzle into a shape, including a smile, a spiral or a train.
- ToolsForEducators – has an option to include clues such as definitions for the words in the word search to make the puzzle even more challenging.
Crossword Puzzles
Another fun printable is the crossword puzzle. Crossword puzzles can be found in newspapers, in crossword puzzle books and online and they vary in complexity and difficutly. However, to help a student or class review specific vocabulary, generating a personal crossword puzzle for them allows for matching the words as well as the skill level to the student.
Crossword puzzles test understanding and memory of a word's definition as well as spelling. Pre-readers and young students will likely not find crossword puzzles to be do-able or enjoyable. Older students may not have the patience to complete a crossword puzzle, so allowing students to help each other or work with others can make this word game review more fun for everyone.
Find free online printable crossword puzzle generators at the same sites as the word search generators, perform an online search using a search engine, or try another generator such as the one by ArmoredPenguin, which can create a simple crossword puzzle to print out for students to solve.
More Puzzles for Vocabulary Review
There are other lesser known puzzles that can be used as the basis for generating various word games for vocabulary review. Some are new and original, while others are variations of crossword puzzles and word searches. The puzzlemaker at DiscoveryEducation has the standard word search generator, the crossword puzzle maker, as well as variations on those puzzles.
Word scrambles, in which the letters of a word are placed out of order and need to be placed in proper order to spell the word, are similar to word searches in that they review spelling and word familiarity rather than understanding the meaning of the word. Cryptograms, which are like a secret code, can also be created for vocabulary words, but will be more challenging for students and have less, if any, focus on the definition of the word.
When studying and reviewing vocabulary words, keep in mind the old stand-by games. An example is hangman, in which the student has a limited number of letter guesses to figure out the word before a stick figure is hung. Another game is password, in which students work together with one guessing and one providing one-word synonym clues to help his partner guess the correct answer. One more fun game for older students involves using a word and providing four definitions, but only one is correct. The other students or the other team would have to guess which of the four definitions is real.
Whichever games are chosen for reinforcing vocabulary study, the students should have fun while learning. Preparing for the vocabulary sections on achievement tests such as the SAT or ACT, or finishing up any sort of unit study which has new and unfamiliar vocabulary can be interesting and enjoyable with minimal prepartory work for the parent or instructor.
Angela Kleinow - I graduated from the University of Michigan, where I focused on Science Fiction and Fantasy for my senior seminar while working with the ...
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